My point of view about MS diets.

[GandalfRA]

Fatigue is your new normal you with MS. Get used to live and function with it.

Diet promoters says that it will almost cure you. I used to be like that. A believer.

In my experience and what I have seen in real life with others is MS will do whatever it wants whenever it wants with you.

The people that says otherwise is because they have a benign or a big remitting in MS and some people abuse this thinking to make money.

In short, learn to live with MS and take care of yourself for the sake of your health only. Don't believe miracle promises, MS has no cure and it is different with any indivual.

Do a diet because is good for yourself and don't overeat.

I lost almost 50 pounds eating gluten, dairy free, soy free, beans free and whatever free they told us. And live like this for a year. Lost lots of $ eating organic and buying supplements.

I felt miserable. Almost lost my full time job. Now I do this kind of diet work days, but from friday night to sunday night I have my candy too and feel 100% better. I eat anything I desire.

Being on the diet I barely could walk or talk eating greens and fish and chicken all day 7 days a week. Less than 20 grams of fat a day.

I think diet is good but not a miracle. Doctor Walsh and others have the time and resources that others don't have to exercise and eat in a certain way. And the most important MS allow them somehow to have a break and return.

I do believe that we have to learn to fight MS but don't give on extreme thinking that will robe you of your money and good moments of life. When you go out, enjoy it and have your cake.

My first posts on this site prove "my experience". It's like I was another person.

Now I can work all day. I take a nap at midday. I have access to a nice club with Gym but MS won't let me go and work full time. Reality check and I am the kind of person that is balls to the wall. So don't tell that believing in me will let me.

I still am the though man I was before MS, an extreme weight lifter Gym lover, a full time Director of multiple companies, a Video DJ that loved to mount all my stuff
in parties (took me almost 2 hours to mount and dismount).

But MS won't let me do all this things and I accept it. I thank God I can work full time and walk (sometimes with a cane) I am fighting everyday lo live that day. I can not think about the future like normal people.

I have MS, it hurts and the pain in my head and legs is not confortable, it's progressing, I can feel it taking over.

No diet will save me for what MS has for me in the future. Only God we can trust and accept what plan he has for us.

This is my opinion only and I don't say it is a universal true. Just what I think.

[Poppy7402]

Thanks for posting your perspective on this diet thing GandalfRA. Lots of (well meaning) people have been telling me to try this diet, and that diet. I've resisted so far because as far as I'm concerned, MS has taken enough from me, without losing the foods I enjoy, even if MS has also taken my tastebuds!!

Poppy

[Windwalker]

Good post dude,

I went all in on the diet thing. My Saturated Fat intake was less than 5g a day for well over a year. I lost way too much weight. I have since loosened up on it a bit but still think diet is key to managing MS.

"MS will do what it wants...regardless". I guess I believe this but still feel it's a defeatist attitude. Whether MS winds up doing what it wants or not, following this philosophy does us no good. Another key to managing MS is being positive and at peace. Some of us, including myself, would be happy just to get a couple more half-decent years before MS does want it wants. IMO diet and positive peace of mind can help me do this.

Now, all I need is the "gd" positive peace of mind.

[aitch10]

I agree. Especially with the idea that people who swear by certain diets have benign forms of MS.

If I thought for a second that giving up dairy or gluten or sugar or whatever would allow me to run marathons and wear Louboutins, I would do it in a hot minute.

But it's bunk. Period.

[KatieAgain]

I ate a low fat diet prior to MS and eat a low fat diet now. However, I now always eat a dessert prior to eating dinner!

I have MS for goodness sake and that dessert is one of the highlights of my day. I don't have many of those.

Only you can determine what is good and not good for you. If changing things up makes you feel better...go for it.

If I die tomorrow, I am going to meet Saint Peter as one very angry Southern Gal if I did not get a chance to eat my piece of chocolate cake!

[GandalfRA]

I have a positive attitude, just looking at my little girl will fill my positive fuel tank everyday.

And I do believe we have to take care of ourselfs. I quit smoking and drinking 100% the day I had a diagnose. And I still do the diet 5 days a week and partime on weekends.

I just think eating pancakes on sunday morning with my family won't hurt me.

Or having icecream once a week when I take my little girl to the shopping mall is not going to hurt me.

Just saying, enjoying certain bits of life are worth as much as any diet.

Of course don't go overboard eating all the bad stuff that crosses your path everyday.

But...since I mix the diet with normal food on weekends I feel a lot better and I can work better. I think the body needs a small rest from the diet.

[lukeduke]

I read a little bit about the Swank diet when I was diagnosed with MS. I saw really quickly that I could not do the Swank diet. I'm sorry, but I want my butter and red meat. I saw a nutritionist for a while last year. I felt great. I slept better, had some energy. But I did lose alot of weight that I didn't need to lose. I am not seeing her anymore due to my parents not liking that I wanted real butter instead of the hydrogenated oils(margarine.) I still follow some of her program. I liked her program. I ate plenty of steak, and I mean the fatty steaks. Nice marbling. That was the kind of MS diet I could do. The only problem was that it was no sugar.

