This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

First let me state that I do not promote anything, sell anything etc. I started this topic to have a place to write everything and maybe get some feedback.

As I said before I got sick last November, prior to this I had no issues that I could relate to MS. No needles and pins, nothing at all.

Last July I got on a diet (for losing weight and to try al live more healthy), my diet excluded all sugar (except small amounts of honey and what of sugar is in fruit etc.), all simple OH (bread, pasta,...) and all alcohol. On this diet I was feeling great, had lots of energy, I was losing weight. Also I exercised every day for at least 30 minutes before breakfast and I had my dance lessons at least 2 days a week. So, till November I lost about 16 kg. Than I got sick and I gradually started to eat everything again (and by now got back some kg ).
So after all I read this is similar to paleo diet which is "recommended" for MS patients and still got sick

Soon after I was diagnosed I read an article (unfortunately it is not available in English) about a woman who "cured" her MS with chlorella algae and some tincture from wild garlic (I am not sure if this the correct translation). She went for a bioresonance which showed that she has a lot of heavy metals in her (dental fillings etc.) so she got rid of fillings and in the meantime she ate a lot of chlorella which is supposed to get rid of heavy metals in your body. After some time she started taking this tincture too and still lots of chlorella. She went for a MR in 2 years and there were no lesions left. She also started to avoid any diary products beacuse of residue from antibiotics etc. in them.
So this article got me thinking about my diet and all -all the "bad" things in our bodies store in fat and I was losing my fat quite quickly. Maybe I have released too much of stored things into my system too rapidly. So I started eating some chlorella, not as much as in article but about 7 -8 pills a day. I made sure that the algae is grown in glass barrels and not exposed to polluted air and other toxins. Chlorella has in it B vitamins so maybe that is way it helped her? I don't know.

I have a friend who also has an autoimmune disease - we had very similiar lifestyle and were also taking the same immuno-boost pills for years when we were feeling like coming down with a flu (they are natural pills from echinacea) so this got me thinking that we have somehow messed our immune system by boosting it too much or for too long? She doesn't take any immune system enhancers now since she got sick (almost 10 years ago) and she hadn't had a relapse - only 1 (the first).
She is also going to some biohealer (I really don't know if this kind of therapy is known to you), of course that is alternative medicine. The healer chanels cosmic energy into you and by that boosts your ability for self - healing. I know...it sounds a bit weird. So I decided to start this too and I think it helps, therapy lasts four days and on this days I have much more energy and I sleep well. Also my friends mother who has lupus got really better after being in a bad shape for a year and a half. She was using a crutch - but now doesn't need, she can move her toes and some of the fingers, etc. If I didn't see her before she started this therapy and now I wouldn't believe it...I don't know if it works because she belives it does or there is something else behind it but I am really glad for her.

So now my supplements (I take them every few days or every day it depends on the feeling, I should study them more I know):

- evening primrose oil for Omega3 and 6 or linen oil in cottage cheese
- b- complex vitamins
- I also got some mineral water who has really a lot of magnesium so I drink that too, especially if some muscle twitches in my body

I am thinking about zinc and selenium also but I am a bit sceptical of all these pills and would rather found good sources of them in food. Also I make almost all of my food from scratch and try to avoid processed food.

Since it's almost a year from my flare I would really like to do an MR to see what's going on, but since I am not on any medications my doctor will probably not refer me to one. Still I haven't decided if I should go on medications - she recommends Copaxone but...

I also have a question for you...how do you know if you have a flare or just a bit of a bad day. My GP said that if something new happens regarding symptoms and it lasts for more than 24 hours than that's it?

This is it for now, thank you for reading (if you got through it all) have a nice day

It's been now a year and a week since my flare and I am so happy to say that now I am almost almost completely symptom free. I don't know if this evening primrose oil is really helping but since I am taking it I feel better. Maybe it's just a natural course of the disease but I am still keeping it on the "menu". Because I still smoke (yeah I know...) I am thinking about adding more C vitamin.

Still thinking about Copaxone though and still not any closer to the decision about it. :S

hey there found a useful study re chlorella. it looks good for omega fatty acids and some minerals - i had thought it would be better overall in terms of magnesium, but it looks like only the isochrisis would be a reasonable source.

Biomass Nutrient Profiles of Three Microalgae: Spirulina platensis, Chlorella vulgaris, and Isochrisis galbana
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract
full text! http://www.algaeart.biz/Spirulina%20bio ... rofile.pdf
ABSTRACT: Nutritional composition was determined for Spirulina platensis, Chlorella vulgaris, and Isochrisis galbana cultures. Data include the proximate composition, energy value, mineral elements, and fatty acid composition. Sixteen strains of these microalgae were obtained as a percentage of total fat. Total PUFA, SFA contents, n-3/n-6 ratios, and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ratios were obtained. Protein content was high in Spirulina samples, whereas Isochrisis had the highest ash content. Spirulina is a rich source of γ-linolenic acid (GLA); Chlorella was an important source of PUFAs. Spirulina is a rich source of K, Chlorella is rich in P, and Isochrisis is a good source of Ca and Mg. Se content of Isochrisis is higher than in the other microalgae.

