*My current view of epilepsy in a nutshell- (New!!! 4-05). This letter to a client basically sums it all up. I will be writing an entirely new paper in the near future that will contain all of this information- and more. I think the following letter will serve this purpose for the time being. It has most of the elements of the "syndrome" we call epilepsy.

My current view of epilepsy in a nutshell

(New as of 4-05 and EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!)

This letter to a client basically sums it all up. I will be writing an entirely new paper in the near future that will contain all of this information- and more. I think the following letter will serve this purpose for the time being. It has most of the elements of the "syndrome" we call epilepsy.

Sharon writes:

Hi,
I have just been to your site and read Epilepsy and Diet. I found it
very interesting.
Is it the food (or ingredients thereof) or vaccines that cause the
first sensititvy?
Is it both that then cause sensitivity to other things in the
environment that trigger siezures?
Do you do long distance consults?
Sharon

My Response:

Hi Sharon,

It's good to hear from you. Great questions. I now think the answer lies in your last question-that BOTH work together causing sensitivity/over-reaction to other things in the environment, triggering seizures.

My only question now is how often are viruses involved. I could believe that they ARE involved in ALL cases, just as some medical researchers (including myself) believe that all cancer in viral. The virus COULD be the initial culprit in all cases, damaging the glial cells and allowing the glutamate to build up at the synapse. The viral infections could be remitting/relapsing types of infections (like Herpes are prone to do), which causes the epileptic to have periods of severe affliction followed by more quiescent periods. In the meantime, their efficiency is reduced with each viral episode.

This is where the diet (The GARD) comes in... and comes in STRONG. It not only is a great Band-Aid, dramatically cutting the amount of glutamate that this "inefficient" brain has to handle, but it also allows the gut to heal, reversing the malabsorption syndrome that caused the malnutrition that in turn allowed the viral infection to rise up in the first place. See that? The virus was there for a long time, sometimes even being there before birth (vertical transmission) or acquired DURING the birth, as Herpes can be acquired. It sits dormant until the immune system crashes. This happens because of the big four in the diet, which damage the duodenal villi blocking the absorption of the essential nutrients I list all of the time. The same damaging foods are LOADED with glutamate which brings on a myriad of signs, from insomnia to pain to ADHD to seizures in the worst of the worst.

THEN, as the brain becomes more and more unhealthy, the environmental issues come more into play...the mercury, benzene, and other air and food/water pollutants. It becomes more and more of a "syndrome" at that point, with all of these factors working together. Estrogens play a HUGE role in this process in women by being both neurostimulating, irritating, and immune suppressive, a deadly combination when it comes to anything viral (like breast cancer).

So, back to the original question I have. Are viruses involved in all cases. I think that is distinctly possible. I was fooled at first by the dramatic recovery I was seeing in dogs (and people) put on the diet. I wondered how in the world an individual with severe epilepsy could possibly stop having seizures OVERNIGHT and NEVER have another one just by changing the diet IF it was a viral thing. Now I know: In those, you are catching them at a time that the viral infection is in remission but during which time the previous infections have left the brain inefficient to the handling of glutamate. In other words, the previous damage has reduced the number of glial cells in the brain and the glutamate handling capacity of that brain has been compromised. If you put that individual on a glutamate/aspartate restricted diet, they will do very well. If they stay on the diet and are strict, they may become well enough (as their gut heals) to never have another, as their immune system gets back to normal health, as does their brain, and liver and kidneys (the enzyme systems of which control blood glutamate levels). They spiral in the RIGHT direction instead of their previous spiraling out of control. The diet is also low in estrogens and is hypoallergenic. The importance of the former we just covered. The latter is important, as the action of histamine "opens" the blood brain barrier and allows more blood glutamate into the brain (to counteract the depressing effects of the histamine. An "antidote" if you will. This is how cool our body is. SMILE) The GARD for people is also naturally low in hydrogenated oils/trans fats, another horrible substance that opens the BBB, carrying with it God-knows-what.

Others individuals will be caught in the throws of an active viral
infection. These will have a reduction in seizures (I haven't had one that hasn't gotten better to some degree) but may have a number of seizures over the near future as they start healing and get the infection back under control. That process would explain those that I have had seizures that tapered off and THEN stopped altogether.

This makes the most sense to me now, especially when you consider the nature of the virus and the types of viruses that we KNOW inhabit the brain (Herpes, paramyxovirus). This IS their "M.O." And, once again, epilepsy is the body's way of dealing with these guys, limiting their activity while warning us of their existence. If we don't understand these things, then we "get" to have brain tumors, the ultimate act of these little terrorists.

Hope this helps clear things up,

John