Before hurting your body and your future with the use of drugs,
Watch my Prezi on the effects of drugs on teenagers.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
An Unconventional, Unusual Cure to Epilepsy: Fatty Foods (The Ketogenic Diet)
Imagine having a seizure once every day. The average seizure can last thirty-seconds to two-minutes. They occur almost randomly, and during them you can loose consciousness and your body can shake. I know from spending time with a family friend who suffers from epilepsy, that seizures are extremely scary.
The positive effects of the ketogenic diet undeniably outweigh the cons. In a study conducted in 2008 by University College London, 38% of the patients reduced seizures by more than 50% by using the ketogenic diet. 7% of the patients reduced their seizures by more than 90% by using the ketogenic diet. For these people, antiepileptic drugs hadn’t worked for them, however the ketogenic diet had. By using the diet, 7/10 patients who had specific drug-resistant seizures reduced amount of seizures by more than 90%. The Ketogenic diet is helping people with epilepsy find a cure, when drugs simply can’t. For Sam, the use of the ketogenic diet has reduced his seizures by 75%. This means that he has almost a 100 less seizures a day because of the Ketogenic diet.
Main Source: (S1) Article: "Epilepsy's Big, Fat Miracle"- Fred Vogelstein http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/magazine/21Epilepsy-t.html?scp=1&sq=ketone&st=cse
Imagine having about 130 seizures a day. For Sam, a nine year old, who suffers from epilepsy, this is the case. He has tried different drugs and treatments, however none of them seem to help.
For the last two years, Sam has been on the ketogenic diet. “The diet, which drastically reduces the amount of carbohydrates he takes in, tricks his body into a starvation state in which it burns fat, and not carbs, for fuel.” (S1) Most people disagree with the thought of the ketogenic diet. Using food instead of drugs seems preposterous, however research shows that the ketogenic diet extremely reduces seizures in epileptics that are drug-resistant.
It’s estimated that in a week, “Sam consumes a quart and a third of heavy cream, nearly a stick and a half of butter, 13 teaspoons of coconut oil, 20 slices of bacon and 9 eggs.”(S1) This monotonous diet is extremely hard to follow. Junk foods such as soda, popcorn, candy, and pizza are strictly forbidden. For a nine-year-old kid, it seems almost impossible.
Picture describes Sam's diet under the ketogenic diet.
Other Sources:
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The Amazing Kangaroo Rats Osmoregulation
Kangaroo Rats are very interesting animals. The adaptions that they take in order to survive in their dry climate are very fascinating. On this site, I learned that Kangaroo Rats are mostly found in California. Their kidneys help them get rid of waste, without using too much water. Kangaroo Rats ability to create water out of the dry seeds they eat also helps them survive in the desert climate.
On this site, I began to understand the importance of retaining water to organisms that live in the desert, in order to keep their ionic and osmotic balance. Monitoring water loss and limiting heat exposure are some of the key factors of Osmoregulation in Kangaroo Rats.
This is a picture of a Tipton Kangaroo Rat from this website.
Throughout the day, Kangaroo Rats stay inside burrows in order to preserve water. If the temperature of the climate is higher than the temperature of the Kangaroo Rat, then the water loss will increase. However, inside burrows, the temperature is lower than the core temperature of the Kangaroo Rat.
The kidneys of the Kangaroo Rats are one of its coolest adaptions. In order to reduce the waste of water, the kidney “excretes highly concentrated urine resulting in a dry fecal pellet due to rectal absorption of water.” (from this site) So basically kangaroo rats urine is dry, in order to conserve water that is created by the dry seeds that they like to eat.
Summary of Osmoregulation in Kangaroo Rats:
-urine system
-habitat (affects temperature)
-kidneys
On this site, I began to understand the importance of retaining water to organisms that live in the desert, in order to keep their ionic and osmotic balance. Monitoring water loss and limiting heat exposure are some of the key factors of Osmoregulation in Kangaroo Rats.
Throughout the day, Kangaroo Rats stay inside burrows in order to preserve water. If the temperature of the climate is higher than the temperature of the Kangaroo Rat, then the water loss will increase. However, inside burrows, the temperature is lower than the core temperature of the Kangaroo Rat.
The kidneys of the Kangaroo Rats are one of its coolest adaptions. In order to reduce the waste of water, the kidney “excretes highly concentrated urine resulting in a dry fecal pellet due to rectal absorption of water.” (from this site) So basically kangaroo rats urine is dry, in order to conserve water that is created by the dry seeds that they like to eat.
This video demonstrates another adaption the Kangaroo Rat has that saves it time and energy when gathering seeds.
The Kangaroo Rat is not the only animal that lives in a dry climate to have specialized organs to help with Osmoregulation. Many animals in the desert rely on their organs for Osmoregulation, and without them they couldn’t survive.Summary of Osmoregulation in Kangaroo Rats:
-urine system
-habitat (affects temperature)
-kidneys
In order to conserve water in dry climates.
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