Ask Dr. Taz MD: Feb 4th, 2014
Dear Dr. Taz,
I was recently medically retired from the United States Navy after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I have been on several prescription medications including Tysabri, ReBif and now Tecfidera. Unfortunately, I am still dealing with fatigue, double vision, unsteady gate and heat sensitivity. I have heard from others suffering with MS that they maintain a strict diet. Is there a diet you would recommend?
I was recently medically retired from the United States Navy after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I have been on several prescription medications including Tysabri, ReBif and now Tecfidera. Unfortunately, I am still dealing with fatigue, double vision, unsteady gate and heat sensitivity. I have heard from others suffering with MS that they maintain a strict diet. Is there a diet you would recommend?
Answer: I do recommend an anti-inflammatory diet as a start, but many patients need a diet more specific than this. Anti-inflammatory diets focus on keeping gluten, dairy, and sugar very low in the daily diet—maybe down to 1 serving per day. Many patients with MS also report improvement once they do completely gluten or dairy free diet, but again, this has to be individually determined. Also, juicing to increase antioxidants can also aid in another common MS pattern, mitochondrial dysfunction.