How Cutting Out Annatto Helped With My Daughter’s Epilepsy Journey - Food Triggers With Epilepsy

So I’d like to start out this post by saying that I am going to cover Rach’s experience with certain types of food triggering her epilepsy, but I’m also going to dive a bit deeper into food triggers as a whole and how you can apply this info to your journey. Because the food/epilepsy relationship is something I feel should be talked about more.

Without further ado, let’s get into Rach’s story with food triggers and more specifically…

Rach’s Struggles With Annatto -

The thing with Rach and her epilepsy is that a lot of times, her seizures come in spikes. And if we can figure out what factor is contributing to those spikes and remove it, then sometimes the seizures will lessen and she can find some relief. Even though it isn’t a “cure”, it’s an improvement.

Some triggers that we’ve learned to avoid in the past are things like a lack of sleep, her looking down for too long to read a book, or highly stressful situations (which are harder to avoid, because stress is unfortunately a part of life).

But at one point in Rach’s epilepsy journey, we started noticing peculiar spikes in seizures that didn’t seem to be associated with any of the triggers we knew about so far. And I started analyzing everything, trying to figure out what was going on.

The spikes seemed to happen based on what foods we had been eating. One food that always seemed to trigger her was microwave popcorn. So I looked into the ingredients of all the foods that caused an increase in seizures, hoping to uncover a common denominator.

And I found it… Annatto.

Annatto is a natural colorant derived from the seeds of the achiote plant, and is used in many orange food products these days. It can be found in various products such as Goldfish crackers, Cheetos, Velveeta Shells & Cheese and microwave popcorn.

As I started researching more about annatto, I found out that many people with nut allergies actually reported having reactions to food containing annatto. Rach happens to have an allergy to nuts, so this stood out to me. Because I also found out that consuming foods that you’re allergic to can actually trigger seizures in individuals with epilepsy. 

Needless to say, I started trying to cut out any foods that contained annatto from the family’s diet. And I did begin to notice a decrease in seizure spikes. Adding to my theory, there were several instances in which Rach would accidentally consume annatto afterwards and have the spikes once again.

So now, I’m fairly certain that annatto is a major trigger for Rach. And because of that, I’d like to share some information on the topic of food triggers and epilepsy in case you or someone you care about could be suffering from the same thing.

Can Certain Types of Food Affect Epilepsy?

Among the epilepsy community, diet is discussed quite often. But it’s normally only talking about foods that you should be eating, and things like the keto diet that can help patients gain seizure control. Nobody ever really talks about foods that potentially make epilepsy worse…

But as I’ve said, my research did turn up some facts on the topic that I think more people should know about. For one, allergies and epilepsy have more links than I ever knew. And many people have reported having a spike in seizures when they ingest things they’re allergic to.

Secondly, people with “reflex epilepsy” can be even more prone to be affected negatively by foods. Individuals with reflex epilepsy will have triggers, like Rach does. Common triggers are some ones that affect her, such as a lack of sleep and stress. 

There’s also “photosensitivity”, where things like flashing lights will trigger a seizure. This type is why there are warnings in video games and movies for people with epilepsy. “Reading epilepsy” is another well-known type. And as the name suggests, reading can cause a seizure. Rach seems to be triggered by reading, and sometimes even by photosensitivity as well.

There are many other examples, but the kind of “reflex epilepsy” triggers that pertain the most to this article lie in the realm of food! The type of food that triggers a person with epilepsy will ultimately depend on them, so you’ll have to narrow down which foods cause a spike if you think you may have a dietary trigger.

But I was surprised to find out that a lot of other people with epilepsy reported issues with different types of colorings (such as Rach’s trigger, annatto). Also on the list of common triggers were artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and MSGs (monosodium glutamate) which Rach has also had some issues with.

So to wrap up the answer to this question…

Yes, certain types of foods can trigger more seizures in people with epilepsy, specifically if they have “reflex epilepsy” or food allergies. Common culprits are coloring agents, artificial sweeteners, MSGs, and preservatives. Although depending on the patient’s specific case, it could be almost anything.

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I really hope that this article has been helpful and informative for you, whether you have epilepsy yourself or someone you care about does. The more we learn about epilepsy, the more effectively we can deal with it and the more empowered we’ll feel.

In Rach’s journey, figuring out her triggers has been very important. And learning that certain foods or additives in foods could cause seizures, was a big milestone for us and has led to her having less seizures since we cut out the triggers.

If you’ve also had experiences with food triggers and epilepsy then I’d love to hear about your experience. And if you have any questions then please let me know as well. I’m always happy to help, and what I don’t know, I’d love to learn!