Multiple Sclerosis and Diet

MS

Can eating a whole food plant-based diet prevent and treat MS?

In Altered Uric Acid Levels and Disease States (1) it is suggested that reduced levels of uric acid (UA) in blood plasma is linked to MS. UA is an important brain antioxidant shown to protect nerve cells against the oxidative stress caused by pesticides (2).

The researchers mention that actually increasing UA “…has been proposed as a therapy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), and for the treatment of both spinal cord injury and stroke because of the neuroprotective properties of UA. UA has been found to both prevent and alleviate the symptoms of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of MS, in mice (Hooper et al., 2000).”

However, they also point out that levels of UA elevated too high are dangerous: “…the manipulation of UA levels above or below normal levels could possibly lead to unwanted side effects.”

So, if this is the case, what is the safest way of maintaining healthy UA levels that may assist in preventing/alleviating MS?

Milk consumption is thought to lower blood levels of uric acid (3), and those people on a dairy-free plant-based diet seem to “hit the sweet spot” in terms of the most optimal uric acid levels for longevity (4, 5).

Roy Swank, the distinguished neurologist, claims that a low saturated fat diet remains the “most effective treatment of multiple sclerosis ever reported in the peer review literature.” (6) “In patients with early stage MS, 95% were without progression of their disease 34 years after adopting his meat and dairy-restricted diet. Even patients with initially advanced disease showed significant benefit. To date, no medication or invasive procedure has ever come close to demonstrating such success.” (7)

Based on all my research, I would argue that the healthiest low saturated fat diet is the whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet. So, if you are concerned about MS and want to know more, please contact me and I will be delighted to provide you with dietary advice and suggest a nutritional/lifestyle programme that will address those concerns.

Finally, I would recommened you look at the following links:

Multiple Sclerosis and Plant-Based Nutrition

http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/treating-multiple-sclerosis-with-diet-fact-or

 

References

(1) Kutzing Melinda K, Forestein Bonnie L. Altered Uric Acid Levels and Disease States. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics January 2008, 324 (1) 1-7; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/jpet.107.129031 http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/324/1/1#sec-15.

(2) Ames BN, Cathcart R, Schwiers E, Hochstein P. Uric acid provides an antioxidant defense in humans against oxidant-and radical-caused aging and cancer: a hypothesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1981;78( 11): 6858–62. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6947260.

(3) Greger M. “How Not To Die” p.233.

(4) Schmidt JA, Crowe FL, Appleby PN, Key TJ, Travis RC. Serum uric acid concentrations in meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans: a cross-sectional analysis in the EPIC-Oxford cohort. PLoS ONE. 2013;8( 2): e56339. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0056339

(5) Kuo CF, See LC, Yu KH, Chou IJ, Chiou MJ, Luo SF. Significance of serum uric acid levels on the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2013;52( 1): 127–34. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22923756

(6) https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl/jan/ms.htm

(7) https://nutritionfacts.org/2013/05/21/plant-based-diets-for-multiple-sclerosis/