This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I had a quick search and didn't see this addressed, please redirect me if it there already is a general consensus, there may be as there is a diet section, but I'd like to hear it specifically. I have a number of friends with MS and would like to be able to direct them appropriately.

Just a bit of a rough poll
Do you believe that diet changes can have any significant effect on the course of MS?

Brief comments if you don't

Briefly what are the main issues you addressed if you do.

I do believe it does, but just want to get rough numbers, from individuals experiences at the front line, so to speak.
I posted this in general discussion as I believe in the diet section I may well get a biased opinion,
but to the Mod's do as you see fit.

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I am just an interested individual trying to crack the autoimmune nut.
Partner has Graves Disease, 5 years, showing good test results, looking forward to potential remission in the near future.
3 friends have MS, 1 just recently diagnosed, severity 7/10.

I believe that no matter if you have MS or not a good diet will improve your energy levels and increase your overall well being. Whether it has any effect at all on MS is open for debate but personally I have not seen any convincing evidence yet that shows eating a healthy diet slows down the progression of MS although I am sure anecdotol stories are in abundance via the internet if I would look hard enough.

This is exactly my take on diet & MS, also....

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RRMS dx 3/3/11; Copaxone since 12/1/11

I was diagnosed last September at age 61 with secondary progressive and have tried maintain a healthy diet since but not anything paticularly exclusionary like a Best Bet diet as well as taking supplements. In the past 8 months I haven't noticed my condition to be any worse than when I was diagnosed and I'm thinking/hoping that just maybe I can attribute that in part to my diet.

I was diagnosed a year ago with rrms at 26. My diet was crap for lack of a better term. I spent the first 6 months trying to eat a bit healthier but wasn't really succeeding. In that time I had 7 exacerbations, a couple of which were fairly severe. In December I made the decision to be very strict with my diet. I have cut out dairy, gluten, processed sugars, soy, and legumes, as well as taking various supplements. I have been exacerbation free since then and have more energy than I have in years. So a long story short, in my case, yes I think that my diet choices have made a big impact on my disease progression

my 'ms' had a definite diet link. i have documented all my deficiencies with labwork. i corrected them, via diet and supplementation, and i've gotten much better. i don't have relapses. i can correlate nutrients with very specific symptoms. the only new symptoms i've had to deal with since dx turned out to be self inflicted nutrient imbalances because i was learning to supplement properly on my own, and in some cases i`ve been a rather slow learner. like the time it took me a year to figure out that taking magnesium bisglycinate before bed on an empty stomach was giving me that horrific reflux cough that i`m so glad is in the past. i don't do elimination diets, because that's what made me sick in the first place: very strict veganism. i have a diverse whole food diet with limited amouts of things like multi grain bread (made with sprouted flour to reduce gluten content) although i did just come home from an all you can eat pizza pig out with work mates. ì`ll take and extra zinc to make up for all that gluten

i think at this stage that they screwed up my dx of ms, and that what i actually had was subacute combined degeneration http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2467301/ (published after i was dx'd w ms, of course :S...) but that's a whole other discussion.

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Thanks all keep your comments coming, please do not re post, if needed edit your post, I would prefer this thread not to be a discussion, just everyone stating their opinion once.
I have read most of the Diet threads, I like to read and do things from start to end.
Jimmylegs, I am currently working my way through your "thesis".

_________________
I am just an interested individual trying to crack the autoimmune nut.
Partner has Graves Disease, 5 years, showing good test results, looking forward to potential remission in the near future.
3 friends have MS, 1 just recently diagnosed, severity 7/10.

Paleo diet doing wonders for me, no gluten, dairy, lectin foods=potatoes, grains, legumes, night shades