Avoid Foods When You Have Multiple Sclerosis

While there’s no one specific diet for multiple sclerosis (MS), eating healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat protein, and low-fat dairy, could increase the time between relapses as well as promote overall health. What's more, a study published in Nutritional Neuroscience in 2015 found that a healthy diet can help you maintain a healthier outlook. Conversely, a poor diet may increase disease activity. Here are some foods you may want to avoid as part of your MS management plan.
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Saturated Fats
Saturated fats come primarily from animal-based foods such as red meat and full-fat dairy products. They're also in foods that contain palm and coconut oils. Saturated fats are known to raise your LDL, or bad, cholesterol. High cholesterol can lead to atherosclerosis, which raises your risk of heart attack and stroke. A study published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis in September 2013 found that people with MS, particularly women, are already at higher risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation (or flutter) than those without MS.
Trans Fats
Skip commercially baked cookies, crackers, pies, and any other packaged products that include trans fats in their ingredients list. Key words to look for on nutrition labels are partially hydrogenated oils or shortening. We know that trans fats increase inflammation inside blood vessels and thus could lead to cardiovascular problems.
Cow's Milk
In addition to its saturated fat content, some specific proteins in cow's milk could be detrimental to people with MS. But as the study authors point out, other researchers don’t believe the link is strong enough to merit giving up the other nutrients in milk. If you want to try eliminating milk from your diet to see if it helps, make sure you have other sources of calcium, protein, and vitamin D.
Sugar
Too much sugar, especially in the form of sweets, can pack on the pounds. You don’t want to increase your weight, because it’s going to make it more difficult to be mobile and perform activities of daily living. Excess weight also increases fatigue, which is common among people with MS. Need more motivation to decline dessert? A study published in 2014 in the International Journal of MS Care found that a healthier diet can help you withstand the flu-like symptoms that commonly occur after interferon injections.
Sodium
Start checking food labels for sodium. A study published in Neurology in April 2015 found that the more sodium people with MS had in their diets, the more likely they were to relapse, and the greater their risk of developing new lesions. More reason to shake the salt habit: Excess sodium can increase your blood pressure, another path to heart disease. Aim for less than 2,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day if you’re otherwise healthy, and less than 1,500 mg if you have heart-health concerns.