A new study has found that a high-fat ketogenic diet is effective for controlling seizures in children and that it appears to have no long-lasting side effects.

Researchers studied 101 patients between the ages of 2 and 26 who were treated with the ketogenic diet for as long as eight years. At the time of the follow-up, patients were off the diet anywhere between eight months and 14 years. Nearly 80 percent remained either seizure-free or had their seizures reduced by half, and most reported that their seizures did not worsen after stopping the diet.

The ketogenic diet consists of high-fat foods and very few carbohydrates. It is believed to trigger biochemical changes that eliminate seizure-causing short circuits in the brain’s signaling system. Short-term, temporary side effects include a raise in cholesterol and impaired growth.

"We have every reason to believe that most children will start catching up once they are off the diet as they grow up because this is what we see in older former patients," said the study’s lead author, Dr. Eric Kossoff.

In addition, researchers said that being on the diet did not appear to alter children’s food preferences.