C.pneumoniae and the Paleo diet

[Ricobord]

I am curious as to whether this infection, chlamydia pneumoniae, is an MS mimic, or if there are other stories like this one.  I though perhaps someone here might be familiar with this. This is the transcript of a TV story on a doctor who said he 'cured' his wife of supposed MS by treating her for c.pneumoniae. I am wondering if she never had MS, but rather this infection that produced similar symptoms.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3572695.htm


There is also a study that says...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10401775

"Our identification of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) led us to examine the incidence of this organism in the CSF from 17 patients with relapsing-remitting MS, 20 patients with progressive MS, and 27 patients with other neurological diseases (OND)." ... "C. pneumoniae was isolated by tissue culture from the CSF in 64% of MS patients versus 11% of the controls. PCR assays demonstrated the presence of C. pneumoniae major outer membrane protein (MOMP) gene in the CSF of 97% of MS patients and 18% of the controls. Finally, 86% of the MS patients had increased CSF antibodies to C. pneumoniae EB antigens, as demonstrated by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay adsorbance values that were 3 standard deviations greater than those seen in the controls."

Anybody know if this has been confirmed?  This study obviously doesn't show cause, merely a relationship.

Has anyone heard about this infection from MS docs?


I have also seen a couple claims that the equivalent of the Paleo diet stops or reverses MS when adopted early in the MS process (up tp 5 years). Some claim that eliminating all cereal grains, including oats and rice, and liquid milk somehow resets the immune system.  That sounds far fetched to me, but maybe is does work for some people. A friend got her chronic fatigue under control by going gluten free and sugar free.  I want to help my immune system, but don't want to embark on a severe diet change if this is mostly snake oil. I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this.

[mayperl]

I'm commenting on Paleo and diet in general:

I decided to give it a try.  Decided, what the heck, it's only food... and I LOVE Food, and cooking, but I was going off meds and wanted to try something beneficial for me, too.

It wasn't difficult for me because there are many variations and it all depends on what you are trying to achieve.  The most challenging was no grains or legumes.

Some people with MS east dairy, but they say soy causes inflamation? so no tofu or soy products... it's all a bit complex and I grew tired of it after two weeks.

I rarely eat red meat and always incorporate fish weekly.  I've been on soy milk since 2005 (waay before dx) and we rarely eat pasta so, I figured:  To hell with it.  All good things in moderation.

It's difficult, yes, because there is so much restriction and so little you can eat.  Was I left hungry? No, because there is no limit to the amount of items you can eat.  In fact, it encourages you to eat until you are full.

I ate tons of protein, fresh fruit and steamed veggies.  There are good recipes books outs there for how to cook paleo chinese, mexican, thai, italian, etc... you don't miss out on much.  There are also great websites:  Chowstalker.com dedicated to paleo much like pinterest.

Anyway.  That's my experience.  :)

[Ricobord]

Thanks.  All good info.

I, too, think that a healthy diet has to be a positive.  I am thinking that sugar plays a role in the immune system function. We now know that Vitamin D plays a big role. I can't help but wonder what else could be a significant factor.

[vamanos]

I agree 100%. I do think there is enough benefit derived from such a diet to be a positive rather than a negative, which is always a good thing, cure or not.

[SarahL2491]

I am all for sensible diets, don't get me wrong, I eat sensibly

but.....when diets are a cure for MS, you will find the MS foundation page screaming it from the roof tops!  

Until then, I'll stay away from fads and such

just saying......and going back under my rock!

[vamanos]

Hi there,

I am slowly changing my diet. My brother-in-law is a scientist/doctor, and he suggested I move towards a paleo type diet when all of this started.

Over the last two weeks, I cut out "treats" (nightly Haagen Dazs and various sugar type foods). I do not tell myself I cannot have them, I just really do not want them anymore.

My body craves fruit. Where I used to eat ice cream, I now eat pears or oranges.

In just two weeks, I lost 3-4 pounds (I am thin to begin with) and I feel better energy wise. I am more mindful of what and when I eat.

Again, I am not totally on a paleo diet yet, but I am making moves towards that...
I just think eating more vegetables and fruit, and lean protein, is the way to go.

I believe diet is crucial for so much of our health--more than we want to admit. I read Dr. Joel Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" and it changed how I thought about food and health.