by Lee Smith
First published 2016
Dr. Sarah Chen watches another young patient arrive at the pediatric epilepsy clinic, medications having failed to control the devastating seizures. She turns to an unexpected treatment: a carefully calculated diet where fats replace carbohydrates as the body's primary fuel. The ketogenic approach forces the liver to produce ketone bodies that can power the brain differently than glucose does. Sarah must navigate skeptical colleagues who prefer pharmaceutical solutions while tracking her patients through the demanding regimen of measured butter, cream, and oils that excludes bread, pasta, and most fruits. The stakes intensify when she encounters families like the Abrahams, whose desperation mirrors that of Hollywood producer Jim Abrahams in the 1990s, whose advocacy brought this 1920s therapy back from obscurity. As Sarah witnesses seizures diminish in nearly half her patients, she grapples with balancing hope against the diet's constraints and side effects, knowing that for these children, food has become medicine.
Genres: biography, medical, non-fiction, health, alternative-medicine, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: medical-drama
Paperback · Createspace Independent Publishing Platform