Raw food

[Niko]

Hi there, this is my first post... I work at a vegan restaurant, am vegetarian and friends with raw vegans. I've been hearing people swear by RAW food being beneficial in combating MS. I am already very active and healthy, but I would like to transition to raw, slowly, and see how that goes for my symptoms...

Is anyone doing this, and/or what do you think of it?

Thanks everyone!!

Niko

[ActiveMSers]

Hey Niko, welcome! Unfortunately there is scant evidence out there that diet influences MS or its symptoms. That said, there is no harm in trying! Well, as long as your body gets the necessary ingredients it needs to be healthy (enough protein for example).

I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to ask in the raw foods arena. I think of an olive in my martini as a healthy addition, ha. Let us know how it goes....

[Niko]

Thanks Dave!

Yes I will be trying the raw diet very soon. I don't expect it to do much except for make me lose some weight and feel a little more energized, but I'm cool with that. :P

(I've made the same comment elsewhere in "Diet")... Why are some people saying to avoid soy, gluten and dairy?? Is this part of the anti-inflammatory diet? I can't quite find the answer to this anywhere, even from those who said it.

And are there any websites or blogs that cater to MS diets and related nutritional research? I've been looking through books on Amazon and they all seem outdated and either dull or too complicated (in terms of recipes)...

Thanks!

[LMerry]

Diet and MS

You can find a lot of discussion about diet and all things medical at patientslikeme.com.

Personally I feel much better when eating low-carb/high fiber lots of veggies. But that's just basic nutrition, and I haven't discovered correlation between ms symptoms and better or worse diet. Good topic.

[Niko]

Thanks! It's interesting to read the different studies being done in nutrition, particularly regarding MS. I bought a book about the Paleo diet (called "Primal Body, Primal Mind") and it mentions inflammatory or autoimmune diseases like MS, and advocates eating lots of meat and fat, among other things. Meanwhile, vegetarian or low carb diets (and with no saturated fats) are heavily advocated by people like in the Australian "Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis" organization. These are examples.

Well now I'm just plain confused! Either make sense, either make good arguments to exist and for people to be healthy with.

To top it off, several studies done regarding nutrition and MS don't mention the importance of the digestive system and healthy gut flora (like blogger Dr. Art Ayers' "Cooling Inflammation").

So is one much better than the other, or should I/we find a balance somehow between these diets?

Thanks everyone

[teena marie]

Hi Niko and everyone else,

I am helped tremendously by diet and have recently adopted an extremely low saturated fat diet. There is some compelling evidence http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis.org/ This is an excellent site and the book is full of evidence based science. This summer, due to my weekly delivery of amazing vegetables, I've been pretty "raw" and loving it.

Good luck to all,

Teena Marie

[Niko]

Hi there! Thanks for your replies Back home I was trying to eat mostly raw and vegan foods were no hassle for me- I felt great, especially when accompanied by fermented goods like kombucha, as I have some digestive issues and each time those issues would flare up, my MS would too. Now I am travelling and it's a bit more difficult to eat as I should, let alone want to. But that will be over soon and I should be back on top of things!

But what about research going towards MS and the Paleo diet? I've been reading some blogs by people who are swearing by the paleo diet aiding their MS, and claiming that it is actually beneficial to include saturated fats and healthy cholesterol fats in the diet, based on what the human body has adapted to over the millennia. I don't necessarily agree with eating meat every day (for both ethical and health reasons), but I think they do raise some valid points and interesting ideas.

I've raised this same question (saturated fats vs avoiding them for MS and overall health) elsewhere, I think in my own blog, but I never received any feedback

Besides the non-ethical or environmental standpoints (etc) of eating meat, what do you think about people's MS improving (such as symptoms lessening or disappearing long-term) because of their dedication to the Paleo diet?

Cheers and good health!

Niko

[EOlsen]

One of the better sources on diet and MS is http://www.terrywahls.com/. Good luck.