A Wellness Approach to MS-Related Fatigue

A proper diet and savvy methods to wellness can be of utmost importance to the care and treatment of autoimmune diseases. In fact, certain dietary approaches can even treat MS-related fatigue.

Although it’s still unknown what the mechanisms are that contribute to MS-related fatigue, Terry Wahls, MD, clinical professor of medicine, nutritional epidemiology at the University of Iowa, says research suggests that fatigue in the MS patient is a reflection of brain inflammation so removing foods that drive up the inflammatory cytokines (inflammation molecules) may be very helpful. 

“For those who are genetically vulnerable to having a severe immune response to gluten or casein, adopting a meticulously gluten free and casein free diet may lead to a marked improvement in energy,” she says.

Wahls teaches clinicians about using therapeutic diet and lifestyle to treat autoimmune diseases, and believes more doctors could be helping their patients by setting a proper course of action.

“We rely on the food we eat to have the building blocks to make the proteins that are necessary for cellular structures,” she says. “We also rely on the foods to speak to our genes and our microbes to create the cellular environment-which leads to a health promoting environment or disease promoting environment.”

She explains that diet quality impacts gene expression and one’s microbiome, both of which have a huge impact on risk of developing autoimmune problems.  

Leaky gut, for instance, is an early step that leads to leaking of the incompletely digested food proteins into the blood stream.