Diet and nutrition

Leading a healthy cognitive and physically active lifestyle, including having a normal body weight and well-controlled blood pressure, may increase brain reserve — the brain’s ability to adapt after damage — and delay disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. The study, “Lifestyle factors…

An eight-week calorie-restricted diet plan — known as intermittent fasting — led to immune and metabolic changes among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a small pilot clinical trial, data show. The findings could underlie some of the proposed benefits of calorie restriction on MS disease course, the researchers…

If you weren’t aware (I wasn’t), last Friday, June 17, was National Eat Your Vegetables Day. The day wasn’t created to tout any special diet per se, but to increase awareness of the benefits of vegetables in a healthy diet. If you were already aware of those benefits, then…

FDA Decision on Ublituximab for Relapsing MS Pushed to Year’s End Ublituximab is similar to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Kesimpta (ofatumumab), which also target B-cells, the immune cells that play a role in the inflammatory attacks that harm the central nervous system of people with MS. Each of…

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded $3.9 million to fund clinical research to test the impact of a low-glycemic diet on physical, cognitive, and psychological function in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The four-year project, called “Impact of diet quality and calorie restriction on physical function and…

Cannabis ‘Highly Effective’ Against MS Symptoms, Some Users Report I would’ve expected many users to report that cannabis has been highly effective at treating MS symptoms, not just some. But comments about this study on the MS News Today Facebook page indicate that people have mixed results. Even…

Eating a ketogenic diet — one low in carbohydrates and high in fats — led to markedly less fatigue and depression for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in a small clinical trial that was designed to assess the tolerability of the dietary intervention. Measures of disability and quality…

Ketogenic Diet Eases Symptoms, Aids Life Quality in Small RRMS Study This new report says that a ketogenic diet might help people with MS. It’s certainly helped my wife lose weight, but will it help my symptoms? I wondered about that in a recent ‘MS Wire’ column.

For the past few months, my wife, Laura, has been following a ketogenic diet, and she’s lost a bunch of weight. But in addition to helping people slim down, the low-carb keto diet may have other benefits, including potentially for those with MS. A small study that will…

A short-term ketogenic diet, which dramatically cuts carbohydrate consumption, is safe and results in significant improvements in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a small study in patients reported. “Our study provides evidence that a ketogenic diet is safe and beneficial, reducing some symptoms for people with MS, when…

Immune system reaction to casein, a protein in cow’s milk, can trigger an inflammatory neurological disease in mice that’s similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) and includes the loss of myelin, a study reported. “These results identify how consumption of milk and milk products may exacerbate the autoimmune response in…

Blood Stem Cell Transplant May Help Immune System Longer I’m a proponent of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) to treat MS. The process entails extracting a patient’s own stem cells, usually from the bone marrow, treating them to kill immune cells that trigger MS attacks, and then infusing…

Eating a lot of green leafy and other vegetables, beans, nuts and berries seems to significantly lower the likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study from Iran. The findings also suggest that the chances of developing the disease may be higher in people who eat more…

A relationship between meat consumption and how it affects gut bacteria, immune cell profiles, and metabolism was identified in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) participating in a small study. Specifically, a diet rich in meat was associated with a decrease in Bacteriodes thetaiotaomicron, a common gut bacteria that works…

Vitamin D can influence the immune system’s tolerance to certain proteins by changing how DNA is packaged in specific immune cells called dendritic cells, according to a new study. Its findings could have implications for treating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) that are characterized by the immune system attacking…

In this installment of our “Expert Voices” series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked registered dietitian Mona Bostick to answer some of your questions related to diet and nutrition for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Bostick, who has MS, works in private practice in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she helps…

Low vitamin D levels in the bloodstream are associated with slower information processing speeds in people with early-stage multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. “Our data support the hypothesis that vitamin D is involved in cognition in MS,” its researchers concluded. The study, “Serum Vitamin D as…

Long-term use of a high-dose nutritional supplement containing specific antioxidant vitamins and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may boost walking performance and other measures of functional capacity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new study found. The study, “The Effects of Specific Omega-3 and…

Probiotic supplements could ease disability, lessen depression, and improve overall health in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an analysis of four randomized clinical trials. Physicians working with these patients might recommend “confirmed probiotic supplements” to help manage “MS concerns,” its scientists wrote, while noting that studies…

Can I survive without dessert? Can I live without ice cream, chocolate, and fruit pies, or with only a small amount of beef when I want a burger? The other day, my wife decided to start the ketogenic diet to try to lose some weight. I’m a skinny guy,…

Risk of Severe COVID-19 Not Raised by Immunosuppressive DMTs Here’s the latest on whether disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) raise the risk of a person having a bad case of COVID-19 if infected with the novel coronavirus. Researchers report here that DMTs don’t increase that risk. But don’t confuse this information…

The low-fat Swank diet and the Wahls elimination diet reduced fatigue and improved quality of life after three months for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a clinical trial has found. “It’s encouraging that fatigue was reduced and quality of life improved in both groups,” Bruce Bebo, PhD, from…

Isoflavone-rich diets boost gut health and lessen multiple sclerosis (MS) severity, a new study in mice suggests. In the study, mice with MS that were fed a diet rich in isoflavone — a plant-based compound — developed diverse and abundant gut bacteria, particularly isoflavone-digesting bacteria, which produced compounds that…

For the last year and a half, my husband and I had been following the high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet with some success. I lost 25 pounds, and my spouse (as is often the way with men) lost double that. However, a few months ago, I noticed that I was…

MIND Diet May Protect Brain Tissue in MS The Mediterranean Diet is one of several diets that proponents believe slow their MS progression and in some cases help to improve some symptoms. However, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society says that “evidence of effectiveness [of any MS diet] is…

A higher adherence to the MIND diet – short for Mediterranean-Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension Intervention (DASH) for Neurodegenerative Delay – may protect brain tissue from further damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. In particular, consuming more high-fat dairy products was associated with a lower…

Three weeks into the Overcoming MS (OMS) diet, I’m pleased to have made the switch. The diet focuses on eating fish and seafood, and lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, it excludes dairy, and has minimal saturated fats. I’ve seen a difference…

Doctors recently told me that the medication I’ve been taking for the last seven years for MS hasn’t been working. This is news that no one wants to hear.  When I first started Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), an oral tablet, I was…

Photo courtesy of Matthew Embry Day 24 of 31 This is Matthew Embry’s story: Hi! My name is Mathew Embry, and I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995. More than 25 years later, I am living symptom-free and making the best of…

Photo courtesy of Jess Faulds Day 17 of 31 This is Jess Faulds’ story: My name is Jess, and I am a 28-year-old woman from Alberta, Canada. Ask anyone who knows me and the two things in life that I am most passionate about are food and…