Multiple sclerosis

It is understandable that people with multiple sclerosis want to know why they have developed the condition, but the cause of multiple sclerosis remains uncertain and no single causal factor has been identified. There is no cure to multiple sclerosis as yet. It is not possible to talk very concretely about prevention of multiple sclerosis, except to say that often, the key to multiple sclerosis prevention as with many other chronic conditions is a healthy lifestyle. With multiple sclerosis, it is increasingly clear that a combination of genetic and environmental factors act to increase a person's susceptibility to developing multiple sclerosis. Therefore, prevention of multiple sclerosis must include taking good care of your body, whatever age you are.

Multiple sclerosis is characterized by various neurological symptoms, with remissions and recurrent exacerbations. The most common multiple sclerosis symptoms are numbness and tingling in the extremities, trunk, or on one side of the face. Muscle weakness, loss of coordination of a leg or hand, and visual disturbances (such as partial blindness in one eye, dim vision, or double vision) are common in MS. Limbs that fatigue easily, difficulty in walking, difficulty with bladder control, vertigo, and mood disturbances may appear years before MS is diagnosed. A multiple sclerosis cure being a long way off, we must look towards diet as a way to control the disease.

For many years, the leading researcher linking dietary fat to multiple sclerosis risk and progression has been Dr. Roy Swank. He found links between diet and multiple sclerosis: multiple sclerosis sufferers whose diet contained a lot of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were likely to live longer than those who ate more saturated fats. It is possible that fatty diets are responsible for causing multiple sclerosis in the first place. One study found that people who ate more fish were less likely to develop the disease, while those who ate pork, hot dogs, and other foods high in animal (saturated) fats were at greater risk. This same report found consumption of vegetable protein, fruit juice, and foods rich in vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, and potassium correlated with a decreased risk of multiple sclerosis, all down to their diet.