Summer is one of the cruelest times of year for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Thanks to Uhthoff’s syndrome, it’s hard to enjoy all the fun that comes with warm temperatures. I don’t seem to sweat anymore (not that it helps much in our high humidity), so I…

This is the fifth year I’m writing a Christmastime missive about how my MS journey as Santa is going since the disease mortally attacked my immune system. The trouble was that it took doctors ages to work out my diagnosis. Being Santa Claus, no MRI machine…

Many treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) are targeted at reducing inflammation, thereby slowing progression of the autoimmune disease. An anti-inflammatory diet also may slow disease progression, as well as enhance the positive effects of anti-inflammatory medications. In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks the protein coat that surrounds nerve…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who reported food allergies showed a 27 percent higher cumulative rate of flare-ups over the course of their disease, and more than twice the likelihood of having active inflammatory lesions, a new study shows. The study, “Food Allergies are Associated with Increased Disease Activity…

Going to bed late and sleeping is reportedly a marker of intelligence. In that case, I am definitely something of a genius. So, it’s always a shock when I have to get up in the morning. I’ve spent a lifetime avoiding it! I’ve lived in such a form…

It’s 4 a.m. and, unsurprisingly, I’m laying flat on my back. Yesterday, I had a whale of a time and now I feel like a beached one. I’m not in my own bed because I’m staying in a tres jolie bed-and-breakfast in Northern France. The trouble is the bed…

The role that diet and lifestyle have on the course of MS is a matter of debate. There is a great deal of conflicting information on the topic, and patients may need to look beyond their neurologist or primary care physician to create a dietary approach to MS.

I’ve spent a lot of time lately around people following special diets. They’re either voluntarily cutting carbs, counting calories, following a diet plan, or fasting, but not because they have a medical condition. Mostly they diet to feel better, lose some weight, or reset their metabolism. I wish them well, even as…