The perfect diet for multiple sclerosis

It is a very strong statement to say you have the perfect diet. I am sure it has caught your attention and you are wondering what will follow. There are several diets suggested to help you live with MS, and some of these claim to ‘cure’ you of this incurable illness. I was on a podcast with the wonderful Heather (https://dinosaursdonkeysandms.com) and Jen (https://trippingthroughtreacle.com) and we discussed this topic. (This is the podcast link) The diets we mentioned were Swank, OMS, and we touched on the Wahls diet too.

Each of these has made claims of success, and you will also find many posts that say these diets do not work. I am reading about another diet that claims to boost the immune system with the effect of reducing diseases, those classed as autoimmune diseases, such as MS, cancer, thyroid, among others.

What are the conclusions?

In my time, over 25 years, I have tried many of them, and have come to the realisation they all have common elements. No processed food is the main assertion. Anything that comes in a geometric shape, such as a tube (sausages, hot dogs), circle (cake and cookies), or square. These are all manufactured in a factory that has changed the food in ways that our bodies are not capable of processing.

Another common thread in them is how they deal with fats. The bad ones are trans-fats. These are not natural but man-made, a manufactured fat. Chemical additives are also a problem. There have been no studies to see how they all react with each other. Individual chemicals are tested to see if it is toxic, or not, but how they all inter-react and then act on the human body is unknown.

What is the perfect diet?

No Grain Cake — With blueberries and banana – moist, sweet and most importantly, tasty.

I saw a very interesting “TED Talk” all about this subject. Eran Segal gave the talk (here is the link to the video) and he has found out that there is not one diet that is the perfect diet. As every person is different, the perfect diet is also different. Your physiology is different to mine, and over the course of my life, as my body changes, I will also need a different diet. This talk caused me to think.

As a result I am now adapting my diet so I can find out the foods that my body needs, or doesn’t want. This is a long process as I do not have a laboratory in my shed where I can test what my body craves or rejects. So I am going back to basics again.

What I am doing now

This means I will concentrate on eating whole foods. This is whole vegetables, fruit and meat. If I can, I will buy organic, but this isn’t always possible where I live. Plus the cost can be prohibitive. I will only use natural sweeteners, such as honey or maple syrup, refined sugar is gone. Beef and dairy are excluded (although I eat goats or sheep milk cheese and yogurt). The latest is that I will remove all grain from my diet, which means wheat, oats, buckwheat, and rice. In the last week I have tried new recipes for bread, cake and pizza made with no grain. The result has been positive.

No Grain Pizza — Pizza with tapioca flour – Almost like the real thing

This new adaptation to my diet will start in earnest after I come back from my holidays as the thought of searching for food that complies with my diet could ruin the trip. Once I start, it will take about six months before I will have cleared out the memory of these foods from my diet. I will see how I am at that stage.

The future

Do I think this will cure me of my MS. No, I don’t, I think it will help my body to be healthy. I need all the systems in this complex organism to be working at their optimum, and that means I have to eat the right food. The right food will change, and I will have to adapt to this change. This is another part of the adventure chronic illness has given me. Now I have the opportunity to try new foods, new taste experiences. I will keep you informed.