[Tawanda]

Eating better helps me. I borrow from different informational sources, not one singular approach. Same with supplements and exercise routines. Trial and error. I like going for natural approaches first. Pills have way too many side-effects that make most of them worthless to me. I take very few meds.

[bamabelle]

Thanks for putting this food thoughts in perspective. My Husband has MS and this has been his theory since his dx 8 weeks ago.

I've been trying to encourage a healthier diet. We've met in the middle with eating fast food much less and eating a nutritious veggie filled salad once a week. I'm cooking a lot more at home.

I can live with that. Don't want to take away anymore of his happiness. MS has dealt him a tough enough hand without me trying to force him to stop eating his favorite foods just because I read somewhere it may help MS symptoms.
Belle

[justacowgirl]

I don't think any of us expect a miracle cure with any diet..a better diet would make us feel better would make us feel better if we didn't have ms as a complication.

Adding a poor diet to a list of problems is anything but smart.

However..I do understand your point. I am not the same person I was. I was a cop in wonderful condition. Not so now.

I like my beer and my treats. I do think alot of it is attitude.
Attitude is what fuels me.

j

[allHailye2]

@lukeduke

what kind of diet did the nutritionist have you on?

[lukeduke]

It was no sugar for starters. Very little grains. Nothing that turned to sugar. Real Butter. No Hydrogenated Oils. I felt better on it, but my family could not stand that I would not eat some of their cooking because of the hydrogenated oils.

[ffjosh]

just stay away from most carbs and sugar and your 50% of the way there.

People don't realize your body needs fats! Low fat diet does not burn fat.

Olive oil and great way to get "good fats".

[BigA]

Thanks for putting this food thoughts in perspective. My Husband has MS and this has been his theory since his dx 8 weeks ago.

I've been trying to encourage a healthier diet. We've met in the middle with eating fast food much less and eating a nutritious veggie filled salad once a week. I'm cooking a lot more at home.

I can live with that. Don't want to take away anymore of his happiness. MS has dealt him a tough enough hand without me trying to force him to stop eating his favorite foods just because I read somewhere it may help MS symptoms.
Belle

Please be aware that the Swank (Jelenik) diet is not a health diet (though it's a great side effect). It is also the only diet to my knowledge that has been researched. Your doctor will say it was not properly blinded (the patients and the doctor knew who was dieting well and who wasn't), but it was done to the best scientific standards in its day.

A salad a week and less fast food is not going to do much of anything for his health or his MS. He's only 8 weeks in, so I think he can improve as he heals. A super-healthy diet will help with that - why not choose health over pizza - or whatever else it is that he enjoys. I would recommend Dr. Jelinek's book for instruction, information and hope.

http://www.overcomingmultiplescleros...5f2af85c37d09a

[Brittan]

I started a thread here about a low fat diet that I was on prior to being diagnosed w/ ms: http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=127623 Keep in mind I was experiencing ms symptoms for over 10 yrs.

I noticed when I was on it I felt almost normal ... as a person should but still had very little body fatigue and my thinking was still not sharp.

That is why I started researching it, you can view the thread for resources and 2 books which I am going to use w/ a low fat diet and food which help the mitochondria... hopefully between the two it will help w/ longevity and better quality of life along w/ feeling the gap of mental sharpness.

After experiencing the difference years ago that is why I feel it does help but everyone is different and that is why researching the facts given on the web and/or in books is imperative in understanding what is needed in an MSers diet.

It is the same concept as taking vitamins and hoping for a cure or relief but most foods contains vitamins which assist in the whole process within the body and not just a fraction due to supplements.

Such as with me I need methyl-b12 vs the standard b12 taking the methyl form is the active form which by passes several methelation processes just taking vitamins and supplements can cause other things to go out of whack due to lack of use within the process.

But I do find many are reluctant in changing diet and laugh at the idea ... believe me I was like this prior to being diagnosed with way too many problems. The way I look at it is that for a longer and better life w/ my kids it's worth it. It is just finding that right balance. And nothing is wrong with indulging from time to time just don't over due.

Personally I have always found that natural things helps best. With my gout I take cherry juice and it works like a charm. Kidney problems: cranberry and cherry juice. Methyl-b12: control of cholesterol, glucose, liver function and gout, Ear problems: homeopathic ear drops. Just a few things I use.

When my son was younger he had to have a surgery on his legs due to cerebral palsy to loosen the tendons and afterwords he was having extremely bad headaches (he kept hitting his head and crying uncontrollably) and because he was so young there was no meds for him ... I started giving him ginger snaps and coffee ... it helped relieve the pain.

Research is key to anything and the combination is key that is why I will be trying a combination of Swanks low fat diet and Weils(? check my post for correct spelling) suggested mitochondria foods to repair the damage and protect.

But I do believe their is something their that we are missing and this might just be it. Just my thoughts.