Your Top Diet Tips

[anniepat]

Hi all- I know this is a much discussed topic, but help me. I would like to know what diets folks out there recommend for making a difference with my PRMS. I am 58, using cane for right leg weakness, hanging in there. Have resisted any radical diet changes up until now but am ready to get really serious if it helps.

[BigA]

In general, diets are meant to delay progression, not improve things. However, you can see improvement in your life by improving your diet, all the same. If you are able to do some exercise (speak with a Physical Therapist), that may also help immensely.

The basics of any good diet are
1) Eat Less

2) Eat way more Vegetables than you see anyone else eat (and a wider variety at that, not just more carrots)

3) Eat only small amount of animal flesh

4) Make sure to get more Omega 3 oils by eating more oily fish such as Salmon, Sardines, fish pills or flax seed oil, though this is more difficult).

My best recommendation is to do your research and also to go to a naturopath. You can start any time to improve your diet. I recommend watching

"Fat, Sick and nearly dead"
"Forks over Knives"

They advocate no meat which you may choose, but they will also educate you. I would also start reading books. If you do a paleo diet, make sure you're not just removing wheat and legumes, but still eating lots of meat and animal products. Make sure you're doing the whole diet.

You can read "Up From the Chair", which is one woman's improvement with diet and exercise and see if it inspires you - but you give it you best shot, you don't expect any miracles.

Good Luck.

[misslux]

The basics of any good diet are
1) Eat Less

2) Eat way more Vegetables than you see anyone else eat (and a wider variety at that, not just more carrots)

First point -- Not necessarily true. Only if you are trying to lose weight. Maybe I am in the minority, but my physiatrist wants me to gain weight for extra padding if/when I fall.

But really the volume of meals will increase if you introduce eating a lot of vegetables.

[nosrepmodnar]

That is the best part about eating a rainbow of vegetables, they will fill you up and you get to eat a lot of them to match the caloric load of the food you were eating.

If you cannot take fish oil there are algal pills which will give you omega 3s without fish oils.

It may not make your current symptoms go away, but if you generally feel feel better your MS will feel better.

I keep waiting for my eye and leg to spontaneously heal but I don't have high expectations for that

[BigA]

First point -- Not necessarily true. Only if you are trying to lose weight. Maybe I am in the minority, but my physiatrist wants me to gain weight for extra padding if/when I fall.

But really the volume of meals will increase if you introduce eating a lot of vegetables.

True, but you 1%ers know who you are and the rest only imagine they don't eat too much. Consider when I was a kid in the 1970's, an adult ate what is now a happy meal. We tend to look to what's being served to judge what a normal portion size is, but someone from the 1950's would consider today's portions enough for 2 people and we have not changed biologically since then. We still consume too many calories.

So if you were eating healthy, than what you eat, compared to everyone around you, should look like you're suffering, but it's only normal eating... and you don't actually suffer.

[hunterd]

1.) almonds are good for you! if you need a snack to hold you till dinner, try them.
2.) drink as much water as you can. It not only will prevent dehydration, it will also keep you from eating "unhealthy".

[Poppy7402]

I know drinking lots of water is good for you but when you're already running to the bathroom 15+ times a day the natural tendency is not to do anything to make this worse!!

[BigA]

Here it is: I'm not a nutritionist and neither is anyone else here. And even if someone were, it all depends on which school they went to.

Most people want a "trick" to help them lose weight and there is simply no substitute for eating less. But if you want to try something, read up on Dr. Roy Swank and Dr. George Jelinek. Two diets designed by doctors. You have nothing to lose and you can give it up later - but you may not want to.

[zenaryshort21]

Well, I would suggest to eat balance diet meals and more vegetables and fruits. Lot of water and exercise daily.
eating on time will be the best.

[Jade Divine]

Magnesium can help reduce bathroom trips

Hi. I, too, have the problem of needing to pee 15+ times a day. I drink at least 8 12 oz. glasses of water per day.

I learned through a post on this site that high doses of magnesium can correct this problem. It has worked for me.

