Multiple Sclerosis

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General guidelines

Here are some general dietary recommendations that people with MS should follow, no matter what their course of treatment:

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• Use the Swank diet outline above and follow it as closely as possible.
• Identify food allergens with the Elimination/challenge trial outlined below.
• Increase fiber by supplementing flax seed meal * - to 1/3 cup daily
• Increase water intake to insure smooth elimination - drink 2 to 3 liters daily.

Nutritional and botanical supplements for the MS patient include:

• Digestive enzymes to be taken as directed with meals
• Vitamin C 1000mg: three times a day with meals
• Lecithin granules: 1 tsp three times a day with meals
• Vitamin E: 400- 800IU daily
• Selenium: 150 - 300mcg daily
• B vitamin complex as directed on formula
• Multivitamin Formula as directed
• Potassium: 300 - 1000mg daily in divided doses
• Flax seed oil: 1-2 Tbs daily
• Ginkgo biloba standardized extract (24% ginkgo flavonglycosides): 40 -80mg three times a day with meals

The elimination/challenge trial

A good way of determining the impact food may have on symptoms is the time honored "elimination/challenge" trial. This traditional naturopathic procedure has been accurately diagnosing food-related symptoms for many years and continues to be the standard for identifying food sensitivities.

There are 2 ways to approach an elimination/challenge. The first and more difficult but more effective route is outlined as option #1 below. It involves eliminating all the major suspects that usually cause problems and then slowly, over time, adding them back into the diet one-by-one. It provides clear insight into what foods are impacting you in what ways. (The added bonus of this approach is that you may find that there are other foods that, while they are not causing MS, are giving you headaches or insomnia or any other health problem).

The second option is reserved for those who already have a good idea about what foods are problematic for them. The suspected food group is eliminated until symptoms clear and then added back into the diet in order to experience the response or return of symptoms.

Symptoms associated with food challenges may not be the same as the symptoms you were experiencing before you began the elimination process. For example, while you may have experienced chronic sinus pain prior to embarking on your elimination/challenge; you might find that upon challenging the suspect food that your stomach hurts. This doesn't mean the food group being challenged is not causing your sinus pain, rather your body and immune system may react a bit differently when re- introduced to the offending agent.

Some possible symptoms that can occur on a food challenge: headache (may be brief or prolonged), nausea, sleepiness, irritability, depression, anxiety, excitability - feeling "hyper" or "buzzed, stomach ache, sharp abdominal pain, sore throat, stuffy nose, runny nose, itchy nose or eyes, tightness in the chest, skin rash or itching, facial flushing, red ears, muscle twitching or humming or aching, insomnia, fatigue, and apathy. Of course, there are as many ways of manifesting sensitivities as there are people who suffer from them, so be observant.

Elimination/challenge is the most effective way of determining food intolerance. It also provides you with an excellent opportunity to explore and understand your relationship with food more directly.

Option#1

Elimination

Eliminate all suspect foods:

• wheat products - pasta, breads, processed foods, faux meat
• dairy products - milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, etc.
• corn products - tortilla, chips, polenta, cornstarch/thickeners
• peanuts - peanut butter, peanut oil
• soy products - tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy protein powder, faux food, soy oil
• glutinous grains - rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut, seitan, hops
• beef - this is usually more a problem with additives than with the protein itself
• chocolate
• sugar
• nutrasweet/aspartame
• food colorings/dyes
• pesticides and chemical spoilage retardants (esp. sulfites)

Maintain a diet based on:

• fresh fruits
• vegetables
• potatoes
• yams
• animal protein (fish. poultry, lamb)
• non-glutinous grains (millet, buckwheat, rice, amaranth)

If you have a choice, always choose organic. Otherwise, you could be ingesting pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and/or formaldehydes.

Avoid sulfite-containing foods, which most commonly include canned vegetables and fruits, wine, canned tuna (albacore).

Read labels. Know that "vegetable protein" is either wheat or soy; thickening agents and stabilizers are either wheat or corn; and food starch is usually wheat or corn. It is much easier to avoid processed food and faux food while on the diet than to figure out all the additives in prepared foods.

After 2 to 6 weeks of maintaining a strict elimination diet, you should experience a relief from symptoms. You may also lose weight.

Challenge

Begin your challenge with the food group you feel is the least likely culprit. Eat several servings from that food group throughout the day. For example, if you are challenging dairy, have milk with breakfast; include cheese, cream and yogurt in your lunch and dinner menus; drink milk at meals; and snack on dairy items. Then wait. DO NOT continue to add that food group to your diet. You only challenge for one day, then wait for at least 48 hours. Return to eating ONLY your elimination diet foods. If you do not experience a return of symptoms after 48 hours, go on to the next suspected food group. Continue this process until you find the problematic food group. In most cases you will experience a return of symptoms within 48 hours. Rarely do symptoms appear several days or weeks later. If, however, you want to wait more than 48 hours, feel free to do so as this will only increase the accuracy of this type of diagnosis. A week between food group challenges is optimal. Only challenge one food group at a time.

Option #2

Maintain your regular diet, eliminating only the food group that you believe to be causing your symptoms. Eliminate ALL items in that food group for at least 1 month. If your symptoms disappear before the one-month deadline, continue to abstain from that food group for one more week after symptom relief. If, for example, you find yourself symptom-free after just a few days of avoidance, you must still continue to avoid that food group for another week before you can effectively challenge. When you challenge, follow the guidelines stated above: eat several servings of the suspect food group during a 24 period, then return to the elimination diet and wait. More often than not you will get immediate information about how your body is interacting with a problem food group.

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