NY Times on Swank Diet

rainer · Family Elder Joined: Jan 18, 2008 Posts: 223

Interesting piece.

Some With MS Put Their Hopes in a Diet

cheerleader · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:18 pm Post subject:

thanks for posting the link, rainer.
I saw that Jane Brody was doing an MS series...this is the second article.

Husband's been on modified Swank for a year (he has some dairy, small amounts of cheese and mayo...all else by the book) He's doing well, no new lesions or enhancing lesions at his one year MRI. I think Swank and supplements have really helped-
I've listed his regimen here-

http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-4975.html

best,
AC
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Husband diagnosed RRMS March 2007
pursuing endothelial healing
Copaxone, Swank, supplements, laughter

amyb · Newbie Joined: Mar 18, 2008 Posts: 4 Location: Wisconsin

Hi. I have recently started what I would consider a modified Swank diet. It's new, and as we know it's not easy. But I'm choosing to believe I'm doing the right thing for myself and that it's a process. I'm glad to have somewhere to come to discuss with others. Looking forward to sharing the process. A.*
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"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -Joseph Campbell

Longing4Cheese

It's interesting to see where the journalist returns to the conventional fold, with the ass-covering disclaimers and such, and then goes back to reporting on the book about a dietary approach, which is the ostensible subject of the article.

If the journo had dug deeper, she would have found more than just the one statistic about who lived longer and who didn't after 34 years on the Swank diet. Of course Prof. Swank didn't do all that work just to measure mortality -- there is data about degree of disability in the survivors as well that is significant. I am dismayed that the doctor at the Rocky Mountain Center -- one of the few places supposedly devoted to alternative (and complementary) medicine for our disease -- is so invested in the mainstream / Pharma-centric position.

It's also annoying to me that discussion of placebo effect is directed at the diet, but not at the drugs. The principle of cognitive dissonance also applies to giving yourself an injection of a drug that makes you feel sick: "This MUST be helping me, or else the doctors wouldn't have me doing it, and the federal gov't wouldn't have approved it, right?"

The benefits of the Swank diet are hard to measure, and there's no money in it -- therefore it must be untrue and unworthy of consideration? That's not objective thinking.

jazzcat · Family Member Joined: Apr 14, 2004 Posts: 30

Hi I wanted to send along this site to see if there were any of you that were interested in becoming Swankers. Wink

Here's a link if you haven't already checked it out:

http://swankmsdiet.org/

In my opinion it's a great diet for general health. As well as for getting and maintaining a healthier balance of the "healthy" fats.

Come on and join us there! Smile

jazzcat