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.