It is not just food
When dealing with epilepsy/seizures, sometimes it can take more than one revision of the Ketogenic diet plan until we find the right ketogenic ratio that works for the dog at hand,
If you are feeding a ketogenic diet in hopes of it being therapeutic for your dog, here is some of the best advice I can give anyone, and it comes from the renowned Dr. Adrienne Scheck – ” Treat metabolic therapy like any other therapy- it is not just food- patients need to understand they must follow directions in the same way they do for medicines” – Dr. Adrienne Scheck
In theory, when dealing with epilepsy if we started the dog on the highest ketogenic ratio, we stand to have our best odds of the diet mitigating seizures, HOWEVER, the caveat in this is the fact that if we start on the higher keto ratio, we stand a pretty good chance that we may have missed a lower ketogenic ratio diet that may have worked for that individual dog.
There’s simply no way of knowing how each individual dog suffering from epileptic seizures will respond to the ketogenic diet, I’ve seen many dogs that I’ve worked with on the Ketogenic Meal Plan Program do phenomenally well on lower keto ratios and on the other hand we’ve also seen dogs that require much higher ketogenic ratios until their seizures are helped by the diet
So why does this matter? Why not just start on the highest keto ratio?!
Good question!
There are a few reasons. Remember, the keto ratio is the ratio of fat vs. protein+net carb in the diet. A .5:1 keto diet has 1/2-part fat for every 1-part protein. A 1:1 ketogenic ratio has an equal amount of fat to protein in the diet. A 2:1 ketogenic ratio has double the amount of fat for every 1-part protein in the diet. A 3:1 ratio has 3x the amount of fat for every 1-part protein in the diet.
As the ratios increase, fat levels increase, and protein levels subsequently decrease. We have a set daily target of max calories we calculate for the specific dog at hand, so our formulated ketogenic diet must stay within those parameters of the ketogenic ratio being correct while at the same time not going over our predetermined number of calories. Our formulated diet must also meet all nutritional requirements that a canine need, so during the formulation process this entails very close attention to over 50 different nutrient levels and targets. We need to ensure all of those levels are met, some careful not to go too high, others not too low, some need close consideration of being within certain ratios of each (copper/zinc, calcium/phosphorus for example)
As fat levels increase, nutrient levels will start decreasing, it’s the nature of the beast. Fat doesn’t contain vital nutrients/vitamins/minerals like Whole Foods/protein does. So, if you look at a 1:1 keto diet Vs a 2:1 , the 1:1 will be much more nutrient dense vs the 2:1.
And as keto ratios approach 2:1 we need to start supplementing the diet to ensure certain nutrient levels are properly met. So, a 2:1 diet takes more “work” to ensure its nutritionally complete for the dog vs a 1:1 keto ratio diet.
Based on my observations working with dogs suffering from seizures, when we’re formulating a ketogenic diet plan for them if we can feed a lower ratio and still obtain our desired goal of mitigating seizure activity, by all means this is our best option Vs. starting the dog on a higher keto ratio and possibly missing that lower keto ratio that may have worked for the dog at hand.
But as previously mentioned, we simply have no way of knowing how the individual dog will respond until we actually start implementing the diet. If the seizure activity isn’t reducing and no changes seem to be happening, then we need to increase the ketogenic ratio.
I will say that with all the dogs I’ve personally worked with enrolled in the Ketogenic Meal Plan Program suffering from seizures, in just about every case I can recall we’ve seen a great reduction in seizures and in best case scenarios we’ve even seen 100% reduction in seizures, when we finally settle on the right ketogenic ratio that individual dog needed to be on for its condition.
“Mike’s amazing guidance helped us to give our pup fourteen high quality months with a seizure reduction rate of approximately ninety percent” Landon G. – Canada-
For maximum results attempting to utilize a Ketogenic diet in hopes of mitigating seizures it is important that you follow diet protocol EXACTLY and it is important to be working with someone experienced in all aspects of the diet that can guide you throughout the entire process.
Examples of those cases can be viewed HERE:
And more examples of cases viewed HERE
More information on how ketogenic diets work to mitigate seizures can be viewed HERE
Information on the Ketogenic Meal Plan program to get your dog started on a keto diet click HERE
KetoPoweredK9.com 