Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most baffling of all diseases – we know very little about what causes it and what factors influence its progression and outcome. MS begins with localized inflammatory damage of the myelin sheaths surrounding the nerve fibers due to an attack by the immune system. This is also what causes Rheumatory arthritis, and the resulting damage interferes with nerve impulses and can lead to symptoms such as muscle weakness, loss of vision, and a variety of other neurological impairments.
(This is when she got headaches)
Although considered an immune disease, it is not clear what causes the immune system to attack nerve sheaths. (In RA, the immune system attacks the joints-LizG) Researchers have been studying a possible viral trigger, which cannot explain why there are so many different forms of MS, like symptoms that never return, while others experience cycles of exacerbation and remission. In some people MS is relentless, leading to complete disability and death.
(This is why you want to change diet and exercise, so the body will change. Every 7 years all the cells in your body have become new cells.)
The idea is to reduce inflammation and improve blood flow to all areas of the body. Then to restore the nerve and brain cells that the MS is attacking!
These are a list of suggestions to start out with. It’s all overwhelming, I know, but the sooner you dive in the better you are going to feel.
The things to stock up on are all kinds or nuts and fruits and veggies that you can just eat like apples, grapes, oranges and more. Eat oatmeal with honey almost everyday, sliced turkey & cheese on whole wheat bread for lunch, and chicken/fish with sweet potato, and broccoli (fresh or frozen, avoid cans)
- Have animal protein one meal a day. Use plant protein and protein powder. Winn-Dixie has a good one that you can add to shakes, oatmeal, anything. It’s called Pure Protein Whey protein – vanilla. (Then you can add fruit, pnut butter and other good stuff to smoothies.
- Eliminate milk, and use almond, soy or rice milk.Tasty and much better for you. No chemicals.
- Eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables and if you can get them organic, that’s even better. But they are more expensive. No white sugar or white flour. Whole grain bread, pasta, rolls, rice, quinoa. Also, use honey or guava which you can find in the store.
- Eliminate vegetable oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, and all deep-fried foods that might contain trans-fatty acids.
- Use extra-virgin olive oil in everything, and spray Canola Oil in pans. Use real butter, so much better for you than fake margarine.
- Do some kind of light aerobic exercise on a regular basis. Walk the beach in the AM or PM.
Start out with these supplements.
- 1. Get 500 mg of ginger and turmeric and take 1 capsule of each in the AM and PM. Both of these will decrease the inflammation in your body, and that is very important in MS!
- 2. Take 100 milligrams of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) a day. CoQ10 is very important in creating blood and nerve cells. It is in our bodies naturally until age 30, when it starts declining.
- 3. Take a multi-vitamin daily.
- 4. Take 1000 mg of good fish oil a day. Reduces inflammation – I can really feel it when I don’t take it and it’s pretty cheap!
- 5. And the B-vitamins are most important for nerves and brain activity, so take a good Vitamin B- Complex, which means it has all the B-vitamins, B-6, B-12, and more.
These are all very easy to find, maybe Walgreens, but if you want to start by going to a health food store, the more info that you get the better!
Eat a Mediterranean Diet – which is basically eliminating preservatives, chemicals, steroids that all contribute to diseases, and aren’t good for the body anyway.
Eliminate all white sugar, white flour, steroids, anything not natural. Our bodies can’t digest it.
I started out, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, going thru all my cabinets and throwing away all foods that were made of those things or had them in them. They are Poison! Better to get rid of them.
Lots of fresh foods, veggies, fruits, salads, nuts, seeds, beans, potatoes and organic, natural, steroid free chicken, which they have at Winn Dixie (Sanderson’s) and wild fish, which is the least inexpensive when you buy it frozen. Substitute natural ground turkey or chicken from Perdue for hamburger.
No pork – is filled with bad bacteria for you.
Set aside one day a week, if you want to have sweets, chips, fast food, etc. but only 1 cheat day!
Drink water and iced tea. No sodas or diet sodas at all! They are bad for health in soooooo many ways. Google aspartame or artificial sweeteners and see why.
I started this overnight, when I found out I had cancer, but change your habits a little bit at a time if you want. I only suggest that you get started with the supplements and put the junk food in a special place where you won’t be tempted to grab for it.