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…

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.