diet and multiple sclerosis

Leave a comment Posted on August 13, 2014February 11, 2017 Multiple Sclerosis, Patient Talk

Water and Walking! Have you any advice for somebody who has just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis? Check out the results of our recent Vox Pop

Multiple Sclerosis Support

As you may know one of our objectives when we set up this blog is to provide a place for people with multiple sclerosis to share their tips and advice.

This is very important for people undergoing tests for multiple sclerosis or who have just been diagnosed with MS.

So last week we asked the members of our Facebook page MultipleSclerosisTalk to share their answers to the following question “Have you any advice for somebody who has just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis?”

We have shared a number of the comments below. It would be great if you could add your thoughts and ideas in the comments box below.

“I’m 26 just got diagnosed 2 months ago and the doctors told me that they were shocked I could even walk because my MRI looked so horrible, so me being the Irish red head that doesn’t listen to anyone went straight home from the hospital and started walking! I have lost close to 60 lbs on my own. I HAVE MS BUT MS WILL NEVER HAVE ME!”

“So, YOU have MS…it doesn’t have you. Your attitude will make all the difference….you can choose to be handicapped, or a person with a physical challenge… Choose to smile and live the life you are given…it could be worse.”

“Have a positive attitude , very important . Drink plenty of water and keep moving , lots of walking ! Don’t let it bring you down , be a fighter you can do it ! Good luck and God bless ”

“Go to the MSAA website (mutiple sclerosis association of America)…. They give the best nonBiased advise…. It has been 12 yrs since diagnosis, I’m 42, and have a 5 yr old son. Keep up the fight! No matter what!!”

“Learn sign language to help with the hand tremor and the depression because it gives you something to do”

“Do your research but remember no 2 people are the same. Don’t stress because that makes it worse. You will be ok, take it easy on yourself & breathe.”

“My daughter has found Yoga to be a tremendous help emotionally and physical”

“Every case of MS is unique. Be careful when reading and researching to not compare yourself to everybody else. You may cause yourself terrible heartache and worry if you do this (as if having MS is not already bad enough…) The things that help me are to eat healthy, get plenty of vitamin D, exercise regularly, and to take my disease modifying drugs. I also have a great group of people around me for support. It’s not a battle I have to fight alone. I hope this helps someone out there ”

“Immediately get into hydrotherapy! I don’t care what the symptoms are physically. The whole reason I’m not in a permanent chair is because of the pool. Also look into the Swank diet for nutrition. I’ve had damn near everything this f’n disease can throw at us and I’m still holding on. Internally and externally. Also, learn to laugh at this disease. Making fun of myself and having family and friends do it has been a saving grace. Trust me! Best of luck to all of us!”

” I encourage people to make healthy life style changes…be positive…start drinking lots of water… walking…decrease processed foods and increase fresh dark and colorful veggies and fresh fruits to your diet. Try to eliminate all gluten sugar and breads etc…to help with the inflammation. And start taking vitamins. A great book to read for health Is The Wahls Protocol…by Dr Terry walhls.”

So health food, lots of water and exercise seem to be key

But what is your advice?

1 Comment Posted on March 19, 2014June 29, 2017 Multiple Sclerosis

Diet and Multiple Sclerosis – Are you on a special diet for your MS?

Diet and Multiple Sclerosis

As some readers of this blog will know i have for a long time been interested in the relationship between diet, food and multiple sclerosis. Indeed I have covered the subject before in a couple of blog post here (https://patienttalk.org/tag/diet-and-multiple-sclerosis/) which you may find of interest.

In the past we have looked at the paleo diet (https://patienttalk.org/ms-and-diet-multiple-sclerosis-and-the-paleo-diet/) and the gluten free (https://patienttalk.org/multiple-sclerosis-and-diet-part-two-ms-and-the-gluten-free-diet/). But there are many others such as the Wahl[‘s diet (http://terrywahls.com/about/the-wahls-foundation/).

The aim of this blog post is two-fold. Firstly we are interested in finding out how many of our readers are using a diet to help treat their multiple sclerosis. So I have set up a short poll and the end of this post on the subject. It would be great if you could take part. Secondly we are very interested in finding out more about that diet and how effective it is. If you could share more about your diet in the comment boxes below that would be brilliant.

Thanks very much in advance.

NativeAtlantaGirl

I started AIP Paleo in January – I admit I had preconceived notions about those “Paleo Crossfit” sorts… A friend suggested it – I said I would try it for 30 days. I thought I ate healthy, but I ate a lot of Greek Yogurt and wheat…
Within 3 weeks, my chronic joint pain COMPLETELY disappeared as well as chronic insomnia – I had been taking 75mg of Benedryl a night for years… so I decided to stick with it.
My primary complaints – fatigue, neurological issues, and balance have not been impacted. My motivation was not to lose weight, but I have lost over 50 lbs. And I no longer crave sweets/baked goods. Even ripe pineapple is “too sweet” for my liking now. I always struggled with food, but this completely altered my relationship – it is fuel, medicine, and I no longer obsess on “bad stuff”.
It was a challenge at first – I was focused so much on what I couldn’t eat… but I found a plethora of blogs and free ebooks with recipes to help me transition. I also thought it would be so much more expensive. Surprise: my grocery bill has not changed. Dairy, sports drinks, sodas are expensive! I found organic local produce at Farmers mkts is the same price or less, than regular at the grocery store. I do not shop at Whole Foods – but have sought out alternate resources. I do make my menus based on what is in season/less expensive and 90% of what I eat is local/organic/pasture-raised.
I cannot believe I haven’t had ice cream, cheese, or pasta in over 10months. I realize I have spent 40 years putting food with chemicals and inflammatory properties in me – so I cannot expect it to completely reverse things in a year – but this approach is right for me. I will be patient…

Multiple Sclerosis

One of the areas of interest for this blog is the whole issue of natural, alternative or complementary medicine. In particular for such neurological conditions as multiple sclerosis (MS).

