General Dietary Tips to Fight MS

By: Esther Vasa

Here are a few general dietary tips to fight multiple sclerosis. Before making any changes to your diet, please consult your doctor for any dietary needs specific to you. Also each individual's food allergens are different. It is therefore important to identify your food allergens by maintaining a food journal. You could opt for tests like ELISA or Mediator Release Test to get an idea of your specific allergens.

AVOID:
  • No sugar
  • No aspartame
  • No dairy
  • No gluten
    • Fruits and Vegetables
  • No MSG
  • No HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)
FATS:
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Avocado Oil
  • Walnut Oil
  • Hemp Oil
  • Oils rich in poly and mono unsaturated fatty acids
SWEETENERS:
Limit intake of all sweeteners. See Elna's post on 124 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health. Please note the amount of fructose in the fruits and limit your fruit intake as well. Here is a blogpost on Fruits and Fructose.
  • Stevia
  • Coconut Sugar
  • Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses
  • High quality fruits, berries, dried fruits, dried berries and dates
  • Honey
NUTS and SEEDS:
Almonds are highly anti-inflammatory. If you aren't allergic to nuts consume almonds. Don't consume too many nuts as all nuts are filled with saturated fats. Pecans, Pistachios, Hazelnuts and Walnuts.

Seeds rich in Omega3 fatty acids are essential in our diet. Chia seeds (black and white), salba seeds, sesame seeds and flaxseeds are all good for PwMS.

PROTEIN:
  • Lentils and Beans if you aren't allergic to them.
  • Chicken and Turkey Breast
  • All oily fish
  • Reduce red meat consumption
  • Reduce saturated fat consumption
  • Limit eggs to two or three per week
SUBSTITUTES for DAIRY
  • All nut milks 
  • Hemp milk
  • Rice milk 
  • Coconut milk very sparingly.
VEGETABLES:
  • All vegetables are good for consumption. Reduce consumption of starchy vegetables like potatoes. Concentrate on dark leafy greens, colored vegetables like carrots and beets. 
  • Use herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, parsley and cilantro to flavor foods. 
  • Use anti-inflammatory spices like turmeric, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cayenne pepper for additional flavors and benefits.
GLUTEN-FREE GRAINS:
  • Quinoa Seeds are high in protein grain and great for the vegetarians or vegans.
  • Brown Rice and/or Wild Rice
  • Certified Gluten-Free Oats either rolled or steel cut or whole
  • Non-GMO Corn. So, tortillas are okay as long as you make sure the corn used is not genetically modified.