The type of Multiple Sclerosis food consumed actually plays a very important role in how well the patients do. In fact, many patients are recommended to follow a special MS diet plan which will include a great number of choices in the menus that are geared to maximize their health. In fact, the Swank MS diet was designed to provide the maximum choices while being affordable to patients who probably have plenty of medical bills to worry about. This diet is designed to improve the nutrition of the person that will not only improve how they look but also how well they do and how intense their symptoms are.
This particular low fat diet was first introduced in 1948 and was developed by Dr. Roy Swank in order to help MS patients. In fact, in a study done at that time 144 patients were watched over a span of 34 years and the results of this study were nothing short of astounding. What people who followed the diet found was that their health remained at a very good level and that their condition did not worsen while those who did not follow this plan found that their symptoms progressively got worse.
The key features of this particular diet are that it limits saturated fats and red meat. In fact, for the initial year, no red meat should be eaten at all and after that 3 ounces of red meat are allowed per week. There are no boundaries on wheat, gluten, and dairy products that can be eaten and the quantities of such foods, however, with the dairy, limitations are placed on the amount of fats. No product should contain more than 15 grams of saturated fat, 1 percent butterfat and 20 to 50 grams of unsaturated fats. Along with this, an omega-3 supplement is supposed to be consumed daily.
Supplements for People with MS
Adding in supplements to a properly balanced MS diet is highly beneficial for a person with MS. It should be noted that the focus is usually placed on Vitamin D, because this particular disease is an autoimmune disease and Vitamin D helps in maintaining a healthy immune system. Vitamin D can help promote cellular differentiation, a reduction in inflammation, and has been proven to lower the number of relapses people with MS experience. In fact, some scientists believe that if people have enough of this vitamin they will not develop MS at all.
Another important fact to keep in mind about Multiple Sclerosis food is that it has to take into account the person’s environment. Sunshine is what helps the body produce this vital nutrient and enjoying a little sunlight daily will help greatly in maintaining healthy levels of vitamin D in the body. However, in some cases, the genetic makeup of the person in question can make it more difficult to obtain this vitamin so it is recommended that a person take a vitamin D supplement. While such a vitamin for a regular person is recommended to be around 1,000 IU, MS patients need to take a daily dose of 14,000 IU. In fact, some research done on the subject has even recommended that dosage to be lifted to 40,000 IU.
