Gemma Atkinson has revealed her six-year-old daughter Mia has been diagnosed with epilepsy and has been suffering absence seizures.
The 40-year-old actress shares Mia and son Thiago, two, with her Strictly Come Dancing fiancé Gorka Marquez, 35.
Gemma explained on her Just As Well, The Women’s Health Podcast that Mia is currently receiving treatment for epilepsy after experiencing loss of awareness which causes her to zone out.
Epilepsy is a condition that affects your brain and causes seizures (sometimes called fits). It cannot currently be cured, but treatment can often help manage it.
Absence seizures is a type of epileptic seizure, where you briefly lose awareness of what’s going on around you.
Speaking about her daughter’s condition, Gemma said: ‘It’s interesting the link between the keto diet and brain health because my daughter is under treatment for epilepsy.
Gemma Atkinson, 40, has revealed her six-year-old daughter Mia has been diagnosed with epilepsy and has been suffering absence seizures
Gemma explained that Mia (pictured) is currently receiving treatment for epilepsy after experiencing loss of awareness which causes her to zone out
‘She has the absence seizures, she doesn’t fit or anything, it’s just a stare out and they’ve got so much better, a year in.
‘When I was told that I was like, right I need to research, research, research and I went down a rabbit hole. The keto diet was designed for patients with epilepsy because it re wires their brain function.’
The former Hollyoaks actress explained that medical professionals advised her to put Mia on a keto diet, to help improve her overall brain health.
She added: ‘The doctor told me, “If you can get her on a keto diet, it could help with brain function”. The improvement that we’ve had, I mean we’re constantly monitoring but the last six months she’s had none, touch wood.
‘The school have reported none, we’ve not seen anything. She has an omelet everyday for breakfast and I put collagen in her yoghurt without her knowing.’
She added: ‘It [keto diet] was given to epilepsy patients back in the day, in the 1930s it was discovered and it really helped all of the symptoms and everything went down.
‘But then the doctor who discovered this, his hospital miraculously got burnt down, with all the research and everything.’
Gemma recently revealed when her and Gorka will tie the knot as she shared a recent wedding update.
The actress shares Mia and son Thiago, two, with her Strictly Come Dancing fiancé Gorka Marquez, 35
The radio presenter and professional dancer met as co-stars on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, despite not being dance partners on the show.
But their relationship soon blossomed and they announced they were dating in 2018 before getting engaged in February 2021.
And now Gemma has revealed the couple wish to wait until their son is a bit older to officially tie the knot as they want him to play a part in the big day.
Speaking to the Express she shared the details: ‘We’ve toyed about doing it in Spain, so his family can come, and we’ve even thought about doing it in a registry office or a hotel in Manchester, just the two of us, and then have a big party after.
‘But I think now we want to wait until Thiago is a bit older, so maybe next year or the year after, as he’s only two.
‘If he’s a bit older, he could be involved in it, which would be really nice.’
