People with MS can reasonably hope to stay well with attention to lifestyle

I have been analyzing and summarizing the medical literature on MS for 10 years now. The evidence is surprizingly congruent: it is reasonable for people with MS to hope for a long and happy life, and even potentially to recover from the illness. There is now an enormous and persuasive literature that shows that attention to diet, sun exposure, exercise, stress reduction and preventing depression can dramatically reduce relapse rate and significantly slow progression of the illness. While we tend to immediately think of drug treatment when diagnosed, the currently used medications do not purport to offer such an outcome: they may reduce relapse rate by 30% or so, and there is difficulty demonstrating any change in disease progression. My website www.takingcontrolofmultiplesclerosis.org has the summarised information, and my book 'Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis: An Evidence-Based Guide to Recovery' will be out in February (http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781742371795).

I hope we can change the paradigm of this illness so that people with MS can live long, happy lives.