This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hello,

I am trying to add supplements to my diet that will benefit my health. Currently I am taking Copaxone, a multi-vitamin and cod liver oil.
I was wondering if anyone could recommend anything additional that may help me. I have been reading up on different supplements but there are so many I don't know where to start. If you could recommend your favorite supplements and tell me how they have helped you I would appreciate it.

Thank you,

Alicia

Supplements are so personal. It needs to be based more on each individuals needs. It is pretty hard to decide what your needs might be. IMO. Turmeric and ground flax seed added to diet I'll add. Make sure your ground flax is kept in the freezer and use 2 TBS per day and Turmeric I add 1 1/2 tsp per day to foods.Sorry forgot but John was put on 2000iu to 4000iu per day of D3(make sure it is D3) by Dr. Paul O'Connoer(St. Mike's). We stick around 2300iu to 2700iu

Alicia wrote: If you could recommend your favorite supplements and tell me how they have helped you I would appreciate it.

I can’t make any direct recommendations so I’ll just share my experience with my own supplement regimen (and I agree with Melody that "supplements are so personal"). I would recommend reading what has been previously posted on this forum and coming to your own decision.

I was diagnosed in 1999. A few months after that I started taking Avonex. I felt like there was more that I could do for my health but my neuro didn’t have any specific recommendations. Thus, I started reading through the scientific literature on different supplements that I would come across in more main stream reading.

Like yourself, I began with cod liver oil although with vitamin E (this was a few months after starting Avonex). It was during this time that I experienced the most pronounced effects from my supplement regimen. As I was just getting started, I would occasionally forget to take the cod liver oil and vitamin E for a couple of days. I would start to feel really run down and tired and then I would remember the supplements sitting in my cabinet. After a day or so, the extreme tiredness would go away. With respect to vitamin E, a while back I switched over to taking natural vitamin E (also known as d-alpha tocopherol). The synthetic form is d, l-alpha tocopherol and, although it costs quite a bit less, some reviews that I’ve read pointed out that the other vitamin E isomers present in the synthetic form are processed by the body quite differently from the natural form (synthetic vitamin E only contains 12.5% of the natural form - a more complex discussion of chiral chemistry would necessary to explain this so I won’t get into the details).

Since then I’ve added a few other supplements to the routine. I started reading about omega-3 oils so I added ground flaxseed to my diet. I mix it with yogurt since it’s easier on my stomach. I initially chose flaxseed since I don’t like eating fish. However I eventually started taking omega-3 fish oil capsule since the conversion rate of ALA to DHA is rather low. I still continue with the flaxseed.[/url]

The role of antioxidants and inflammation then grabbed my attention. I’ve discovered that not all antioxidants are created equally. For example, several have an anti-inflammatory effect while others are proinflammatory. Examples of anti-inflammatory antioxidants are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) from green tea and lipoic acid. A common pathway, in addition to reducing free radicals, appears to be the inhibition of the transcription factor NF-kB which is responsible for the production of proinflammatory cell signaling proteins. However, other antioxidants can have a proinflammatory effect and one example is grape seed extract. At least one report that I found states that it can increase interferon gamma (which was found in early interferon trials to make MS worse). Armed with this information, I now drink several cups of green tea per day and take an r-lipoic acid supplement (r-lipoic acid is the form found in the body). Somewhere in the mix I started taking vitamin C since vitamins E and C have been reported to work together in neutralizing lipid peroxyl radicals. I also read of curcumin’s potential benefit in MS (or at least in EAE). Curcumin is an antioxidant present in the spice turmeric and has anti-inflammatory activity. Thus, I’ve added a bit of turmeric to my daily diet. To me, turmeric has a strong flavor while others apparently don’t notice it much. As such I’ve started with a low amount and may increase it over time.

More recently I bumped up my vitamin D intake. Cod liver oil provides some vitamin D (as well as low amounts of the omega-3’s DHA and EPA), but since it also has vitamin A which can be toxic if taken in large amounts, I added a D3 supplement especially since I don’t get out in the sun much.

In addition to adding supplements to my regimen, I’ve decided that removing things can also be of benefit. One food additive I’ve removed from my diet is partially hydrogenated oils (also know as trans fat). This requires a lot of label reading however I feel that the effort is worthwhile as I’ve read that partially hydrogenated oils can be proinflammatory.

