At some point in our lives with multiple sclerosis (MS), most if not all of us have at least considered changing what and how we eat as part of our self-care.
For some, it is a shift from omnivore to vegetarian or vegan diets. Others try programs linked to specific personalities, like the Swank diet or the Wahls Protocol.
Some just try to eat in a “healthier” manner to keep their bodies in shape for their battles with the disease.
Diet has often been a bit underappreciated by MS researchers, much to the chagrin of those who have experienced or perceived benefit from their dietary choices. It has often been considered an “alternative” treatment, as opposed to a complement to mainstream MS therapies.
New research, however, is beginning to move the idea of diet modification away from the woo-woo and into the arena of evidence-based interventions that can help with multiple sclerosis management.
Intermittent Fasting Shows Promise for MS
Researchers from the University of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, recently published a study on intermittent calorie restriction (fasting) and MS, and the results are quite promising.
It was a small study, starting with 42 participants with relapsing-remitting MS, of whom 34 completed the study. Half the group followed an intermittent calorie restriction eating plan for 12 weeks, while the other half (the control group) ate normally.
For those not familiar with the concept, intermittent fasting involves alternating planned periods of fasting with regular eating.
There are several approaches to intermittent fasting. One of the best-known is called the 5-2 diet, because it restricts food and drink to 500 calories a day for two days of the week, and permits eating normally for the rest of the week.
It might sound like a difficult regimen, but just over 97 percent of the participants in the Australian study were maintaining the diet at week 12 of the research.
My wife and I use this style of eating to control our weight, and we find it not only relatively easy, but also flexible, as the days of calorie restriction can be moved around if something of culinary interest presents itself in our week.
That being said, we’ve had a rough patch of late, and I must admit that comfort foods (and wine) were something of a coping mechanism for us both. We’re back on track now, and this new research is one of the reasons.
Where Leptin Comes Into It
One of the outcomes that was being scrutinized in the study was the level of leptin in the system of the active participants.
So, what is leptin?
Leptin is a hormone that’s released from fat tissue and tells your body when you’ve had enough to eat. In that way, it helps you maintain a stable body weight.
How much leptin you have in your system is proportional to how much fat you have on your body, meaning people with more fat have more leptin, and if you lose body fat, your leptin level decreases.
Some people with very high leptin levels develop leptin resistance, meaning their brains don’t respond normally to leptin, and they don’t get the message that they’ve eaten enough.
Leptin and MS
Previous research has shown that leptin can promote MS in mice — or more precisely, an animal model of MS, called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Reducing leptin levels, therefore, might reduce autoimmune inflammation in MS.
What the Australian researchers found in the human subjects of the recent study was that leptin levels at week 12 were significantly lower in the intermittent fasting group versus the control group.
According to the lead researcher, Laura Piccio, MD, PhD, these findings “support the potential role of [the intermittent fasting] diet as an add-on lifestyle intervention” for people with multiple sclerosis.
Another, ongoing study hopes to build upon this latest research.
Clinical Research Catching Up With Real Life
The lived experience of those of us with multiple sclerosis will always be several steps ahead of the research curve. It’s just the nature of academic studies and clinical trials.
But it’s nice to see some positive research results to support those who have found changes in their dietary habits to be beneficial. Perhaps these newly published findings might just entice others into considering diet as a synergistic approach to holding the reins of this runaway disease a bit tighter.
Wishing you and your family the best of health.
Cheers,
Trevis
