The MS Recovery Diet by Ann Sawyer and Judi Bachrach

Thanks for alerting us to the spam problem- the sneaky method used was a seemingly genuine forum contribution that was then used to send spam as comments on your individual forum entries. As we do not always catch every comment submitted, and the original request for a password seemed valid, this spammer was given access. It helped a great deal that a forum entry brought the problem to our attention once again. Our webmaster has deleted their access for now but please do let us know when/if it should happen again. As they are persistent, we must be as well.

After I had been on the diet for well over a year, I experienced many signs of recovery- from the subtle (more energy, better cognition, healthier digestion) to the sublime (no more ice-pick-in-the-eye trigeminal nerve headaches, recovering lost sensation, stronger trunk and leg muscles). I still had a long way to go before anything like a complete recovery, but I felt I was on my way. Even though all of my MS lesions were dormant I began to become less stable again, losing some of what I had gained.

What was going on? Apparently I had to keep searching. It turns out that underlying my MS symptoms was Lyme Disease. I have subsequently tested positive with sensitive lab evaluations, for the Lyme bacteria and Babesiosis, another tick-borne co-infection. I am now taking 3 kinds of antibiotics because these clever pathogens know how to hide out in 3 different ways: inside self- created cysts, in between cell walls, and within the cells.

I am also taking many supplements, both scripted from compounding pharmacies, (your insurance company usually does not cover these) and non-scripted vitamins, herbs and amino acids. With these supports, I am tolerating the drugs better than I ever have before and am in a clear recovery mode once again. I must say I prefer recovery to decline!

I was glad that I kept seeking beyond the diagnosis of MS to explore what else was going on for me. The diet has provided me with both the foundation for health and the means to know I had to look farther. For those of you who may also wish to explore Recovery Diet+ support for your healing, please click the Contact link on the left side menu of the home page and write to me. I would be happy to let you know what additional supplements to the diet I have found helpful: ones that you might consider discussing with your own health care practitioners.

Zoran is a new family friend who gave me this recipe for Christmas. His cake is made with sugar, egg whites, white flour and milk. I confess to having 1 small piece of his cake at Thanksgiving and 1 the day after. Although I did not appear to suffer any immediate ill effects, it was so delicious I decided to try my hand at making a reasonable facsimile that I could eat with more confidence on special occasions. If you cannot tolerate extra saturated fats, glucose or carob/cocoa- SKIP IT. Please. Have rosy baked apples instead.

Oil a 7x10” pan or use an 8x8” pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Serves 9.
(Double recipe for a 9x13” pan, using 3 large Granny Smith apples.)

Dry Ingredients:
½ cup mixed flours (using rice, oat, millet, coconut, chestnut, no more than ½ buckwheat, etc.)
½ cup carob powder
3 teaspoons Egg Replacer *(or add two Tablespoons ground flax seeds with 6 Tablespoons water soaked for 10 minutes until thick to the wet ingredients.)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup xylitol *(or add slightly less agave nectar to wet ingredients) or stevia to taste

Wet Ingredients:
½ cup oil
¼ cup nut or rice milk
*agave nectar or soaked flax seeds as above

Shred in separate bowl:
2 large peeled Granny Smith apples

8 minced dried apricots

Thoroughly mix together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Blend liquids in a blender to frothy consistency. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients. Add in minced apricots, then shredded apple. Mix it all together lightly and quickly to keep as much air in the batter as possible. Pour into pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes (longer if using an 8X8 pan) or until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. The 8x8 pan makes a wetter cake, the larger surface area pan makes a dryer cake. You decide which is best.

This cake tastes better the next day! Let it cool to room temperature and then cover to store in cool room or fridge. It has a very lovely moist and springy texture. Frost the day you serve it. Use ½ amount of Marion’s Chocolate Mousse thinned to a frosting, pg. 343.

Variations- I added a package of Cascadian Farms thawed frozen cherries to the batter. I used Knudsen’s black cherry concentrate rather than nut or rice milk to thin the frosting and used a dash of kirsch instead of vanilla. The taste of cherries came through loud and clear. Any fruit/liqueur would do for this variation. Raspberries? Strawberries? Yum.

Red Velvet Variation for Valentine’s Day:
same ingredients as above Except: I used 4 small, cored, unpeeled Macintosh apples plus one small beet. I shredded them in the food processor to further aerate the mixture. I used large forks or pasta servers to thoroughly toss the shredded mixture so the red of the beet is evenly distributed. Instead of apricots I used 8 Tablespoons of dried cranberries pre-sweetened with apple juice. I made a White Topping traditional for Red Velvet Cakes on pg. 304 in the book. Add a little grated beet or red fruit juice to soak the nuts, making pink frosting for the holiday if desired.

It is so heartening to read the exchanges between participants on this website. The kind of advice and support you offer one another is invaluable. Please know that even if your entry does not receive a comment in return it does not mean that your questions and concerns were not important or relevant. Somebody has read it and had the same question even though they may not feel able to respond. Many people read the website offerings but have not felt ready to acquire a password and to participate in writing.

We have formed a community nonetheless and it works. It is so rare to find a website about MS that is filled with supportive and realistic hope. Please keep writing and commenting if you possibly can. Now that the holiday crush is over, it may be easier to do so. If you are a reader only, that is fine. You are a very valuable member here.

It has been a real journey for both Ann and me to put our ideas and stories out into the public eye, first in the book, and now as bloggers. We, of all people, understand the reluctance that it takes to overcome a natural reserve and our need for privacy. But we have both grown into this role because we could not do otherwise. Our own journey with MS compelled us to take the plunge and do whatever it takes to get the word out about the MS Recovery Diet. You are our real ambassadors of hope- as you sit at your computer, walk to the store and shop, or chat up a fellow patient (or nurse) at the doctor’s office. It is a task we can all undertake as we work towards recovery in our health and in our lives: to spread the word, and to spread the hope. Thank you all for your participation in this work.

I welcome all newcomers to our site and remind those of you who have often checked in over the last few years that your comments, personal stories, suggestions and recipes are always welcome and useful for all of us no matter where in the world that we live. Please feel free to ask questions and voice your opinions. Ann and I are always learning from you, our readers, and it is to our mutual benefit that we offer this website.

This year opens up a whole new avenue of exploration for my own health issues. I have known for some time that some of my symptoms were not due to MS. According to my MS specialist, my lesions are all dormant in both my brain and my cervical spine. Yay! The diet initially offered me rapid and dramatic recovery in my digestion, cognition, energy levels, and the return of sensation from my toes to my face. I felt stronger than I had in years. The healthier I became, the more I noticed other symptoms that had been lurking beneath the general discomfort and malaise of a body that was both numb and weakened.

I began to experience random joint pains that migrated hour by hour, day by day. My walking became less stable and I began to feel cognitively clouded again. One day I finally realized ”this is not MS- it is Lyme disease!”. 7 years ago I was bitten by a deer tick and though I did a typical short round of antibiotics at the time, the bacteria went into hiding and has become a chronic condition as often is the case. I have begun working with a Lyme disease doctor who lauded all of my holistic efforts to combat the effects of Lyme and its co-infections but is now taking me in hand to deal with eliminating the source of my recent decline.

He informed me that the tail of the spirochete responsible for Lyme also offers the same kind of molecular mimicry as proteins in the MS trigger foods for the auto immune system to attack the myelin sheath! He told me that he sees many people with both MS and Lyme, here in upstate New York where the ticks are abundant from the spring through the fall .

The MS Recovery Diet is a permanent way of life for me and is the solid foundation upon which any of the new protocols for Lyme will be based. I enter into this year with gratitude and continued good wishes for the health and well being of all.