This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

yea or collect and analyze all the poop.
i am not on the bbd personally, but i have my reasons hehe

Me too. I red the abstract and got the idea that bbd had effect with ms, but how much effect? I was also thinking that how to make sure that volunteers stay on bbd and not cheat? Well, we have our own "research" at home - and it supports the idea that bbd has effect (I mean huge) on ms. My wife had rebif in first year, but she had to leave it - cause some blood values got worse (tromposytes? did I write it correctly?).

In the first 6-8 months I cheated and that was knd of my own "study" as you described. But now I follow the diet religously. As I'm sitting watching people around me eat a big piece of pizza and chocolate cake, I wonder is my mild course the diet or just the course. On the flip side, I'm not willing to go off the diet to find out, it isn't worth the risk of losing another function.

I have seen some people that went off diet and had bad reactions, so for now that will be my affirmation.

A fellow I met got MS 1-month before me and went on Copaxone. Last week, after 4-years I saw his wife, she was shocked at how well I was doing. He went down hill and was now on a rollator. She said he is now trying diet and she wanted me to talk to him for motivation. I felt bad because I don't feel "qualified" to say one approach is better.

Hey 20 and Ernst-
Welcome. Our neuro, GP and many friends and family are "surprised" at how well my hubby is doing. He was so sick at presentation and had so many active lesions, we were prepared for a bumpy ride. I thank God I found this site and others, learned about the Swank diet and he began his new lifestyle immediately after diagnosis. We have no proof that the new diet and additional supplements changed his disease course...but we have no desire to stop his program to find out!

We are firm believers that there is hope and healing thru diet, exercise and nutrition. But everyone needs to take that journey for themselves. I wrote about ours in the endothelial healing paper highlighted below. If you're looking for concrete, scientific proof, it won't be coming anytime soon.... even Dr. Swank's 50 years of studies have been questioned. Better to eat and live well, and let your life be the proof.

best to you,
AC

_________________
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

Many times I have wondered that what could be my wife's condition right now.. if we have'nt began the best-bet-diet. I don't know people with ms, only my wife and some people from internet. Im just happy that her condition have been stabile and symptoms are very minor. We can exercise together (weights) and go jogging. But what would be the situation without diet, or same lifestyle we had before dx? You can just say "maybe... this or that". But diet makes sense, even for everybody.. cause its so healthy. Lots of natural antioxidants and good nutrition.

Is there a website or someone who could explain this diet in simple "layman" terms to me? I am looking for the basic breakdown of it, the "meat and taters" of the plan, so to speak... Thank You in advance...

maybe this will help bubba - there's 14 pages of preamble/rationale which might interest you and then 40-odd pages of recipes
http://www.direct-ms.org/booklets/Direc ... okbook.pdf

Hey Bubba-
Jimmy gave you a great link to the program. There are some yummy recipes in that booklet, too. In REALLY basic terms:
No white foods (bleached flour, white pasta or gluten)
No sugar
No bad fats (saturated animal fats like the ones you find in red meat or butter and cheese)
No foods you might have allergies to- the BB diet says to stay clear of eggs and legumes if you think you might be allergic.

The yes foods are lean and low fat proteins like chicken, turkey and fish, whole grains, lots of fresh veggies and fruits, healthy fats from nuts, olive and fish oil.

My hubby does Swank, which is a bit less strict, but it was a HUGE lifestyle change for him. He used to eat grilled red meat a couple times a week, lots of cheese, and processed foods. The new diet was a shock at first, and he hated me for being food nazi, but now he loves it. He orders fish whenever we go out (!) and salads are his new best friends. He even switched from regular mayo to olive oil mayo (thanks, Lew) He just feels better...he had some of my b-day cake last week, and felt kinda yucky the next day. Our family's eating better, thanks to his new program.

It's worth a try to see if it helps you at all.
AC

_________________
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

Went back on BBD earlier this year but have fallen off the wagon big time. MS is ramping up too....pain/exhaustion all back full-force.

Please don't say that I should just make the effort or to stick with it. I really want to hear from other parents with MS who have useful tips to managing fatigue/babies/demands of cooking and shopping for BBD. How do you do it?

I feel a bit trapped. I know the BBD will help my fatigue but the massive effort to cook, prepare and shop for the special breads and foods is just overwhelming me. It's also really hard to test my son's food for how hot it is (he's 14 months old) without eating it.

I am just worn out and feeling emotional. I want to get back doing BBD properly but feel I am looking at a mountain covered in scree that I have to climb.

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Concussus Resurgo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RR-MS dx 1998 and Coeliac dx 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copaxone, Cymbalta. EPO, Fish Oils, Vitamin D3 2000 IU daily, Cal/Mag/Zinc, Multivitamin/mineral, Co-Enzyme Q10, Probiotics, Milk Thistle.

Hi,
I am on the BBD and also have fallen off the wagon in the past (which have had a bad effect on my symptoms)

My best advice to you is get yourself a pressure cooker (they are pretty cheap) and when you feel like you have some energy throw into the pot a load of different Veg and maybe some chicken.
When its all done, get yourself some cheap plastic containers (i.e the ones they give you at chinese restaurants) and put the now cold soup into the containers/ Freeze half of them and keep a couple in the fridge, when you are exhaused and can't be bothered to cook just stick one of them in a bowl and heat it. Healthy nutritious meal that is homemade ready in minutes!!

