This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

In light of a lot of recent reports regarding Interleukin 17, and its impact on/relation to MS, i've also read some have used high doses of vitamin D3 to supress the anti-inflammatory effects from IL17. Moreover--as i'm sure many of you have heard/read--some claim a reduction in MS attacks and/or progression.

So, is targeting Interleukin 17 the right direction in this threatening mystery of MS? Or is IL17 overrated as playing a part in the MS problem?

GF – As you may have discovered already, each of us has our own ideas on various aspects of MS. Here is mine on the interleukins (cytokines):

Visceral fat produces cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, and more). Cytokines lead to increased insulin, which leads to greater inflammation. Inflammation produces visceral (internal) fat… and round and round the cycle goes. I personally believe that most of the MS symptoms are the result of excess, caustic insulin – it damages the inside of blood vessels, it leads to insulin resistance (cells will not allow insulin, which escorts the fuel glucose, into the cell), it thickens and stiffens muscles (especially those smooth muscles around the urinary bladder and the intestines, also in the walls of blood vessels; sphincter muscles are also smooth muscles).

I think efforts to interrupt the cycle at any and every point along the way (visceral fat=> cytokines=> insulin=> inflammation=> visceral fat…) may slow or stop the cascade. Diet reduces fat, can reduce insulin if sweet tastes and carbohydrates are avoided, can reduce inflammation with an anti-inflammatory diet.