MS is still a relatively rare disease.MS is still a relatively rare disease.

MS afflicts around 2.5 million people worldwide and is believed to be a disease of the central nervous system. This includes the brain and spinal cord.

Nerve cell branches, or axons, in the central nervous system are protected by a fatty coating (a myelin sheath) which is eroded away by inflammation.

This is a process that results in scars or sclerosis (hardening similar to that seen in the arteries). The erosion tends to occur in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord, although MS symptoms vary, depending on the severity of the damage and the axons affected.

Doctors don’t know exactly what causes initial inflammation. However, there is some evidence that it could run in families, although this has not been scientifically established. The prevailing theory is that MS is caused by stress and infection.

MS is still a relatively rare disease. The overall risk of developing the disease is just one in 700 compared with, say, the one-in-three risk for cancer and the one-in-22 risk for chronic heart disease. The late Charles Poser, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School, believed he had the missing piece of the puzzle.

He was fascinated by the MS rates in Hawaii, which varied wildly across the various ethnic groups living there. Caucasians born in California, but now living in the Islands, had three times the rate of MS compared with the Caucasians born and raised there.

On the other hand, Hawaii-born Japanese had triple the rate of MS compared to those who were born and raised in Japan, but now living in Hawaii.

Poser explained these contradictory data with his MS theory, which proposed that some people are genetically susceptible to MS (they have MS theory) yet do not necessarily ever develop the disease. Only when a certain environmental ‘event’ occurs will it manifest into MS. This event could be anything from infection, vaccination, a high-fat diet or inadequate exposure to sunshine.

MS afflicts around 2.5 million people worldwide

This theory is supported by an Italian study that used magnetic resonance imaging (MSI) in 240 people related to an MS sufferer, either because it ran in the family, or it had suddenly appeared.

None of the participants had personally been diagnosed with MS. The researchers found that 10 per cent of those with familial MS had brain lesions identical to those found in actual MS sufferers, but had no symptoms.

In addition, four per cent of those with no family history of MS also had similar lesions. This suggests that those with lesions were all carriers of MS theory, but nothing in their life had so far triggered it (Ann. Neurol., 2006).

So what could the triggers be? The following were identified during treatment over the years of many sufferers:

• Individual food intolerances;

• Toxic metals such as mercury and lead;

• Toxic chemicals such as pesticides and food additives (MSG, aspartame);

• Nutritional deficiencies, especially vitamin B12, magnesium and vitamin D;

• Infections such as chickenpox/shingles, candida and chlamydia;

• The usual forms of stress, including geopathic (environmental) stress;

• Drugs and supplements, which can cause imbalances;

• Social poisons such as cigarette smoke and alcohol;

• Root canal fillings, especially old ones;

• Temporomandibular joint disorders;

• Hormonal imbalances;

• A struggling immune system;

• Poor bowel function or leaky gut syndrome.

The following blood tests were used to help indicate:

• Serum ferritin – MS patients are often tired all the time. The haemoglobin levels may be acceptable, but the serum ferritin, an indication of iron stores, can be well below normal;

• Thyroid function – the tests for all your thyroid hormones – FT4 (free thyroxine), FT3 (free triiodothyronine) and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). This will give the full picture of thyroid hormones circulating in the blood;

• Vitamin D – Many researchers are calling MS a vitamin D deficiency disease. A test for the level of vitamin D will indicate the level in the body;

• Homocysteine – the blood level of homocysteine is the foremost arterial ‘poison’. If it’s low, your body can deal effectively with many undesirable chemicals. The ideal level is below 6.0 moll/L. It is also an indicator that you have adequate levels of SAMe and glutathione, two important detox chemicals.

Finally, a change in diet will have an effect on MS symptoms. Avoid the following:

• Dairy products, all cheeses, milks, yoghurt, butter and cream. Milk has various names on packets, i.e. whey, casein and lactose;

• Caffeine, including decaffeinated drinks, chocolate and colas;

• Alcohol;

• Refined white flour products – most breads, biscuits, cakes, pasta, pies and puddings;

• Sugar, brown or white and other forms such as maple syrup;

• All chemical additives i.e. aspartame, MSG and those in fizzy drinks;

• All saturated fats, all red meat and citrus fruits; and

• Ideally, anything in a packet or a tin, processed food and anything with a list of ingredients.

kathryn@maltanet.net

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