Table 3—SFA, MUFA, PUFA , total -3, total -6, and calculated results as percent of total lipid
Table 4—Mineral element content in 3 microalgae samples as mg/100g dry weight (mean ± S.D.)

fyi i suspect you mean to say 'flax oil' rather than linen oil.

zinc can be tough to do with food. bioavailability is better from animal sources rather than plant sources. steamed wild eastern oysters are highest, but heavy metal contamination in their habitat is of concern.
Oysters Can Take Heat And Heavy Metals, But Not Both
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 174728.htm
i'd be especially cautious given that the heavy metal in question appears to be cadmium. cadmium toxicity causes zinc depletion because the molecules are so similar.

veal liver is the second most concentrated food source. then low fat roast beef. some good veg sources include wheat germ and pumpkin seeds.

arg, i just learned something. or i should say, i just finally absorbed something i have previously read about zinc supplements:

zinc
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... l/982.html
"Note that many zinc products also contain another metal called cadmium. This is because zinc and cadmium are chemically similar and often occur together in nature. Exposure to high levels of cadmium over a long time can lead to kidney failure. The concentration of cadmium in zinc-containing supplements can vary as much as 37-fold. Look for zinc-gluconate products. Zinc gluconate consistently contains the lowest cadmium levels."

i've typically looked at absorption info, and zinc picolinate comes up often. however, i have been buying zinc citrate most often over the years. will have to look for zinc gluconate for sure. note to self!!

as for selenium, oh if only i enjoyed brazil nuts! fortunately i do enjoy mushrooms, cod and salmon. halibut less often.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid ... e=nutrient
"Excellent sources of selenium include button mushrooms, cod, shrimp, tuna, halibut, salmon, and mustard seeds.
In addition, Brazil nuts are one of the most concentrated food sources of selenium, featuring about 70-90 micrograms per nut. The reason that we do not include Brazil nuts in the chart that follows as well as in the food sources table at the bottom of this page is that they are not a featured food on our website."

when it comes to supplements i choose L-selenomethionine as a preferred source for bioavailability.

as a smoker, you may also want to read up on a variety of nutrients, in addition to vit C.

Serum concentrations of B-carotene, vitamins C and E, zinc and selenium are influenced by sex, age, diet, smoking status, alcohol consumption and corpulence in a general French adult population
http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v59/ ... 2230a.html

afraid i can't comment on relapses. any new symptoms i have experienced since dx, turned out to be nutrient imbalances.

that's about it for me, glad you're feeling well!

_________________
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

Thank you for you feedback.
And yes of course I meant flax oil

I think that chlorella also contains a lot of vitamins from B complex, so maybe that's why it could be helpful? Have to say that since I drink that mineral water (very rich with magnesium) I also feel better, I don't get any twitching in the muscles. It is not very tasty ( I don't like carbonated drinks anyway) but it's ok.

For zinc I found some supplements that contain zinc gluconate so they will be the right choice

Thank you a lot for posting this site (whfoods) it's great!

Regarding selenium: my coworker has a lot of problems with her thyroid and she found out that the lack of selenium can cause problems. She also told me that the selenium is in whole wheat bread and that is not really wise to exclude that completely (I've done that last year for a few months).

That's it for today, hope you are well too.

Yesterday I came across this abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/67471

I was talking to my mother recently and she pointed out that my flare happened after I was fostering 4 kitties for about a month and that maybe it could be somehow connected. At first I dismissed it. But in mid November (a few days after I posted here) I fostered another cat (I sometimes help the local RSPCA) and after three weeks that this cat was living with me I experienced some symptoms - prior to this I had none. Still I didn't think it was related but now I've read this abstract and I'm starting to think...MS is supposed to be an autoimune disease and in my family we have quite a history of allergies (also an autoimune response). My mother was allergic to dust, my aunt to animal hair and now to pollen, my father and me to bees etc.
In this abstract there is a real small group of persons involved but I think it's interesting. My opinion is that the trigger for MS is not one but mayn and that the researchers will never find one thing in common in all.
So, for now I will not foster any more animals and I have to say I'm sad about that because I really enjoyed that and wanted to have a cat of my own.

Does anybody have any more information about this?

Thank you and I hope you have a nice day.

if immune system activation is part of the picture this association is plausible. bolstering the immune system to reduce sensitivity would be my approach. i have done this successfully for family members using nutrition. with respect to foods only, tests that used to come back positive for food sensitivity are now negative based on an intense therapeutic nutritional regimen. i strongly suspect sensitivity to animal allergens, and autoimmunity too for that matter, can also be mitigated with nutritional balancing of the immune system.

_________________
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