I also when I am tired get a quick to cook brown rice and stick with some tuna and avocado.

The key is to make the foods when you are feeling well for when you are feeling tired.
Frozen is good for that too....get some frozen fish and some frozen veg you can cook in the oven.

L x

I'm soooo sorry you're having a tough go, WW. (you know I don't have MS...but you've got my sympathy...)

Do you have a market that sells prepared foods? When my guy was little I bought pre-cooked rotissarie chickens, prepared salads and veggies. Just had to heat them up on the stove or microwave. We also have markets in the states that deliver. It's more pricey, but worth it for the hard times.

I tested my son's food/bottle for heat on the inside skin of my wrist...like my own Mom did for me.

feel better
AC

_________________
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

My only advice would be to keep it simple. "but the massive effort to cook, prepare and shop for the special breads and foods is just overwhelming me" I just do not prepare or shop for any special breads or other foods. A simple salad with some chicken or turkey, many times precooked from the grocery store several times a week. I just eat a lot of fruit and nuts. I know it can get overwelling some days, but I just think for what could happen if I give up, it keeps me going. On BBD for over three years with no MS symptoms.

ww do you put yourself to bed when baby goes down for nap? i know for healthy moms, that's sort of time to get things done, but for you maybe it's a good opportunity to take 40 winks. is baby crawling or walking yet?
i was thinking sort of along the lines of what others have said.. i agree with what dave and cheer said, plenty of fruit (fresh and dried) and nuts and seeds, pre-washed greens for salads, and whole cooked chickens.. things you can bake "as-is" like squash and sweet potatoes and fish... spelt and sourdough...
also perhaps giving hubby the list of groceries to pick up on the way home from work would be a possibility, at least some of the time.
i don't totally agree with the bbd, but hopefully you can find enough filling and easy foods to keep you going!

[FYI non BBDers: wheat digestion does suck up your zinc, and iron, and i'm in the process of looking into the essential fatty acid connection. full blown coeliac patients who eat gluten get outright zinc deficient, then if they go on gluten free diets their zinc levels rise, because their intake is not all getting hogged by the wheat digestion process. whether you are a coeliac, or gluten sensitive, a gluten eater or avoider, do ensure a zinc level of 18.2 umol/L if you want to match "healthy controls" ]

Thanks for all the replies. Should have told you that as well as BBD I have an egg intolerance so it makes it even MORE difficult to find anything I can eat in the shops!


Thanks LR - well, I am not a fan of pressure cookers but I you have made me think about a slow-cooker. Because I'm here at home I could make casseroles in the slow cooker and freeze them for later use. Thanks for that idea.


AC I wish I could do more of this - it's hard as I'm true 100% coeliac! Even 200 parts per million of gluten in food cause a reaction so it's not just as easy as reading labels. I've to use an approved directory of food, and then there's the whole cross-contamination with gluten issue in the salad counters/rotisseries. Plainly put, being a coeliac greatly increases the amount of hassle in shopping for food, moreso than just a BBD'er.

Oh and the testing food on the wrist poor son would be scalded if I did this! - I have burned my own foot getting in the bath a few times. I don't feel hot/cold as quickly as I should.
A friend noticed some spoons this weekend in our local baby store that change colour when they are too hot/cold, so that might solve that problem.


Dave I'm shocked! - I eat all around me both on and off the BBD! There's no way I could go without some kind of bread. I'd be crawling the walls with hunger. That's really brilliant that you've been 3 years w/o symptoms, what an endorsement of the BBD.

JL believe me, I do. I try to get a 30 min doze too but sometimes I've just gone to the loo, had lunch and then he wakes up and I'm cheated of my nap!! Those are bad days!! He is walking everywhere and is a turbo-charged-toddler - a brilliant little lad, very happy nature.

JL bad news, spelt/sourdough is out both have gluten in them. Hubby does main shop but I'm still left with things outstanding.

I'm sorry, I probably come across as intensely negative to all helpful suggestions but the coeliac & egg problems combined with BBD really make the whole thing 20 times more difficult than just pure BBD. I need to think about all this again because I'm not sure I can really do it at the moment. If I win the Lotto I'll hire a BBD chef [/quote]

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Concussus Resurgo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RR-MS dx 1998 and Coeliac dx 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copaxone, Cymbalta. EPO, Fish Oils, Vitamin D3 2000 IU daily, Cal/Mag/Zinc, Multivitamin/mineral, Co-Enzyme Q10, Probiotics, Milk Thistle.

I know exactly what you mean about testing the baby food! My temp sensitivity is off (I too have no feeling of the water in the tub). I have the spoons that change colour and they do work. Unfortunately, I can't just use the same time setting on the microwave for each feeding. For some reason our microwave cooks more or less depending on what was just in it previously When he's handy I get my husband to check the baby's bottle, food and bath water - if he's not, I just have to err on the side of "cold"