The MS Recovery Diet by Ann Sawyer and Judi Bachrach

I have been following the diet religiously since May. I found this delicious fresh baked bread in Whole Foods called Millet and Flax baked by Sami's Bakery. The ingredients are the following: organic millet flour, brown rice flour, aluminum free baking powder, sea salt, and organic grounded flax seed. Is the bread o.k. on the diet? I have no reaction when I eat it, but in small print on the package it says" Processed in a Non gluten free facility. May contain traces of gluten, when, or yeast." Is that disclaimer a problem for recovery?

Also, I'm still confused about the amount of fish oil one should take. For my MS, should I be taking 500mg a day or more? Is DHA superior to EPA? I've searched on the internet but there is such conflicting information that it is difficult to know what to do. The doctors aren't much help either.

I was diagnosed two years ago at the age of 56. My symptoms are extremely mild, but my mother had a very severe case, so reading the book and following the diet has given me a lot of hope so I don't follow in my mother's path. My mother died at the age of 78 from cancer in 1997 and never could benefit from any of the current MS drugs on the market or the Recovery Diet. This book has given me a lot of hope. Thank you so much.

Response- yes, I wish my mom had lived longer so that she could have benefited from the diet as well. As to the bread- if you do not have reactive symptoms from the bread- if you discover over time that you are not highly sensitive to gluten or yeast- give it a try. What is the leavening? Is it sourdough? Of course, that is also yeast, just wild yeast. Again you must be your own arbiter as to whether it will have an effect on your recovery or not. Fish oil- I use a product that contains 360mg EPA and 240DHA- and it is 3rd party tested for purity, another factor for avoiding mercury. I take one cap/day- when I am stressed I take 2/day. Again, it must be what works for you- this is what has worked for me. Glad you can stick to the diet and we wish you good luck with uncovering your own body wisdom as to what works best for you. Judi

what about pork chops, lean pork loin ?

Response: lean pork has less saturated fat than some red meats, but more than fish or poultry. If you are on a strict version of the diet and have serious MS symptoms you are working with, than I would avoid pork for now. If you know your body does not have trouble with saturated fat meats, then go ahead and experiment for yourself. Your body is the ultimate authority.
Judi

Joachim - I too have experienced a major mood stabilization. I had taken 5HTP for 5 1/2 years - a supplement that works like the SSRI's. I tried to stop taking it a few times and experienced so much anxiety that I always went back. I haven't taken it now for - I'm not exactly sure - I think 3 months. And I'm still feeling great!

My aunt has had MS for the past 13 years and is on copaxone. She has difficulty walking and reading. She heard about one Frenchman who benefited from Ayurvedic treatment and decided to try it. I took her to a doctor in Chennai and he prescribed a diet that was quite similar to what you suggest. Ayurveda considers all nerve related problems to be because of derangement of the wind humor. And cheese, eggs, legumes and fermented food increase the wind humor according to Ayurveda. For those who are interested - here's the diet/lifestyle recommendation:

Avoid
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Coffee, tea, cocoa based drinks, kanji (watery porridge) with pulses.
Red chilly, green chilly, spicy masala items and spicy pickles.
Fried items.
Curds (buttermilk ok).
Frozen and cold items like yogurt, ice cream, items directly from the fridge.
Fresh tamarind, coconut (coconut milk is ok).
Fermented items like idli, dosai – freshly ground is ok.
Vegetables: Beans, cabbage, eggplant, cauliflower, mushrooms, peas, potatoes, sprouts, salads, tubers (pidi karanai ok), tandu, mulai, pasali keerais (specific kinds of greens - I don't know equivalents), tomato, pumpkin, big onion.
Pulses and grains: Bengal gram, oats, toor daal (lentils).
Fruits: Pear, pineapple, lemon and other citrus fruits.
Nuts: All
Sleeping during day – relaxing in a sitting posture is ok.

Allowed
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Milk, buttermilk, ghee.
Idiappam, pongal, kuzhakkotai.
Old tamarind, coconut milk.
A little pickle with ginger and lemon not containing chillies.
Vegetables: Long peppers and bell peppers without seeds, palak, arai keerai, siru keerai, drumstick leaves, ash gourd, carrot, pidi karanai, cucumber, okra, drumstick, radish, kovakkai (ivy gourd?), beet root, chow chow, raw papaya, small onion.
Fruits: Dates, raisins, figs, grapes, pomegranate, malai vazhai, elakki (kinds of banana).
Pulses and grains: rice, wheat, barley, moong daal, masur daal.

Dried dates soaked in boiling water in the morning and mashed in the evening in a mixer.
Raisins roasted in ghee.
Advisable to have food warm. 2-3 garlic pods a day.
Water boiled with sukku (dry ginger), jeerakam 20 gms in 3 liters water.
Sleep by 9:30 pm, get up by 4 am and do nadisuddhi and ujjayi pranayam.
Dinner should be eaten by sunset.
Apply nasyam daily.

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to commiserate with myself and maybe have other people commiserate with me who know what I am talking about!!! Got the results of my Elisa test back today and it seems chicken is off the menu now - ouuccchhh! i llluuuuuvvvv chicken! RIP! nuts as well - no surprises there and coffee, not sad about coffee but am living in continental Europe now and got sick of drinking herbal tea - makes me feel like Hitler asking for a glass of milk - asking for an espresso is so much cooler - yes - MS people can be cool!!!!!

So it seems Brazil nuts, Buckwheat , sesame Seed, Sunflower seed- I love all these and only eat them now once a week - are in the advised not to eat category - just as I got used to the taste of buckwheat - sucks!! Tuna a no-no - go dolphins!! Still I would like to run for a bus rather than pretend that i am too cool to do that so if cutting these out works in the long run , who am I to complain.............................

Anyone has any good foodie ideas - feel free to share - I eat quinoa, amaranth, rice (wild and brown), millet - any other gluten free grains I forgot? Need to eat grains with my nosh otherwise I feel hungry. I can still eat turkey so the annual slaughter still goes on!!

Joachim

p.s. Has anyone else noticed that on this diet, you don't tend to get as anxious or depressed a´s much?? I have always suffered from anxiety and bouts of depression over the years but now, not a sausage- I used to get anxious if I was going to be late for work, miss a train or had a deadline but now nothing, not a sausage. I just leave earlier and work steadily towards my deadllines. Maybe its just me - I have always eaten healthily over the years but the biggest modification that I have made is now to cut out gluten and legumes (in addition to the other stuff). ´

I am a medical researcher by trade - medical statistics etc. so have done a lot of reading recently on gluten and psychological/ psychiatric problems - what can I say - no smoke without fire!!! Interestingly, thyroid problems and bipolar disorder share some of the same genetic traits that MS does - and guess what - my niece suffers from bipolar disorder and my mother and sister both suffer from thyroid problems - doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out that there is something going on in the same family - so I think I am going to encourage them all to take the Elisa test or at least cut out the gluten.

Whew!! Serious verbal diarrhoea - apologies - very therapeuitc though!!!