We have covered an overview of the area here https://patienttalk.org/multiple-sclerosis-natural-alternative-and-complementary-treatments-for-ms-part-one/. Diet and multiple sclerosis has its own section but we have covered Yoga, for example, here https://patienttalk.org/yoga-and-multiple-sclerosis/.

The aim of today’s blog is to find out what treatments have been used by our readers. So we have set up a very short poll. It would be great if you could take part below.

Please use the comments box to share more about your experience of natural, alternative or complementary treatments for multiple sclerosis. In particular we would love to know how successful these treatments have been.

Many thanks in advance

4 Comments Posted on November 29, 2013January 14, 2018 Multiple Sclerosis, Patient Talk

Multiple Sclerosis and Diet Part Two – MS and the Gluten Free Diet.

MS and Gluten free

As regular readers may recall we ran a blog recently on the subject of multiple sclerosis and diet. For the first post we looked at MS and the Paleo or caveman diet. You can read up about it here https://patienttalk.org/?p=1383. As you can see it created a lot of interest. A number of commenters both on our blog and on the Facebook MS page (https://www.facebook.com/MultipleSclerosisTalk) said they had found benefit from a gluten free diet.

So we thought we would look more closely at the gluten free diet and how it might be of value to people with multiple sclerosis.

Now gluten free diets are used to treat a number of medical conditions. Obviously gluten intolerance and the similar, but unrelated condition, Celiac, come to mind. You can find out more about Celiac in a past blog here https://patienttalk.org/?p=349.

So what is a gluten free diet? Well, as the name suggests it is intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains such as spelt and rye.

This means that people who require a gluten free diet need to avoid products from those cereals. So typical cereal-based items which need to be avoided can include bread, pasta and beer. That being said, gluten free alternatives are available and they include other grains and starch sources which include chick pea flour, arrowroot, millet, quinoa, taro, teff, chia seed, almond meal flour, coconut flour, pea flour, corn-starch and yam. These are normally available in your local health-food store.

Now many people with MS do find improvements with the diet. This may be in part due to “non-celiac gluten sensitivity”. It is thought that such sensitivity in a person with multiple sclerosis may increase the severity of their neurological symptoms.

One of the objectives of this blog post is to allow our readers to share their experiences with the gluten free diet as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. It would be great if you could tell your story in the comments box below. You may wish to think about the following questions when framing your answer.

a) Have you ever used the gluten free diet to treat your MS? And for how long?

b) How effective was it?

c) Tell us a bit about the realities of the diet. Was it more expensive and time-consuming?

d) Please share an average day’s menu with us.

e) Would you recommend this diet?

f) Any advice for a person with MS about to embark on a gluten free diet.

Feel free to use the comments box below to share your story and include any links you think may be of use.

Thanks very much in advance.

42 Comments Posted on November 7, 2013October 5, 2016 Diet, Multiple Sclerosis

MS and Diet – Multiple Sclerosis and the Paleo Diet

MS and the Paleo Diet

While doing some research on the internet for another multiple sclerosis blog post I came across a very interesting article about MS and diet. The article explained that Jack Osbourne was using the Paleo diet as a way of treating his multiple sclerosis. You can read more here http://www.examiner.com/article/jack-osbourne-talks-with-dr-oz-about-his-multiple-sclerosis-and-paleo-diet.

As long time readers of this blog know we are very interested in natural treatments for multiple sclerosis (you can read a previous blog on the subject here https://patienttalk.org/?p=1152) so we thought we would investigate the Paleo diet further.

So what is the Paleo diet?

Well its other name “the caveman diet” which rather gives the game away. The Paleo diet (or Palaeolithic diet) is based upon the idea that the most suitable and healthy diet for a human is the one eaten by our ancestors before the dawn of the agricultural age. The idea being that one should try and eat a diet which can either be hunted (meat or fish) or gathered (mushrooms, fruits and berries etc.). Obviously such a diet will be low on carbohydrates. Followers of the diet typically drink water and also prefer their meat to be additive free. In practice people following the Paleo diet eat meat and fish but try to avoid grains and pulses.

Okay all fine so far but how does this help people with multiple sclerosis? According to its fans it can help with the symptoms of MS and other autoimmune conditions.

The rationale is that the changes in human diet over the last, say, 10,000 years have led to the rise of various different conditions in particular those associated with digestion such as celiac or IBS. Further the view is taken that an improved diet can assist with diseases which were rare (or perceived as being rare) before we turned to agriculture for our food. And this includes multiple sclerosis.

A quick trawl around the internet will give you plenty of examples of people who feel that they have improved since taking up the diet. And this is where you come in. We are really interest in your experiences with the Paleo diet for multiple sclerosis. Good or bad!

It would be really useful if you could share your story with other readers. In particular it would be great if you could focus on the following questions.

a) When were you diagnosed with multiple sclerosis?

b) How long have you been using diet as part of your treatment for MS? What sort of diet do you use?

c) Do you use the Paleo diet?

d) Could you describe a “typical” day’s menu?

e) How successful has the diet been?

f) How difficult or otherwise is it to keep to the diet?

Please can you use the comments box below to add your answers? Feel free to add any links or any information you think will be of interest to other readers.

Many thanks in advance.