Do u eat sugar/gluten & are relapse/symtom free/mild?

[OrangeMetal]

I would like to know if there is a correlation between eating sugar & gluten which are known to be inflammatory causers.

Anyone here who is relapse free and inflammatory/symptom free whether relapsing or secondary progressive stage?

If you are symptom free, what's your diet? Anyone out here who can just eat what you want? Or anyone out here that found you have to avoid certain foods to be relapse and symptom free in RRMS and SPMS stages?

If you are symptom/relapse free do you take supplments?

I saw the recent FED UP film about sugar and wonder if we are all so different because if we eat sugar, which is in everything, would it be causing our relapses and symptoms?

Just wondering if there is truth to these ideas out there.

[MomtoMiracle]

following

Hi there! I am following because I wonder too...

[KatW]

Hi Orange, this is an interesting subject.

I eat sugar and gluten. I try not to overindulge. I go not eat beef or pork. I've found in the past that I have very big reactions to both. More aches and pains than actual relapses. I'm sure that if I consumed strictly organic beef and pork that the reactions would be greatly decreased. It just seems like a lot of trouble to try to go to a special store and pay more for these items.

I have noticed that I have more health problems during the holidays when I do overindulge in sugar and food in general. The flare that got me diagnosed occurred between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I hope we get more responses to this post. Like with the medications, I find it helpful to see what works well for others.

[krystine]

I cut out all gluten and processed foods 2 and a half years ago. I even teach a gluten free cooking class now. It was a lot of work at first, but i love to cook and now it is no big deal. I feel tremendously better since changing my diet.

[Jules A]

I eat everything but in moderation largely to maintain a healthy weight.

Although I would agree that a healthy diet and lifestyle certainly don't hurt I personally believe much of our course with this miserable disease is just luck of the draw.

[MSLazarus]

I agree with Jules

I am an organic farmer and have been vegetarian for almost fifty years but my husband is not vegetarian. We just eat a mixture of good foods and try not to damage the earth too much while growing them.

It is hard not to be suckered by preacher-like calls for you to eat this or that. But I personally find it annoying to have people who read some article somewhere about something try to convince us about the value of their untested ideas. Give me the results of randomized, double blind research studies.

[SNOOPY]

Although I would agree that a healthy diet and lifestyle certainly don't hurt I personally believe much of our course with this miserable disease is just luck of the draw.

I agree

Also agree with Jules

I had relapsing MS for about a decade, followed by another decade with no relapses when I was almost symptom-free. During the last several years I've had symptoms but no relapses or significant progression. I have always eaten everything in moderation, adjusting my diet only when I had problems with diverticulitis and when I was recovering from colon surgery.

I'm not an expert, but consider myself well-informed and intelligent, and I just can't see any reason that consuming gluten would affect my MS. Without hard scientific evidence, I don't plan to change my diet. Having MS is bad enough without having to give up the few things that give me pleasure!

[Lianne]

I personally don't notice a difference in how I feel when I cut out gluten, but I do notice a difference when I cut out dairy and sugar. I think we all have foods that we're sensitive to and it doesn't hurt to play around with your diet and see how you feel. I say give it a try!

[pennstater]

I do think we all benefit from eating healthy. But I don't buy into specific MS diet. If eliminating or adding specific foods from a diet makes you feel better, go for it. But I would see it as that, not a cure.

I was not diagnosed until aged 42. I had a flare at 29, and one they believe at 17. At 17 lost my sense of smell, at 29, residual focus/memory issues that have progressed the last few years.

I would have been considered "benign" MS until 42, mild MS until 48. I am still lucky with my disease course, just not as lucky as before.

All during this time, my diet did not change drastically, only the disease course has changed. Sugar and gluten were always part of my diet.

[Pnut]

I stopped eating gluten completely about two years ago. I'm symptom free and I'm lovin' it! About a week ago I told my hubby that I don't get the achy, swelled joints anymore. My joints used to take turns...ankles, wrists, knees, shoulders, bunions...they're all normal now. A few times I indulged in gluten and the first time I did it I sat home from work for two weeks. The one thing that I need to work on is getting my vit D...from the sun. Many people aren't willing to do the gf because they feel its too difficult. It can be a bit difficult but I get through it because I know what it's like to not be able to walk (I like walking better). You NEED to look at it as a lifestyle change and if you don't have purpose, then you may find it difficult. Good luck to everyone trying!

[MarkLavelle]

I've never had an exacerbation and I've never tried to limit anything other than total calories.

[Sir-Voor]

Personally I don’t go by the one size fits all MS diets; instead I believe everyone needs to create their own diet based on their own unique health needs and taste.

Considering inflaming of the blood/brain barrow allows “MS T-cells” to pass into the brain, inflaming is what causes most the damage from a lesion, and Optic neuritis is inflammation of the optic nerve, to me there is no question as to the need to be on an anti-inflammatory diet.

With anti-inflammation being a key aspect, along with stuff like gut microbe health and others.
I recommend using “The Inflammation-Free Piet Plan”, for it gives you the IF “inflammation Factor” for each food.
Instead of blanket statements like eat fruits and veggies, and you learn things like grapes are inflammatory and strawberries are anti-inflammatory. (See inflammationfactor,com)
I’m not a number counter, maybe if my MS was worst I learn to be.
But for now I just switch the major inflammatory foods I was eating for anti-inflammatory.
Like carrot juice instead for orange juice, almonds instead of raisins, and replace soda with unsweetened tea. (giving up soda was easier than I thought it would be)
Replacing sugar with spices has made cooking, fun and improved its flavor.
(FYI: I recommend getting your spices from an online store like Penzeys for better quality and a big cost savings.)

As to salt I recommend switching to sea salt when you can, and there are proteins in red-meat that men need, you just want learn instead of fatty red meat.

And FYI Stress is inflammatory and activity/exercise is anti-inflammatory.

the best diet is one you create for your own unique health needs and taste.

[Cat Mom]

I eat sugar and gluten, never changed my diet for MS. I do follow the "girl math" diet... As long as I'm putting healthy stuff into me, I can enjoy some unhealthy stuff too! My tea alone would shock most with the amount of sugar in it but I love veggies just as much. I don't eat any fried foods (except French fries at a take out) but didn't eat them before MS. No changes.
Jen

[J-Bo]

Everyone, including people who don't have MS, should eat more fruits and vegetables, and less trans fats and sugar. Some of us will still get diseases. I grow my own micro-greens for my dinner plate-sized salads every day. I still got cancer. And still have MS that seems to get worse every month.

There are some diseases, like diabetes, that are affected by diet, but there is no evidence at all that MS is one of them. I guess we just don't want to believe that sometimes bad things happen for no reason.