diet

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What diets have you used in the past to lose weight and how successful have they been? Take our poll!


Diets for weight loss

Diets for weight loss

Casting my eyes over the BBC’s web site this morning I was struck by one of the item’s entitled “All diets ‘have similar results'”.

Which as you can imagine rather surprised me. But James Gallagher argues “The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analysed data from 48 separate trials.

The Canadian team concluded that sticking to a diet was more important than the diet itself.

Obesity experts said all diets cut calories to a similar level, which may explain the results.

Diets go in and out of fashion on a regular basis, with a current debate around the relative benefits of low carb and low fat diets.”

Now my question to my readers is which diets have you used and how successful were they?

Firstly it would be great if you could take part in the poll below.

Secondly it would be great if you could use the comments box to share you story of the success (or otherwise) of the diet.

Thanks very much in advance!



Leave a comment Posted on Diabetes, Diet, Multiple Sclerosis, Patient Talk, Rheumatoid arthritis

Organic Food, Health and Diet – what would you recommend?


Organic food - more antioxidants?

Organic food – more antioxidants?

Organic food? Here to stay of a hippie-dippie fad?

Certainly diet is important for a range of medical conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and, of course, diabetes!

I have to say that I’ve been following the debate over organic foods for around 20 years and have not yet really made up my mind on the subject.

Why?

Well the information seems to change all the time. That being said I read this article in last months Guardian by Damian Carrington and George Arnett which argues that organic produce is higher in antioxidants. You can read upon the benefits of antioxidants in a previous blog post.

That being said it does seem if sales in organic foods have been dropping over the last few years. Certainly the costs for both producers and consumers are higher than conventional foodstuffs. But this may be more a byproduct of the recession of the last few years.

So what do you think? Are organic foods better for us or do they make no difference.

To gauge the few of our readers we have set up a new poll to find out your thoughts. Please do take part below.

Also it would be great if you could share any more thoughts you may have on diet and health in the comments section below.



5 Comments Posted on Diet, Multiple Sclerosis

Difficulty swallowing? Find out how other people cope with Oropharyngeal dysphagia!

Difficulty swallowing Oropharyngeal dysphagia

Difficulty swallowing Oropharyngeal dysphagia

Swallowing disorders (or more properly called Oropharyngeal dysphagia) can occur at any stage of somebodies life. It can occur for a whole range of reasons and can even be hereditary! Oropharyngeal dysphagia is often associated with conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease, stokes, brain tumours, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Bell’s palsy, and myasthenia gravis.

In this post we are looking at the underlying causes of your swallowing problems, how they were treated and with what success.   It would be great if you could use the comments box below to share your Oropharyngeal dysphagia experience.

Current treatments include surgery, Palatal lift prosthesis, electrical stimulation as well as more general physiotherapy, using a bolus or just a change in diet.

So with that in mind we would like to think about some of the following questions about your swallowing difficulties:-

What was the cause swallowing problem?  Was it a medical issue?

What was the effect of swallowing difficulties on your lifestyle?   In particular how has it impacted your eating habits and diet?

What treatments for Oropharyngeal dysphagia did you receive and dis they actually work?

If you had to give one piece of advice for somebody who has just started to show signs of a swallowing disorder what would it be?

Thanks very much in advance.  It would be great if you could share this with other people who might be interested in sharing their experiences.

 

