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 Topics in today's digest:

      1. [mscured] Digest Number 114, Re: diet, MS Multiple Sclerosis
           From: DS <dusan@xxxxxx.xxx


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Message: 1
   Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1999 12:19:23 +0100
   From: DS <dusan@xxxxxx.xxx
Subject: [mscured] Digest Number 114, Re: diet, MS Multiple Sclerosis

From Archives of 
mscured@onelist.com

Digest Number 114

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Message: 3
   Date: Wed, 03 Nov 1999 15:52:24 -0800
   From: rtg@mail4.halcyon.com
Subject: Re: diet

I would like to add my experience to what Olivia described about Ajay's
diet, etc. It's amazing to read what commonalities I have with other
MS'ers, such as Ajay.

For me there were two components of diet that made a big difference to
my
health. One, which I started out with and saw some improvement from was
the
Swank diet (low saturated fat). The MS Diet Book by Roy L. Swank and
Barbara Dugan discusses the diet (and recipes), the theory and describes
the success they've had with the diet over more than 30 years. I believe
it
says in the book that people on the Swank diet have a 95% reduction in
relapse rates. The thing is, you have to follow the diet closely. Dr.
Swank
told me that if you have even a little bit more saturated fat than they
advocate, you'll have relapses just as if you weren't following the diet
at
all.

Because of the improvements I saw after I started the Swank diet, I
gained
confidence and looked into other "alternative methods" of regaining my
health. I looked into another diet related significant factor I had
heard
that contributed to MS - that of food allergens. I addressed my food
allergens and saw a fantastic improvement. See my web site at
http://www.halcyon.com/glenna/ms/ms.htm for more details. I started with
the "pulse test" and identified/avoided some foods that I was sensitive
to.
I later had a allergy blood test whose results largely agreed with my
pulse
test.  I, like Ajay, found that I am sensitive to a large number of
seemingly innocuous foods. I avoided them for a while and gradually
reintroduced some of them and started rotating my diet so I don't always
eat the same things every day (eating the same things every day
encourages
you to become allergic to the food). I also began to eat just organic
foods
- I found that I am sensitive to non organic veggies - probably to the
pesticides that are used on them. I continue to avoid some foods that I
have been found to be sensitive to - that are common MS bad boys -
dairy,
wheat and sugar. I also avoid caffeine. I now base my diet primarily on
fresh vegetables. 

I, like Ajay also tried a drug, Cromolyn Sodium to desensitize my
stomach/intestines and to prevent allergic reactions to food/ the "leaky
gut" syndrome. Unlike Ajay, it didn't work for me. So I have to avoid
some
foods and had to build up to eating others.  I looked up Cromolyn Sodium
in
my "drug book" and saw that there's a brand name of it called Intal, so
perhaps it's the same drug that Ajay took successfully?

But, even though the Cromolyn Sodium didn't work, my diet has! I am SO
MUCH
better than I was when I started this "program". I've gone from barely
being able to walk down the hall (and needing the aide of the wall) to
running a mile several times per week and lifting weights. I credit my
diet
largely with this improvement. I do some additional things - exercise is
a
biggie (which I had to gradually get in to, because I initially didn't
have
the strength/stamina to do it). I'm now about to pursue amalgam
replacement. We'll see how that goes… I still have a couple of "residual
symptoms", but I'm MUCH improved since I started paying attention to my
diet.

I'm truly convinced that for many people, our diet/lifestyles are what
caused us to become ill with MS. Fixing your diet/lifestyle will enable
your body to heal itself.

Take care,

Glenna