…a 56 percent higher risk of relapse.
Moreover, most of this risk increase was tied to consumption of saturated fat, found in many baked goods and beef, cheese and butter. Every 10 percent increase in these calories was associated with a tripling of the risk for relapse, according to the study.
But every additional cup of vegetables was linked with a 50 percent reduction in risk for relapse, regardless of how much fat the children ate, the study found. This was true even after the researchers considered other possible contributing factors, including age, weight and medication.
It’s possible that excess fat intake may be triggering the release of inflammatory chemicals and affecting the composition of bacteria in the gut, the researchers said. Animal fat is also associated with a number of chronic inflammatory conditions, while a vegetable-rich diet has the opposite effect, Waubant’s team noted.
The findings were published online Oct. 9 in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
The study doesn’t prove a causal relationship, however, and more research is needed to investigate how diet affects MS.
“Ultimately, the role of diet in MS is an actively evolving area of research,” said Dr. Kathryn Fitzgerald, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. She wrote a commentary accompanying the study.