Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. This neurodegenerative condition is significantly more frequent in areas where strong and caloric food is consumed. The newest reports of the World Health Organization confirm this too.
In the eastern countries, MS is exceptionally rare in small children and youngsters, because the diet is different, full of fish and vegetables.
Causes of MS
This chronic autoimmune disease of the CNS is characterized by myelin loss. This is the white substance that wraps the nervous fibers and its task is to accelerate the transport of the nervous signals through the CNS. Myelin damage causes delays or disruptions of the nervous impulses, which in turn causes neurological difficulties. If this damage happened in the transportation within parts that distribute the messages between the muscles and the brain, the result is difficulties with movement. On the other side, the problem with the nerves that transport the sensor information to the CNS can cause sight damage.
The exact cause is still unknown. The suspicion is that the genetic factor combined with an infective agent plays a great role. The reasons should be looked for in the weakened immunological system.
Over 2,5 million people worldwide are affected by MS, mostly in developed countries. People of 20-40 years are most affected, and it mostly strikes on women.
Symptoms in early stage
Symptoms are quite different from patient to patient, but still some are common and almost identical: fatigue, difficulties moving, tremor, bad coordination and balance, speech difficulties and sight damage. Kidney and bladder problems are also common as is weakened memory. Sometimes the disease is manifested by only one symptom. The condition is completely unpredictable. Symptoms can quickly come and go, the worsening and the improving phases are interchangeable.
Half of the affected patients develop the so-called progressive kind with significant worsening, and in some cases even the type called primary progressive MS. Its characteristic is the frequent and strong attacks, painful muscle cramps and even paralysis. At the beginning, the phase of calming symptoms can last for years, however it may happen that the flow of the disease is quick. In this scenario, invalidity can happen in a short period of time.
Diagnosis
Because of the different problems, MS is difficult to discover. The only method for certain diagnosis is doing MRI which can show brain damage. Sometimes, diagnosis is only adopted on the basis of the symptoms, when the brain damages are not visible. This method is not really reliable but sometimes is the only choice. Complete healing is not possible, but there are medicaments that significantly slow down the existing problems, which results in improved quality of life.
Physical activity is very important since it has a positive effect on weakened muscles and coordination.
Mortality is recently much lower than before and consumption of vitamin D is of exceptional importance. It can help you avoid the hardest symptoms.
Why is food important?
The geographic spread of MS points to the fact that this disease is much more spread in regions where “strong” food is consumed, rich with carbs and animal fats. MS is very common among kids in North America and Europe. On the other hand it is almost unknown in countries like Japan, China and Korea. In these countries the food is rich with fish, seafood, seeds, nuts, fruits, essential fatty acids (omega-3 are the most important). This however, does not mean that there is a miraculous diet that heals MS, but selected products can affect the strength of the symptoms.
Treatment MS with bees
Bee’s toxins, according to recent research makes the symptoms milder. Thanks to the adolpine and the meltine the pain and the cramps decrease. The combination of these powerful substances moves up the natural mechanisms that protect the body. People have mostly had positive experiences with this therapy, but there are different opinions too. This is an alternative treatment.
Swank diet for MS
This diet represents a specific regime for MS patients. Prof. Roy Swank created the diet in the 1950s in University of Oregon and has since then been a subject of research. Dr. Swank concluded that the best results in patients are reached by starting the diet in the early phase, before the organism is drastically weakened. It includes low consumption of animal fats. Swank claimed that the dairy fats are also bad for the patients, even more so than animal fats. Later research showed that the effect of the diet is not as great as people thought before.
Still, this way of dieting is useful and safe for MS patients.
Basic suggestions
- Avoid all dairy products with more than 1% fats
- Drink non-fat or low-fat milk, yogurt and other products
- If MS has already been diagnosed, you cannot eat processed foods because they contain saturated fats
- Try to include omega-3 healthy fats in the diet
- Consume healthy oils – 4-10 teaspoons during the day
- Patients cannot consume more than 15g of saturated fats per day, while the amount of the unsaturated fats should range from 20 to 50g.
- Fish, olive, sesame and flaxseed oil are highly recommended as is peanut oil
- Avoid margarine, butter, fats, cocoa butter, coconut and palm oil
- You are allowed to consume only 3 eggs per week, since the yolk has lots of saturated fats
The first year after the diagnosis, make sure to completely exclude red meat, and consume it once a week after that. Eat fish 2-3 times weekly, fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and unrefined rice. Do not drink more than 3 cups of coffee.
Recipes:
Oatmeal with soy yogurt and fruit
Ingredients: a cup of oatmeal, half a cup of apple juice, a cup of soy yogurt, half squeezed lemon, ¼ of a cup of raisins, a spoon of grinded almonds, mid-sized apple and a mid-sized pear.
Preparation: pour the oatmeal in a bowl, add the raisins, the almonds and the lemon juice and then add the apple juice. Stir well and leave it in the fridge overnight so the oatmeal will be well mixed with the liquids. Grind the apple, chop the pear and add it in the morning, covering it with the yogurt. Mix well.
Eggplant spread
Ingredients: 2 mid-sized eggplants, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice, 2 spoons of tahini, 50 ml of olive oil, a bit of sea salt, a teaspoon of thyme (fresh or dry).
Preparation: cut the peel of the eggplant lengthwise first and then make little cubes. Cook them for 30 minutes, and strain it well afterwards. Blend it, add the tahini, the lemon juice, the garlic and the olive oil, mixing until you get a creamy paste. Add the thyme. You can keep the spread refrigerated for 5 days the most.
Lentil soup
Ingredients: 2-3 carrots, leek, 3 celery stems, a cup of lentil, 2-3 mid-sized tomatoes, a liter of vegetable broth, a bit of sea salt, cooking oil.
Preparation: cut the carrots, the leek and the celery and cook them a bit. Add the lentil and pour water over them and cook until the lentil is soft and the water has boiled. Add the chopped tomato and the broth, cooking for a bit longer.
Pasta with anchovy’s sauce
Ingredients: 2 cups of pasta, anchovies, 4 mid-sized chopped tomatoes, ½ cup of black olives, chopped garlic, 2 teaspoons of parsley, 2 teaspoons of basil and a teaspoon of oregano, a small chili pepper, a bit of sea salt and olive oil.
Preparation: mix the anchovies, the tomatoes, the olives, the garlic, the pepper, the oil and the spices in a bowl, leaving it for an hour. Cook the pasta, strain it, pour the sauce over it and mix.
Healthy salad
Ingredients: small red onion, small pepper, 2 bigger pears (chopped), 2 spoons of chopped parsley, a cup of red beans, 2 squeezed lemons, a spoon of olive oil, a bit of sea salt.
Preparation: mix the ingredients and serve with fish.
Walnut cookies
Ingredients: 5 egg whites, 200g of brown sugar, a cup of chopped hazelnuts and a bit of sea salt.
Preparation: mix the egg whites and the salt and add the sugar, still mixing until you get good mixture. Add the hazelnuts and stir well, and then transfer the mixture in a big pot and cook it. Stir constantly, until the mix becomes brownish and it hardens. Transfer on a clean area and make cookies, placing them on a pan with baking paper. Bake on 300 degrees Fahrenheit, until the cookies get darker.
When MS attacks, a recovery will be easier with such healthy meals.
