ABSTRACT
Epilepsy is a disorder that undeniably is associated with abnormal activity in the brain. An understanding of the basic anatomical, physiological, and behavioral mechanism(s) that control and influence normal brain activity is essential for an understanding of abnormal phenomena and for the development of treatment protocols that may be introduced to provide an alternative to conventional anti-convulsant medications. This chapter’s aim is to review some of the findings and issues that can shed light on one of these basic mechanisms, namely, the effects of nutrients on brain biochemistry. In some instances, exaggerated claims have been made in behalf of various forms of nutritional therapies, which appear to be patently wrong. For example, the claims that diet or herbal therapy offers an effective alternative to conventional anticonvulsant therapy (e.g., the use of Datura Stramonium or Heracleum Lantum), as proposed by Lewis and Elbin-Lewis (1977), have no medical evidence to support the assertion that such therapy is useful. However, the field of nutrition offers some attractive possibilities for understanding the processes that underlie epilepsy and that may suggest reasonable directions for designing effective therapeutic protocols. This chapter briefly reviews the role of nutrients in brain biochemistry and its consequences in behavior, as seen from the perspective of the relationships among nutrition, nutrients, and epilepsy.
