Foods to Avoid when you have MS
Certainly, some foods are banished from your dining table if you have multiple sclerosis. Let me tell you about these bad guys.
You should avoid foods high in sugar
Foods with high refined sugar content are an unforgivable no-no for people with MS. It would help if you steered clear from beverages and sugar-sweetened foods.
Such foods trigger spikes in glucose levels. This is not good news for people with MS, as such glucose spikes can worsen the impairment levels, aggravating the symptoms.
An insightful study reveals that people who have MS and eat sugar-sweetened beverages were five times likelier to suffer acute impairment than those with reduced intake of such beverages.
Frightening, isn’t it?
You can do without saturated fats
MS patients are highly discouraged from consuming foods with significant saturated fat content. A 1954 research led by Dr. Roy Swank sought to investigate the lower incidence of MS in coastal fishing towns (with higher fish intake) compared to mountainous regions with higher meat consumption.
Data from a 1954 study showed that a lower intake of saturated fat reasonably decreased one’s chances of developing MS. The results consolidated the Swank diet’s famed adoption (named after Dr.Roy Swank), which recommended a low-fat diet corroborated by increased fish (high in omega-3) and vegetable intake.
The research further shows that people who adopt a low saturated fat diet can experience up to 95% reduction in relapse rate over 3-5 years.
Reduce intake of ultra-processed foods
It is no revelation that ultra-processed foods are usually stacked with additives. This aims to extend the shelf-life of such foods, ultimately altering their flavor and color. For the manufacturers, this is not bad for business.
You may be curious about the bromance between MS and such additives. I will tell you.
Additives sabotage the efficiency of the immune system by destroying the intestinal muscles. With such immune balance triggered, autoimmune conditions like MS has a free pass into the body, speeding its progression.
Research attributes the climbing incidence of MS and other autoimmune conditions to disruptions in the intestine’s tight junction permeability, no thanks to industrial food additives contained in ultra-processed foods.
Of course, the generality of foods we eat today undergoes one form of processing or another. However, it is wiser to go for whole and fresh foods more, or those entirely made of natural ingredients.