Food

• Having a healthy diet along with regular exercise and not smoking is essential for maintaining good health.
• There is no definite link between any type of food and seizures.  Grapefruit and grapefruit juice will however increase carbamazepine levels and may lead to dangerous side effects.  Persons taking this medication should avoid eating or drinking too much of it.
• Some seizure medication like valproate, pregabalin, carbamazepine, and oxcarbazepine may cause weight gain.  Other seizure medication like topiramate or zonisamide may cause weight loss.
• Persons with diabetes and epilepsy should avoid low or high blood sugar as this can trigger seizures
• Caffeine can disturb sleep which can lead to seizures, so should be used in moderation.  Some “energy drinks” contain potentially dangerous substances and have been linked to seizures.  Since they have no health value, they should probably be avoided by people with epilepsy.
• Artificial sweetners such as aspartame have been studied in patient with epilepsy and appear to be safe
• Patients with “celiac disease” should avoid glutens as this may cause seizures