suzyqw I am seeing a speech pathologist. She has me doing all kinds of mouth & tongue exercises. She also taught me to turn my head to the side & point my chin down to make swallowing easier. That is what has helped me more than anything. I realize that it is common for us as ms patients. I don’t want more drugs to so call fix the problems. My food seems to get stuck in the middle of my throat. It’s random but I can tell when I start eating something if it will happen or not. I have also noticed it seems to intensify with hot foods. See a speech pathologist. They can help with swallowing.
fedupandconfused the most difficult thing is that just when you think you’ve finished with noticing things something else crops up and because its random you don’t know if it’s worth mentioning or even if it’s related and besides you don’t want to sound neurotic. I’ve not been diagnosed as yet but swallowing has been one of those things that seemed odd to keep happening. Initially i thought it was random but over the last year it’s progressed. The first time was when I ate a chunk of tuna and it got stuck I literally lost my breath and thought I would die. I was able to take a gulp of water down inbetween bringing bits back up. At the time I put it down to tuna being fairly dry. Then over time with various different foods on occasion I have managed to swallow but it felt like I’d got it stuck in my lungs and i haven’t been able to cough it up. And recently I’ve noticed I need to let my food completely cool down before I eat it which is strange as I’ve always eaten my food really hot. And now I have to let it cool down, eat a little bit, leave it then go back again when the last lot has gone down. I have also recently noticed when I swallow it seems to stick like a ball in my stomach or inbetween the osophegus and into the stomach. I find myself standing up to get it to “slide down” and once that ball/knot has gone I can start the whole eating process again. It could be coincidence and I never realised it’s another possible symptom til I saw this site.
[…] Since the dawn of humanity, one thing that motivates us on the basest level is eating. Early humans had to learn to hunt to put food in their mouths and stomachs. Modern men go through life, doing their jobs to earn the means to be able to put food on their plate. When it comes to the basic means of survival, being able to eat the food that we need in order to live is one of the very first ones that need to be met. And because this is a basic need, eating of course comes naturally to us. We eat everyday of our lives, from the very first moment we were born. Eating then involves digesting. The first process of digestion starts at the mouth, where food is ground and chew so it can be swallowed. Eating and even swallowing itself seems like such an inconsequential act, made so normally and so innocuously by every human being on earth. So what happens when a person has difficulty swallowing? […]
BonnieLass1 mj1daisy I wish I had a clue. Everyone’s MS is so different. I randomly just forget how to swallow. It’s strange that something that should be so natural suddenly becomes something you have to actually think about doing. I would say that your doctor or a second opinion would be the way to go. Some things are hard to explain when it comes to MS and weird symptoms like not being able to swallow. It is scary though and I always end up choking and throwing up because I can’t catch my breath when it happens. I wish you the best of luck.
mj1daisy I have difficulty with swallowing. It’s kind of sporadic with both solids and liquids. I had a barium swallow done and because I thought I just had acid reflux but it turned out to be “nonspecific motor in coordination of the esophagus” that was before I was diagnosed with MS so they went even ruling an MS symptom out. I wonder what they would say now???
It feels like a rock or somethings hard gets stuck and I have to stop swallowing for 30 seconds or more for it to stop hurting. Could it be esophageal spasms??
BonnieLass1 I have trouble swallowing but I have not received any treatment for it. Mine is MS relapse related and seems to happen randomly. I noticed that it was more when I was fatigued. I don’t have to be eating..I just forget to how to swallow. I panic normally then choke and throw up from it. Tears running down my face and gasping for air. Its something that I can’t seem to predict and normally when I am fatigued it happens more often. The higher dose of solumedrol that I am on the less it happens. Its something that I need to discuss in my next visit I am sure.
1 Comment Posted on Diet, Patient Talk

Should junk food advertising be banned until 9 o’clock in the evening?


Should junk food be bannedIn the UK an organisation called Action on Junk Food Marketing has called for a ban on advertising of junk food until 9 o’clock in the evening.  The BBC have covered some of the issues in a recent post http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26665952

As reader of this blog may know I’m very interested in the relationship between diet and health so I was wondering what our readers thought about the subject.  Is it a “nudge” in the right direction or the “nanny state” gone out of control.

On another matter I’ve been trying to find a web site for Action on Junk Food Marketing.  If any one involved in Action on Junk Food Marketing has any links please put them in the comments box below.

 



1 Comment Posted on Diet, Patient Talk

Sugar addiction – do we eat too much sugar in our diet?


Sugar and diet

Sugar and diet

Let me confess I’ve never really been a sugar fan per se.  Its okay be really cannot compare to say red wine.

But over the last few years it seems to have become common to talk of sugar addiction.  (A term I’m honestly nervous of having seen an old friend spiral into full-scale addiction some years ago).  On the other had a do appreciate that the rise is Type 2 diabetes is of great concern.

So I’m wondering what my readers think.  Do we in modern “Western”  society eat too much sugar?  I’ve taken the liberty of running a short poll below.  It would be great if you could take part.

Feel free to share any thoughts you may have in the comments box below.

Many thanks in advance.