Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Support Group
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So, we all know haw to eat properly. This is good for you and that is good for you. I playing around with Web MD. This slide show says 15 Immune boosting foods. Maybe I should look at this and avoid these foods. Over active Immune system is our problem. Problem is all the foods on the slide show I like to eat. If these foods are good for most people with a normal Immune system. Should we be avoiding them. Don't get me wrong I love my junk food. But, the healthy stuff I eat is all listed as Immune boosting om Web MD. I my healthy side of eating the problem.
"Taking the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of these products poses no risk to patients with MS."
I'm not certain what you read on WebMd, are you heating healthy stuff beyond the recommended daily allowances?
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Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers
Alternative Treatments That "COULD" Be Harmful
In Patients with Multiple Sclerosis
Consortium of MS Centers
718 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Tel: (201) 837-0727 Fax: (201) 837-9414
Email: info@mscare.org Website: http://www.mscare.org Federal ID # 22-3216416
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Alternative medicine is widely used in the United States. In 1998, Dr. David Eisenberg estimated that 42% of Americans use some form of complimentary alternative medicine.
A similar study was conducted with multiple sclerosis (MS) patients at the Rocky Mountain MS Center in 1997. This study found that 67% of MS patients used some form of Alternative Medicine. One could conclude from this data that MS patients are more likely to use alternative or unconventional medicine than non-MS patients.
Concerning alternative medicine, patients with and without MS have one thing in common; they RARELY admit to their doctors that they use it. This can be very dangerous because 90% of individuals who use alternative medicine also use conventional medicine. Drug interactions can occur between conventional and unconventional medications just like they can occur between conventional medicines. The best way to avoid ALL drug interactions is to make your physicians aware of any and all medications (conventional and unconventional) that you use.
MS is a very complicated disease that affects both the immune and nervous systems. In order to understand which alternative medications are safe and unsafe in MS, it is necessary to examine the disease. Patients with MS have an up-regulated or excessively active immune system. CD4-TH1 cells in the immune system attack the myelin in the nervous system. Multiple sclerotic plaques then develop in the CNS and axonal damage can result.
The immune system in the MS patient is the opposite from the immune system in a cancer or HIV patient.
These patients have a suppressed immune system. Therefore, immune-stimulating therapies that would be helpful for cancer and HIV patients may actually be harmful in MS patients.
A general rule of thumb for alternative medicine and MS: If a particular product is recommended for a condition where the immune system is suppressed (i.e. cancer, HIV, colds, etc), AVOID THE PRODUCT IN MS.
Many alternative medications are known to stimulate the immune system. While these products are
beneficial in treating conditions of a weaken immune system, they can possibly worsen MS since it is a
disease of an up-regulated immune system. It is very important for MS patients to be aware of alternative
medications that can up-regulate the immune system.
The following alternative medications pose potential risks for the MS patient because of their immune stimulating properties.
Alfalfa Echinacea Ginseng, Siberian Green teaArnica Garlic supplements Goldenseal LicoriceCat's Claw Ginseng, Asian Grape Seed Extract Saw palmetto
In high doses, certain vitamins may also stimulate the immune system. It is best to avoid HIGH DOSES of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Beta-Carotene, and Zinc in MS patients. Taking the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of these products poses no risk to patients with MS.
As mentioned above it is very important to talk with your doctor before you take alternative medications.
This gives you and your physician the opportunity to weigh the pros and cons of the agents in question.
This advice is especially true for MS patients since certain alternative medicines can theoretically worsen the course of the disease. Basically, when it comes to your body and your health, it is better to be safe than sorry.
If topic is of interest you, let me suggest 2 references. The first is a book titled Alternative Medicine and Multiple Sclerosis by Allen C. Bowling, MD, PhD.
The second is an internet site (www.ms-cam.org) that focuses on CAM and MS. This Internet site, like the book, contains a wealth of information.
And herbal medicines have a much better track record for safety than synthetic medicines or prescription drugs do.....by an order of 1000 to 1. You are 1000 times more likely to have an adverse reaction to a drug taken as directed given by your doctor who knows what he is doing than you are likely to have a serious adverse reaction to something sold in a health food store by someone who doesnt. Those are the honest to god actual statistics or there about. Herbal medicines and supplements are generally safe.
A few are capable of having interactions with other drugs, like st Johns wort for example. A few are unsafe like Ephedra. These are rare examples.
Alternative medicine is worth looking into, but find a real professional like an acupuncturist or doctor of Naturopathic Medicine....Dont just trust the people selling you something.
Many MDs are strong advocates of alternative medicine. Many nutritionists and dietitians are also qualified to advise people on supplements.....and some of it has real evidence to back it up.
Other people are just bitter because at one time they tried an alternative medicine, like LDN, and because it didnt work for them at the time they have a grudge against anything alternative even if its totally non-logical to pass such a sweeping judgement....
I was seriously harmed by conventional western medicine, but I am not going to reject all of it because I had a bad experience. I have been helped greatly by alternative medicine, but that doesnt mean that 100% of it is proven effective. You need to get a professional to help you navigate through the bullshit and point you in the right direction....You dont need every supplement people try to sell you, but a professional can help you choose which ones are actually worth investing in that you will get the most benefit from.....That professional is not always your GP or Neurologist. Sometimes its your nutritionist or acupuncturist or maybe you found a nurse practitioner who is holistically minded, or maybe you can afford to see a Naturopathic Physician.....If you want to see an herbalist, make sure they are endorsed by the American Herbalists guild which is the closest thing to a standard of basic competency that we have in the US.