Since 2006, I have participated in the NARCOMS semi-annual MS survey. I feel better than I ever have… and here’s why. Here is the letter I recently sent them:
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Dear NARCOMS,
Thank you for your survey. Since first participating in your survey I’ve adopted a diet that is free of: gluten, eggs, legumes (except soya), peanuts, carbonated beverages, and fermented alcohols. I have consistently taken Copaxone, vitamins, and gingko since registering with NARCOMS. My neurologist, MRIs, and genetic profile (as confirmed via my participation in Dr. Stephen Hauser’s Interleukin research study) agree that I have Multiple Sclerosis.
The only thing that has changed since my diagnosis is my diet.
I firmly believe that multiple sclerosis is the result of a progressive, life-long food allergy. Since 1950 people suffering from MS have found relief in an ‘inflammation-free’ diet, best expressed today as the Best Bet Diet on MS-DIET.ORG.
While the majority of the global population tolerates these foods very well, it is counter-intuitive to consider foundational nutritional elements (bread, dairy, beans) are the cause of this disease. Further, in my experience many doctors only have a basic understanding of nutrition, as it applies to the human population, as a whole. I strongly encourage NARCOMS to open a line of MS research focusing on dietary intake.
Since 1880, doctors and researchers have been unable to solve this disease. If you look at the history of widely-accepted theories about MS, you’ll see there is a tendency in the medical community to attribute MS to whatever is ‘in vogue’ in the medical community at the time. Consider the evolution of MS theories alongside these enabling technologies: Bacteria & Viruses in the 1880s, myelin inflammation w/ the use of microscopy in 1918, nerve toxins w/ electrical impulse studies in 1928, EAE in 1938, oligoclonal bands in spinal fluid in 1948, and a constantly active disease progression via MRIs in 1981.
Today, with the mapping of the human genome in 2000 and the first published individual genome in 2007, it seems the MS community is in love with the idea that MS is a genetic disease (i.e. IL2, IL7, & CD58). While true, genetics is only part of the issue. Consider:
GENETICS + NUTRITION = MS
(and many other autoimmune diseases)
I appreciate the research you perform, but all the drugs and imaging haven’t gotten us very far. With all the patents, therapies, and protocols, it feels more like we’re watching a train-wreck in slow motion.
I’m concerned that distorted economic models are driving the direction of research. Has anyone every conducted a clinical research study into diets that exclude glutens, dairy, legumes, refined sugars, eggs, and yeast?
Why would they – I suspect because there’s no money in it.