That list should be up-to-date. However, sometimes it seems that there’s no end to the different supplements that I could take which can be overwhelming. For any particular supplement, I always try to find supporting evidence in the scientific literature. One particular supplement that currently has my interest is n-acetyl cystiene. This has been reported to act as an antioxidant in that it helps increase levels of glutathione. However, both its cost and the fact that both EGCG and lipoic acid are reported to also increase glutathione have kept me from pursuing it further.

I apologize for the lack of supporting links in this post, however I think that my prior posts should have that covered. I also hope that my sharing my experience has been helpful.

NHE

I'm glad you posted this question. I'm interested in what others are doing as well.

You're right about there being many, many studies on one supplement or another floating around. Enough to make your head spin!

It would be nice if it was all pulled together with general recommendations that make sense without trying to figure out on an individual basis how A reacts with B and what and how much to take without going into supplement overload!
Unfortunately, for now I think we're each on our own.

I did have our PCP look over our list and he gave his blessing, for what that's worth.
I am still going to add a disclaimer though.
I don't have any medical background and knew nothing about MS until about a year ago. So view my list with that in mind.

These are some supplements we've added:

Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin D (all in one pill)
Vitamin E (we also steer clear of dl-alpha or synthetic vitamin E)
Vitamin C
Evening Primrose Oil
Omega 3 Oil

I know Melody has encouraged John to make some dietary changes
Sounds like NHE has too.
We also try to eat a much healthier diet than we did prior to MS

Hi Alicia,

I take a variety of supplements. The first supplement recommended to me by a practicing ND with nearly 50 years experience (80 years old) was Diaplex by Standard Process Labs. (I mention this specifically because of the recent posts related to insulin levels and M.S. posted on this site. Standard Process literature suggests Diaplex to help regulate insulin levels).

This ND recommends only natural, whole food supplements because he believes they are more readily utilized by the body. Products from Standard Process Labs are little more difficult to find. They are not sold in health food stores, only through licensed, practicing health care providers.

The majority of the supplements I take are from Standard Process Labs, but I have found other supplements that I have added to his (ND) recommendations. I take Carlson's Cod Liver Oil - lemon flavor - to avoid the after taste - tastes like Lemon Pledge smells...lol. This I added as a natural source of Vitamin D.

I also take Barlean's Flax Oil and Now's Stabilized Acidphilus. I prefer this acidophilus because it can be stored at room temperature.

I'm sure there are other natural, whole food supplements. If you eliminate all the synthetics and investigate only the natural supplements and how they are processed, perhaps that will help you narrow the dizzying array of choices. I found the research of Dr. Weston Price and Dr. Royal Lee fascinating.

Good Luck!!!

Cindy

NHE wrote:Curcumin is an antioxidant present in the spice turmeric and has anti-inflammatory activity. Thus, I’ve added a bit of turmeric to my daily diet. To me, turmeric has a strong flavor while others apparently don’t notice it much. As such I’ve started with a low amount and may increase it over time.

From what I have read, tumeric is only 3% curcumin. The curcumin tablets you get at most health stores are 95% curcumin.

CureOrBust wrote: From what I have read, tumeric is only 3% curcumin. The curcumin tablets you get at most health stores are 95% curcumin.

I'm the opposite I'd rather get it from the food source.
Whole food vs. supplement

Whole foods are the best sources of vitamins, minerals, and other plant compounds that help you stay healthy and fight disease
We recommend these foods in their natural form. Taking them in supplement form may reduce their effectiveness and may increase the risk of side effects.
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Ok well might as well go with John's vitamins as well.(per day)

Vitamin A 2000iu
Beta Carotine 3000iu
Vitamin E 400iu (d-alpha tocopherol)
Vitamin C 1090 mg
Folic Acid 1mg
B1 2.25 mg
B2 3.2 mg
Niacinamide 90mcg
B6 55 mg
B12 70mg
Vitamin D3 2300iu-2700iu
Biotine 95 mcg
pantothenic acid 60 mg
Thiamine 50 mg
Riboflavin 50 mg
Flax Seed Oil caps 2000 mg
Calcium 333 mg Thinking of dropping this one
magnesium 166 mg
zinc 2.4 mg
Lipitor 10 mg At this time
Glucosamine 1500mg
Q10 60 mg

This was written in August it saves me time from typing it out each time. I've amended a few times.

