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/).