Nutrition and Environmental Factors Influence Multiple Sclerosis Risk

In this article, we explore how nutrition and environmental factors can influence the risk of multiple sclerosis and discover dietary strategies that may help reduce this risk.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating central nervous system autoimmune disease characterized by:

• Cognitive impairment
• Demyelination
• Fatigue
• Inflammation
• Neurodegeneration
• Nerve damage
• Sensorimotor symptoms
• Vision loss

Potential contributing factors include:

• Genetic propensity
• Dysbiosis
• Infection
• Lack of physical activity
• Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
• Mitochondrial dysfunction
• Nutrition status
• Obesity, a pro-inflammatory state
• Oxidative stress
• Pro-inflammatory diet high in trans fats, animal fat, red meat, sugar, and highly processed foods
• Smoking
• Sun exposure
• Vitamin D status

Potential protective factors include:

• Antioxidants
• Curcumin
• Gut microbiota diversity and support, including vegetables, fiber, probiotics, prebiotics, vitamins A and D, and lipoic acid
• Healthy diet patterns, including
  • Hyperbolic-caloric restriction
  • McDougall
  • Mediterranean
  • Paleolithic
  • Swank
• Melatonin
  • Produced internally in the pineal gland
  • Produced from tryptophan in foods, including meat, oily fish, milk, seeds, almonds, nuts, and soy products
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Polyphenols from fruits, vegetables, wine, tea, and herbs
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D

A Sustainable Mediterranean Diet

Source: Serra-Majem, Lluís et al. “Updating the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid towards Sustainability: Focus on Environmental Concerns.” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 17,23 8758. 25 Nov. 2020, doi:10.3390/ijerph17238758 This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license

Optimal Takeaways

The risk of multiple sclerosis may be reduced by:

• A healthy anti-inflammatory diet, such as the Mediterranean diet
• Maintaining a desirable weight
• Adequate intake of micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids
• A healthy gut microbiome
• Regular physical activity
• Moderate but adequate sunlight exposure

Reference

Stoiloudis, Panagiotis et al. “The Role of Diet and Interventions on Multiple Sclerosis: A Review.” Nutrients vol. 14,6 1150. 9 Mar. 2022, doi:10.3390/nu14061150

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).