John was a Martial Arts instructor in 1998 when it all began He was 34 years old and in fantastic health. He was grappling on the evening of Feb 8 1998 with one of our students. It was a exerting workout. He came home and pretty much went to bed. He awoke the next morning as usual but noticed a problem with his eyes right away. He was blind in one eye. Within the next few days they told him it was optic neuritis. They offered us a steroid treatment which we turned down as being health buffs we know them(our opinion) to do more harm than good in the long run. They mentioned MS as a possible over the next few months but when they ran the first MRI there was only a slight chance he even had a lesion. He had another MRI in 6 months which confirmed 1 lesion but it was inconclusive if it was MS. They thought it had possible been from over exerting while exercising.
Over the next few years he suffered cramping in his hands as well as legs but nothing our GP seemed worried about. He has had restless leg syndrome for years as well as allergies,fatigue and eczema. On Aug 17 2005 we were in Niagara Falls with our grandson at Marineland when he thought he was bitten by something. He had a sharp burning pain in his chest and a numbness down his left side. We headed to the emergency department and they thought he had had a heart attack. We had a cardiologist that just persisted as he was so unsure but all the signs were there but no damage to the heart. Needless to say he put him on Lipitor 40mg in Aug 2004. We are not worried about liver damage at that dose it is normally associated with 80mg. We also get his blood work done every 3 months to be safe. I forgot to mention that in 2003 he was treated on a 3 week course of antibiotic as his stomach was depleted in good bacteria caused by a duodenum bleed as well as hemorrhoids. Not sure if it is relevant. In Jan 2005 we were given the results of his last MRI and he had his original lesion on the brain as well as 4 knew ones on his spine. It was then he was told it was MS. As soon as we heard the word I started scanning the net for all possible treatments. I found we needed to determine allergies as well as intolerances so we started there.These were the problem areas for John. We eliminated all soy product, all corn and corn by products all ground nuts, all tree nuts, all squash family all in the same family as peaches all melon family. Then had to pay an additional $120(which we got 80% back from insurance) to run a specific test to check for gluten intolerance. Hubby is not intolerant to that so I've not removed grains from his diet although I choose rye toast as to keep wheat down just incase. Pasta we use a rice pasta instead just as a precaution. As to dairy hubby has 1/4 cup of cottage cheese 1% everyday as it is needed to digest ground flax. That adds 7grams of protein to his daily allowance of 20grams(hard to digest proteins). He also has 1 cup of 1% milk which adds 8 proteins. We are now up to 15 of what I consider (hard to digest proteins). Now we keep red meat down to one serving a week no processed lunch meats at all. Chicken once or twice a week. Seafood twice a week and cold water fish 3-5 times per week. The bottom line is see an allergist as each diet is so different. We eat pineapple fresh as canned the bromelain is missing. Bromelain is a digestive enzyme so very important to assure your food is not hitting your system until it is fully digested. Some people take digestive enzymes but I'd rather go natural if possible. We also add 1 1/2 tsp per person of ground turmeric to our foods daily it is an anti-inflammatory. Flaxseed ground fresh and kept in the freezer so as not to go rancid we add 2TBS per day. Just grind it in the blender the seeds are not as good whole as they can't be digested properly and the oil is unstable. Also omega 3 also is an anti-inflammatory. Now we went to St. Mikes and John saw Dr. O'Connor who is running the vitamin D3 trials so he was put on between 2000-4000iu of vitamin D3 daily. In the summer he takes 2300iu per day and in the winter we boost it up. Keep saturated fats at a minimum and here is a good site to teach you what is in food. www.fitday.com just use what they offer for free it is plenty. John is on Lipitor as well as the vitamin D3 and Copaxone. Hubby has so improved that if you saw him you would never guess he even has it. He still has the optic neuritis but it has been improving slightly. The lameness lasted just short of a year and totally disappeared as of June or July this summer. He no longer has eczema as of this summer although he has had that all his life. He also had no spring allergies again the first time ever. This was pre copaxone as we started that on July 4 2005. We started flax in April 2005 and Turmeric in Feb 2005. He also had restless leg all of his leg and that disappeared in late June again before Copaxone. I'm a great believer in letting your body heal itself and hope this helps. We also gave up smoking as well as aspartame and caffeine and loads of other known toxins. Hope this helps.

Hello,

I would like to thank everyone for their responses. This information is very interesting and helpful to me.

Alicia

Vitamin C, one to two grams per meal, Multi-tress B, multi-minerals and build on that depending on your Health and age and if you are addicted sugar. One way to find out is google vitamin C and a health symptoms. Do Not just take the word of one site. Be selective. Find one like ‘doctoryourself.com.