Diet

[falalalala]

Has anyone here followed any diets (McDougall,Swank,How Not to Die) geared towards helping MS?

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador]

Some are following the keto diet falalalala ask kdali about it!🤗💕

J🌠❄️

[falalalala in reply to Jesmcd2]

I have heard a lot about that one lately. It's a low carb one which does help stabilize my blood sugar but I am looking to start more of a vegetarian one-because I like torture and strife apparently.

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador in reply to falalalala]

Any healthy eating is good for you! And your MS! I'm not sure if I could make my ice cream a veggie tho🤔😂 although... Strawberries are a fruit 😂🤗💕

J🌠❄️

[falalalala in reply to Jesmcd2]

I love ice cream! Unfortunately,that is one of things not on the plan I want to follow though. In a nutshell,it is no dairy,low fat,no meat. I planned on starting it after the 1st of Jan. I wish the book I have would list the carbs in the serving size. I will need to figure that all out as I am type 1 diabetic and need to know that so I can adjust my insulin dose.

This is all experimental for me as I want to see how it affects MS. I wonder how long it will take to see any difference in the way I feel/

[kdali in reply to falalalala]

You can do vegetarian or vegan keto. There are keto groups for type 1 on FB, etc, if you’re interested. If not, there are probably type 1 groups for whatever diet plan you choose. If you go oil free, get a good non stick pan for water sautéing veggies. I use to make veggie stir fry and “better than chipotle” bowls all the time. Japanese sweet potatoes taste just like french toast...if you’re going starch solution.

I own all the books and have tried all the diets 🤣 🤷‍♀️ I hope you press on with your diet adventure until you find what works well for you.

[falalalala in reply to kdali]

Thanks kdali,

I am looking at The Starch Solution and another one that is less restrictive but still mostly vegetarian.

I need to find something that lists the carbs in each serving.

Would you say that you have noticed a difference in the way you feel on these diets?

[kdali in reply to falalalala]

You can use an app like chronometer to calculate what you eat, just know they are wrong sometimes. No, I never noticed anything until I was in ketosis.

[falalalala in reply to kdali]

How was that?

[kdali in reply to falalalala]

Before Ocrevus, keto gave me my life back. Fatigue, brain fog, word searching, heat intolerance and sleep quality all improved or disappeared if the day was low stress/I wasn’t sick, etc.

[falalalala in reply to kdali]

That is good to hear! I have some work ahead of me.

[kdali in reply to falalalala]

Thanks! Changing your diet is a million times easier than living with MS. Keep it simple and you’ll do fine with whatever you choose.

[falalalala in reply to kdali]

Thank you!

[cheshcat]

I'm following "what doesn't kill us" by Scott Carney, which is not a diet book but very thought provoking for those of us with chronic disease. I'm also loosing weight and exercising. For the diet portion, I'm focusing on vegetables and whole grains, which is what my body personally thrives on best. I don't eat much meat or sugar. (although the sugar this time of year is hard!). I've lost about 40lbs. I've had 2 neurologic flares in the last 3 years and my entire goal is to not have a 3rd.

[falalalala in reply to cheshcat]

Congratulations on your weight loss! Your diet sounds similar to something I ran into during my internet travels and might be a good place to start as it is not as restrictive as McDougall's.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 29 years ago and have been in the habit of exercising daily since then.If I miss a few days,I definitely notice.

I realize that everyone is different but how long would you say after changing your diet did you notice improvement?

[cheshcat in reply to falalalala]

For me, I wasn't able to do much until flare #2 was down where I apparently need to live with what's left. I started exercising and restricting my diet around August/September and felt great really quickly. But like I said, my health was in a decent spot at that point.

I did forgot to mention that I've been fasting. There is a lot of research on disease reversal and prevention by fasting. Right now I'm doing the 5-2 fasting. Although it's been a little wonky during the holiday season but I do notice the fasting very much helps my health and eating in general.

I can't do the restrictive diets, I've tried them all. I need to trust my own body. Once I started actually listening to my body, that's when change started to happen. I didn't start with a bad diet though, I've eaten well most of my life. So it was a matter of cutting out meat/sugar and fasting. I do eat meat occasionally though.

I got cocky and stopped my 2 neurological meds (with neurologist approval) and now I don't feel well again. I may try to hold out for a little while longer to see if it gets better again. I've been fighting a cold for weeks, so I need to make sure it's not that. It's actually sort of depressing and I had to really wrap my mind around needing the meds. (carbamazepine for trigiminal neuralgia and gabapentin for neuropathy). I really thought I was on the road to "healing" myself.

[falalalala in reply to cheshcat]

I hope it is the just the cold for you.Things like that do have an effect on diabetes and MS as well,I've found.

I don't take meds for MS. I used Copaxone initially but had bad reactions to it and stopped.

I currently take supplements,exercise and follow a so-called good diet which needs to change as I mentioned before.

Generally though,I am not doing too bad but I do i have my days and am looking to improve things if I can.

I've been through a bout of diabetic neuropathy years ago and I feel for you.

[cheshcat in reply to falalalala]

I wish you well too!!! I tried to heal myself in the beginning and was a dismal failure but I feel like I'm in a good spot to give it a go again.

I do take my meds for my RA, an immune suppressant. I read somewhere along the way that RA and MS are both on the same autoimmune (what's the right word? gene? pathway? I just remember reading they are related). I take Luflonomide for that for now. My rheumatologist really wishes my neurologist would give me a diagnosis but I have learned to live with not knowing for now and doing the best I can to prevent neurological flare #3.

