Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that involves inflammation, so it seems logical to pursue treatments that reduce it. Why not try an anti-inflammatory diet?

In multiple sclerosis, the myelin sheath, which is the fatty protective covering on the nerves, becomes inflamed. Over time, the inflamed nerves lose most or all of their myelin (demyelination) and inflammatory lesions develop. The result is that the once healthy nerves are now damaged and electrical signals are not able to travel as well as they did before, which then results in various symptoms, depending on where the damage has occurred.

The authors of a new study published in ASN Neuro discuss the advantages of an anti-inflammatory diet for multiple sclerosis and the reasons why it can be beneficial. For example, the researchers explain that “what increases inflammation are hypercaloric Western-style diets, characterized by high salt, animal fat, red meat, sugar-sweetened drinks, fried food, low fiber, and lack of physical exercise.”

This way of eating, they point out further, promotes pro-inflammatory molecules (prostaglandins) and also results in low-grade systemic inflammation, compromise of intestinal immunity, and disruption of the gut microbiota (balance of good and bad bacteria). However, if you eat fewer or a limited amount of pro-inflammatory foods and more and more anti-inflammatory foods (which help the body produce anti-inflammatory prostaglandins), you can help your body help itself and get symptom relief.

An anti-inflammatory diet for MS
An anti-inflammatory diet for multiple sclerosis should do two things: avoid foods that trigger inflammation and include lots of foods that have an anti-inflammatory effect. There are foods in both of these two main categories that range from mildly to highly anti-inflammatory or inflammatory.