I purchased a supplement called Magnesium Malate by Source Naturals. I take one a day and my trips to the bathroom have been halved. It's a very noticeable improvement. I rarely have the urgency to pee that used to send me running to the bathroom a few times per hour.

Since starting it I also have not had another UTI, which had been a chronic problem for me since my diagnosis of MS.

Maybe this can help you too.

[Diamond57]

Diet

Hi everyone...Diamond here. Being new to all this and have posted many questions on diet etc... As Big A says read and do your research. I just had my first injection Saturday. I'm on rebif. When the nurse was educating my friend and I she said diet and excersise are two of the most important parts in helping yourself.

No matter how big or how much excersise your able to do try a little each day and slowly introduce yourself to the diet you choose. I was trying to it all at once and it stressed me out sooooooooo bad. In two weeks I have cut out all refined sugar and on my calendar I'm slowly weening off dairy etc. I am going to do everything in my power to help myself because feeling sick most of the time isn't pretty.

I do walk and use a recumbent bike. I don't do it when I'm not feeling well or exhausted which is almost always. That's where I'm hoping eating right will help. I've always eaten pretty healthy but man-o-man I have a sweet tooth. I can honestly say the first week was tough but each day the cravings less. I just keep reading. You all and the site in general has been EXTREMELY helpful and for that I'm grateful.
Thanks everyone...
Your friend,
Susie Q

** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **

[agate]

I keep an eye on MS research and have noticed time and again that there's no clear evidence (yet) that any diet helps with MS.

But a sensible balanced diet with the recommended amounts of needed nutrients is certainly helpful--with MS or in general.

I've been a lacto-ovo-vegetarian for 25 years. I'm a Type 2 diabetic and had to lose a lot of weight just to get the glucose under control. This meant a complete rethinking of how I ate.

I weigh and measure food. I count calories daily. I watch protein, potassium, fiber, and sodium particularly. Fiber is VERY important but too much isn't good.

I've found a few diet tips that help with weight control. One is to avoid eating between meals. Another is to eat regular meals at regular times--no skipping.

I had much better mobility after losing the excess weight. This has remained true over the last 30 years. I'm very glad I've stayed in the normal weight range.

[Collin]

A diet that has improved MS and overall health

If you're not aware of Dr. Terry Wahls (whose personal story was SPMS and being confined to tilt recline wheelchair ... and now rides her bike miles to work daily). She was doing everything her neurologists were telling her to do, and still declining. And that moved her as an academic doc to innovate. And her clinical trials of her protocol actually netted statistically significant results and improvements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW6njb4ZVpA


When my neurologist told me no diet's been proven to help ... that was my tip that I need a different neurologist.

[Temagami]

Ditch the sugar. Satisfy a sweet tooth with stevia or xylitol (get the kind from crystalized birch sap) which donīt spike blood sugar, but WARNING, if your dog eats xylitol, it will die. Sugar leads to spikes in blood sugar, excess insulin and that tingling sensation.

Eat high quality lean, grass-fed meats- game or beef, poultry that did not ingest antibiotics and oily fish for the omega 3. It is worth the $ to eat less meat but a higher quality if cost is a concern.

Eat veggies in the broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprout, onion, garlic, bok choy groups. Go for dark green greens.

Swap out bad fats for good fats- olive oil for non-heated uses and coconut oil for heated uses.

Let epsom salt foot baths be a home "spa" treatment- you will definitely notice the difference. You absorb more Mg via skin than gut.

Eat fruits with a generous amount of fiber.

Avoid gluten and milk products.

Unless allergic, eggs are your friends.

[0lala0]

I do my own version of the swank diet. I avoid saturated fats like: butter, vegetable oil, chocolate, fried foods, etc. I do my best to never eat more than 5g saturated fat in a meal. Lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains. As long as I'm following my rules I eat as much as I want, no quantity limits for me. I did this from May 2014 - current and lost 30lbs. Went from 155 to 125 currently. Didn't excersize once. (Excersize is this years goal) I don't know if it helps with movement or lesions, but I am SO much more alert and have much less fatigue than before. That is very noticeable and no one can convince me it doesn't help with those things. Good luck to all of you, these diets are tough, but worth it. You are worth it!