Swank diet

Question

My doctor mentioned a Swank food diet. Does anyone have information about this diet, their experiences with it? I mean it seems pretty basic diet, low fat, eat more fruits and vegetables.

Input, opinions?

Leslie

tingletingle · Accepted Answer

Sorry Lu but I beg to disagree about the fact that Swank has never been proven to make a difference in MS. In fact his ground breaking research on MS which started in the late forties and continued for over 30 years is absolutely breathtaking in the comparison between the health of those who kept to the diet and those who didn't. The only reason the medical community rejected it was because it adhered to medical trial standards that were acceptable to 1940 methologies. Randomised controlled trials didn't exist when Swank started.

Here is a link to the full research paper which is simply stunning:

http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis.org/News-And-Events/Whats-New-Out-There/Detail/For+those+who+have+never+read+Swank's+paper+in+the+Lancet/

Leslie, I have only been on the diet for 7 weeks and I'm not sure that I can confidently say that I have received benefits. However, it is interesting that for each of my 3 relapses before the diet I developed new symptoms and the 2 relapses since I have not. Unfortunately, the benefits won't be seen until 1 year, with the majority of Swank's patients seeing maximum benefits after 5 years.

I have met 2 people, spoken to another on the phone and been on a forum with at least another 5 people who all attest to the benefits of this diet. 

I am certainly not giving up my daily Copaxone injection but it is my hope that I may do so at some stage in the future.

I understand that there are people who have tried diet on his forum but to be fair I am not sure anyone has tried this diet high in omega3, low in saturated fat for 5 years and reported back. It is my sincere hope that I will be here in 5 years to let you know whether I can still walk or not, which given my later stage onset of MS will be a huge battle based on statistics.

Blessings
Alex

Lulu54 · Answer

Did he recomend the diet as a cure for your MS?  It's not.

Did he recommend the swank diet to help you feel better?  It probably would.  Getting all the meat and processed foods out of our diet would make us feel and be healthier.

The Swank Diet has been around a long time, it has been looked at, and has never been proven to make a difference in MS.  There is a new clinical trial being done for the next year out in Oregon tht is testing the Swank diet against a usual diet. I'm very interested in seeing the results.

As I said, it sure won't hurt you by eating healthier.
Lulu

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