[falalalala in reply to cheshcat]

Thanks,cheshcat!

I don't think of those things as failures as it is just part of figuring out what works for you.

Good luck with everything1

[Peruzzot in reply to cheshcat]

RA and MS are both autoimmune diseases but they are not the same thing.

[cheshcat in reply to Peruzzot]

Peruzzot I believe this was what I was reading. multiple-sclerosis-research...

"The link between RA and MS may be the underlying autoimmunity; there's a role for T-helper type 17 (Th17) immune cell activation in both conditions, resulting in increased disease activity and reduced response to treatment. Thus common immunological pathways may be the key to increased susceptibility to both RA and MS in a single individual."

[erash in reply to cheshcat]

Yay! For you cheshcat

[cheshcat in reply to erash]

@erash Thanks 💓

[rjoneslaw]

I see a nutritionist and she helps me create a plan best suited to my eating habits. A lot the diets have things I don’t eat and would never follow

[cheshcat in reply to rjoneslaw]

This was what I realized was my problem. Once I learned to listen to my body, things got better. So many of the "diets" don't work for me. One of the last ones I did was the whole 30. I was sicker at the end then when I started. I realized that I was eating foods that I was probably allergic too and only eating those foods (I'm allergic to latex and many of the foods on whole 30 are latex allergy related). After I researched it and realized what happened, I vowed to listen to my body. Although I did do keto after that and that was a disaster as well, I don't like meat that much and it made me not feel good at all. My body likes vegetables and whole grains.

[falalalala]

I glad you found a good one.

I might look for another if I have trouble with the diet I want to follow.Some seem to just go through the motions.

The first one I saw for diabetes placed a rubber model of pork and beans in front of me to show a serving size. I remember thinking that her diet ideas were nuts-and that the pork and beans looked liked a frisbee with a medical condition.

[Peruzzot in reply to falalalala]

Frisbee with a medical condition 😂🤣😂🤣😂

[anaishunter]

I started my MS diet journey by reading "Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis" by Dr Jelinek. It refers a lot to the Swank diet. This is the book that provided enough explanation to make it convincing. Then I found this website that made it easy to implement: msdietforlife.com/

I'm not a big fan of keto because it does not provide much guidance on which kind of good fat you need to eat for MS.

It took me about 6 months to get where I wanted to be. And it paid off already outside of MS: lost 10 pounds and back to my regular weight. no cravings whatsoever. better digestion. skin and hair are amazing. MS is receding (maybe diet, DMT or exercise? who knows. I wanted all the tools available to be put to use to fight the disease.

Now, I'm trying to adjust and refine to get all the good nutrients I need to help my brain repair itself.

[falalalala]

I am familiar with Dr. Jelinek! I recently read a book of testimonials from people that follow his suggestions and have gone on some of his retreats.Minimally,I'd say that book gave me hope for more control over this PITA disease.

Thank you for the link!

[Jazzihorsecat]

I am doin a Leaky-Gut cleanse, love the Kindle book by "Ann Boroch, Healing M.S. naturally", it workin pretty well. Let us know how u get on. Love Ya!💗👍💐---Jazzy🌹💜

[falalalala]

Thank you,I will!

[greaterexp]

There is so much confusing “information” out there on the internet and even from our doctors. I think they are mostly ideas, and some are helpful, and some not. If we tried to omit every food from our diets that is considered bad, we’d never eat.

I think diets, like medicines, can be helpful for one, but not for another. That said, I try to eat no processed foods, which automatically cuts sugar and fat way down. We don’t eat much meat, but we do eat some.

I’m thrilled for those who have felt enormous benefit from restrictive diets, and I’m not pooh-poohing them altogether. I wish you well in finding what works best for you.

[falalalala in reply to greaterexp]

Thanks,greaterexp!

"If we tried to omit every food from our diets that is considered bad, we’d never eat."-LOL! I know,right? Things have changed so much over the years with what they say is "good" and "bad".

Would you say that you've noticed a significant difference in your MS symptoms since making these dietary changes?

[greaterexp in reply to falalalala]

My cholesterol levels have sure improved. I can’t say that I necessarily feel much different, but with the MS roller coaster, it’s hard to know for sure.

[falalalala in reply to greaterexp]

Yep, I get that. I am hoping for even tighter control of my diabetes which in turn effects my MS. I imagine that I will see some differences.Just how much remains to be seen.

[Peruzzot]

I started looking into the Wahl diet, but that requires me to give up most of the foods I like and forces me to eat foods that I can't stand like kale...gross.😝😝😝 so I won't be doing that one. I have my own diet, that doesn't include processed or microwave food neither of which I've ever been a fan of. I also don't eat fried food if I can help it. Sometimes out at restaurants I have a choice of fried this or fried that as a side. Usually in that case I'll get the fries, but rarely finish them if they're touched at all.

[falalalala in reply to Peruzzot]

Yep,the one I want to do is pretty restrictive but I need to find out what it can do. I like that a major part is vegetables,cooked in simple ways.

[Peruzzot in reply to falalalala]

I like most vegetables steamed and raw.

[falalalala in reply to Peruzzot]

Yes, me too.I also like a gallon of dressing on my salads.That is gonna have to stop.Lol!