Forks over knives

[sewhappy]

Hmmm..interesting, I hadn't noticed the dry skin,but yes, they certainly are all thin.

I can only tell you about the plant based plan I am on. I follow the OMS plan which is basically no meat or dairy but allows (and encourages) fish. http://www.overcomingmultiplescleros...gram-Overview/
BigA who posts on here is the OMS guru and very helpful and knowledgeable about the plan.

However, I do allow (ok, maybe I cheat) myself chicken 2 x per week as well. This is purely a convenience for me as being wife/mom and doing all the cooking. The Forks over knives group are vegan and do not eat fish.

Fats and oils...yes very important. There is another thread on here that I started about my confusion w/oils. Tara commented so take a look if you are interested. It's all about the good guys and the bad guys.

Actually, recently I have had 2 people comment on my skin. My sister-in-law grabbed me by the arm to help me over a rocky surface and exclaimed, "wow, your skin is so soft" and my hubby recently commented that my skin looked good, which is really something. Haha...

BTW, we are midwest neighbors!! I am in the Indy area.

[JerryD]

I have the FoK book ( includes many recipes ) on my side table for reference, daily. The doctors, Esselstyn and Campbell, as well as Swank and McDougall, have been in the forefront of this movement for years.
It is criminal that the FDA hasn't conducted studies 'out the wazoo' on the positive effects of 'plant based diets' on MS, on heart disease, on diabetes etc. Dr. Wahls is doing something now. I guess this is where this community has to step up.

[BigA]

It's nearly impossible to do diet studies to an extent that people will be convinced. It can never be blinded - the patients themselves know if they're on the diet or not. Also, with MS, since anyone can be in remission for a period of time, it has to be a long study and probably no one would agree on the diet to test. Meat? Dairy? Gluten? Then there are a lot of dropouts.

McDougall was testing his own diet with MS - I never saw any published results. Here he is talking it up (I'm not quite comfortable with is self-promotion)

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl/jan/ms.htm

[lusciousleaves]

Sewhappy, hi neighbor! My sis used to live in Indy. I grew up a few hours north of there myself. Glad I moved. Ha! It was nowhere near as interesting as here or Indy. She liked Indy, too, but left it for Arizona and is far happier there. She says the sunshine makes a world of difference in her outlook on life, and everyone she's met over there from the midwest says the same thing. It's a little hot for me, but I'd love to go visit in the near future!

Jerry, have you tried many of the recipes in FoK? What do you think? I have another plant-based diet book focusing on the power foods and have been impressed with the recipes so far. Not only are they easy to prepare (most of them that I've tried), they taste good. It really surprised me. No salt. No sugar. No dairy. No meat.

[jjs]

I know this thread is a few months past by now but I wanted to say that I started the OMS diet over a month ago and like it a lot. Enough studies have been done about diet in general to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that a pant-based diet is the way to go no matter who you are. Even if it does not help my MS, it will help other things so why not?! Might as well improve what I can improve.
I have read that patients on the Swank diet started seeing significant improvements in the 3 to 5 year mark ... that's a long time! So, we must be dedicated to eating right; it's not something we can just 'try out' for a few months and then ditch it because we don't see enough results at the start.

I highly recommend reading the book, "Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis" - I found the cheapest copy on Barnes & Noble's website. You can understand the diet simply by going to their website (already posted on this thread) however the book is so full of information that it is really a must read for anyone with MS. I'm going to be sure to tell my neurologist about it at the next appointment. The man who wrote it, his mom had MS. He became a doctor and then later he too was diagnosed with MS, so he comes from several different angles than other docs out there like McDougall, Swank, and so on (though I appreciate their work as well).

[BigA]

Well said. It's true. Following the program, I'm healthier and happier than I've been since childhood. And I know I'm doing all I can for the disease.

To anyone reading this: You won't be sorry doing the program. Give it 6 months - you can go back to your old habits if you like, but it's nothing short of amazing.

[MsGymRat]

workout routine

I love reading about your workout routine luscious leaves. Love this thread!

[JerryD]

lusciousleaves,
I apologize that I have been remiss in responding to you. I have been trying several different recipes from McDougall, Swank, FoK, etc. I haven't found anything that I want to use as a staple except a recipe called 'International stew' from McDougall. My life and house is a little unsettled right now. I hope to be trying more different recipes soon. I think there should be a favorite recipe thread on this board.

[BigA]

I think your husband will come around. My wife declared that she was not going to eat or cook like me (I'm doing Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis program), but she is doing more and more of it, eating better, cooking without meat, losing weight and exercising.

As soon as you start to drop off the lbs and look great, your husband may follow.

FOK is a very strict diet, more so that the OMS program which is geared toward a person with MS. I.e. it counts on beneficial oils that the FOK diet disagrees with.

As for too thin - watch an old twilight zone episode before you decide what the correct amount of fat is. Most people are overweight if you compare to what used to be normal, even the thin ones.

[lukeduke]

Well I think that this is a good diet for some. I just don't think I could go the vegetarian diet route. I'm the one who beleives that Cow is a food group. I was seeing a nutritionist earlier this year who pushed "real" food and no sugar. I wasn't trying to lose, but I lost about 309 lbs.

My dad went with me to one of my appointments and afterwards was talking about how she was a scam artist. Since I quit going to her, I have incorporated some sugar in my diet. I am not doing as well as I was. I will admit that I was looking worse for the wear as I had the Dark circles under my eyes.
Since I have began eating the things I wasn't supposed to with the Nutritionist I have noticed that I am stiffer and have to stretch when I stand up. I also have gone back to not sleeping as well as I used to with the Nutritionist.

[JerryD]

So you think that the 'Nutritionist' scammed you. But you have witnessed a change in your body and physiology since you stopped following the Nutritionists' advice. Am I missing something here ? Are you ?

You know the joke about the guy who tells his doctor that while drinking a cup of coffee he always gets a pain in his eye.
The doctor tells him to take the spoon out of the cup before he puts the cup to his face !