But subsequently, interest in the ketogenic diet declined as the newer anti-epileptic drugs were introduced. One of the children treated successfully by the Johns Hopkins team was Charlie Abrahams. In gratitude, his parents have created the Charlie Foundation which has given widespread publicity to the diet, in part by making available a free video tape. Unlike the motor car, which can only run on petrol, our bodies are designed to use a variety of fuels, as they are available. The three main types of fuel for the body are carbohydrates, fats and protein.
Carbohydrates are things like sugars, starch and flour which come mostly from plants.
Fats come in two broad types - saturated fats, like butter, which mostly come from animals and unsaturated fats, like corn oil, which mostly come from plants. Finally, protein comes mainly from animals and is represented by meat and fish. The preceding is a broad generalisation and there are many variations - nuts, for example, have about equal amounts of carbohydrates and protein. All the fuels work in the same way. They undergo a chemical reaction with the oxygen we breathe, and this releases energy for use in the body and creates waste products including carbon dioxide and water.