The Paleo diet is a popular diet with many groups and celebrities, but will it help people who have MS? This post will discuss the Paleo diet – what it is, the guidelines and the benefits to those with MS who follow this diet.
Story at a glance
The benefits of the Paleo diet for those with MS or other chronic diseases:
- This diet is gluten, grain and dairy free
- Eat whole foods and avoid processed foods
- Promotes organic, free-range, pasture raised, wild caught meat and fish
- Research suggests that this diet may be helpful for weight loss, cardio health, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. It has also been shown to improve energy in people who have MS.
The limitations of the Paleo diet for those with MS or other chronic diseases:
- This diet does not restrict carbohydrate and sugar intake
- High carbohydrate starchy veggies like squash, sweet potatoes and root veggies are allowed
- There are no restrictions on the amount of fresh and dried fruit, nuts and seeds
- Natural sweeteners like molasses, coconut sugar, maple syrup and raw honey are permitted
- Fermented foods like balsamic vinegar, coconut aminos are permitted
- Mushrooms are permitted
- Distilled liquors like vodka, brandy, rum, tequila, whisky and dry white wine are not encouraged, but are permitted.
The Paleo diet is also known as the hunter-gatherer, caveman or Stone Age diet. The rationale behind this diet is that our bodies have not evolved to eat and digest foods that are produced by modern farming and agriculture type practices.
The Paleo diet encourages whole, unprocessed foods like:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Eggs
- Fish and seafood
- Lean meats and poultry
- Nuts and seeds
- Healthy fats and oils
- Herbs and spices
- Vegetables
The Paleo diet discourages:
- Added salt
- All grains, including gluten-free grains
- Beans and legumes
- Dairy products
- Hydrogenated oils and trans fats
- Processed foods
- Refined sugars and artificial sweeteners
Things to consider when searching for the best diet:
There are many healthy diets and the way to pick the best for you is to first get clear on your health goals. If you suffer with disease, is your goal to follow a healthy diet, exercise, take supplements and live with the disease the best you can? Or are you determined to recover and get your health and life back? Do you believe that you can once again have wonderful health that will allow you to do the things you love to do? A clear goal is the first step.
The Paleo diet can be a healthy diet but the best diet to recover from MS and chronic disease in general, considers the cause of the disease and the state of the body. The biggest cause of MS and all disease is infection. When we suffer from a disease, the body is in a state of dysbiosis, which means that our body is out of balance – too many disease-causing microbes and not enough health promoting ones are present. The favorite foods for these infections are carbohydrates and sugars. Thus, the best diet will feed the body essential nutrients so it can perform all of its functions, but it should also greatly reduce the food for the infections that are making us sick.
Inflammation, leaky gut, food sensitivities and leaky brain are also consequences of these infections which will influence the types of foods we should avoid if our goal is to recover.
For decades, integrative medical doctors have observed that their patients diagnosed with disease were sensitive to the gluten protein found is certain grains as well as the protein in dairy. Avoiding gluten and dairy products decreases inflammation and helps to improve symptoms.
Fungal overgrowth is one of the common infections found in those with MS and other diseases. For over 30 years, Candida diets have recommended avoiding fermented foods and other foods and supplements that contain fungi or their metabolites. These foods and supplements will not cause a fungal infection, but can add burden to a body that may be sensitive to an overgrowth of fungi.
Many of the microbes that make us sick produce large amounts of ethanol which is a type of alcohol. It is a toxin, a carcinogen that our liver must detoxify. Caffeine stimulates us but it also excites parasites that live in us and cause disease symptoms. As the infections become more active, because of a carbohydrate rich diet and stimulants like caffeine, they will produce more toxins, making us feel worse.
Inflammation is always present in chronic disease. It is the war zone where our immune system is fighting the enemy – the infection and the toxins it produces.
With all this in mind, the best diet for MS will support general health but also help to decrease inflammation. This results in immune modulation, symptom improvement and sets the stage for a successful treatment phase.
Paleo Diet Studies
With all its popularity, it is surprising that there is such a lack of science behind the Paleo diet. Celebrity chef, Pete Evans, is an advocate for the Paleo diet. Some of his followers who have MS have reported symptom improvements while following this diet.
Most of the research behind the Paleo diet for MS comes from the work of Dr. Terry Wahls. She created the Wahls Protocol which includes a modified Paleo diet, supplements, physical activity, the use of electrical stimulation and meditation which has shown to significantly improve fatigue in people with MS. The Wahls Protocol addresses mitochondrial dysfunction and follows the principles of functional medicine and healthy living, but she does not believe that the cause of MS is infection.
Dr. Wahls also created a lower carb version of her diet (Paleo Plus) which many of her followers have found to be more helpful. Her diet omits eggs but allows for smoothies, nutritional yeast, bone broth, alcohol and dark chocolate.
Her protocol offers a healthy diet and lifestyle but falls short for those who want to recover as it does not support the treatment of infections that are causing the disease. There is no diet that will treat the infections. The only way to fully recover from MS and other diseases is to treat the infections while following a holistic approach.
The Live Disease Free Diet is the only diet that considers your current state of health and your goal to recover, because it focuses on the cause of disease. The guidelines are tailored to the level of dysbiosis you are dealing with and takes into account leaky gut, food sensitivities, possible leaky brain and inflammation. The Live Disease Free Diet is tasty and satisfying and will give you clarity on what you can eat and what you should avoid. It naturally supports immune modulation, which allows one to start feeling better, setting the stage for the treatment of infections so they can enjoy the highest level of recovery.
Live Disease Free Diet Guidelines
CLICK Here to download the Live Disease Free Diet Cheatsheet
Real MS Solutions for Today!
If you’re frustrated with the fact that our standard of care STILL doesn’t offer a real solution for treating MS, then click on the link below to watch my free masterclass training and discover REAL solutions that have allow myself and many others to live free from MS symptoms.
CLICK Here to watch Pam’s masterclass training
Or take the Health Blocker Quiz to see if you could have chronic infections
References
The Role of Diet and Interventions on Multiple Sclerosis: A Review
The Role of Diet in Multiple Sclerosis: Mechanistic Connections and Current Evidence. 2018
Clinically diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 28, Pam chose an alternative approach to recovery. Now decades later and still symptom free, she coaches others on how to treat the root cause of chronic disease, using a holistic approach. She can teach you how, too.
Pam is the author of Become a Wellness Champion and founder of Live Disease Free. She is a wellness expert, coach and speaker.
The Live Disease Free Academy has helped hundreds of Wellness Champions in over 15 countries take charge of their health and experience profound improvements in their life.
