Wellness Series: Foods that can help with Bowel, Bladder, and Fatigue Symptoms of MS

Great series, MM.  I know there is no cure for MS, but a lifestyle of natural foods, including the 100% whole grain breads and pasta, is a great way to help manage MS.  I especially like the Food fo Life Ezekiel products, whole grains that are simply smashed and bashed together to make bread, cereal, and pasta; I especially enjoy the raisin bread toasted -- hey, goodbye to constipation for me.  I also eat old fashioned oatmeal, oven roasted veggies, raw fruits and veggies.  Salmon and sardines are a staple of mine.  I indulge in meat occasionally.  I do like eggs, mostly hard boiled; and smoothies are a must.  Hey, once again, thanks.   MG

Thanks for all the good advice, although I was hoping for chocolate and doughnuts to figure in somehow.  But then again, with lots of chocolate and doughnuts,  a figure is the thing you will have the most trouble keeping, so good advice in more ways than one.  

(and who knows... in part two... maybe?)

Water... it is the best thing that can keep all of that roughage moving and to lubricate and cleanse your system of anything that could hang out and cause other problems, Filtered is good if it is used as a preferance. But tap water is cheaper and can be jst as good. MM this post addresses pme of the more frustrating issues in MS and thank you....

I wonder about the fatigue MS patients experience. Can it be relieved by rest or does it require a period of time to go by regardless? I think Dr. Gross answered it.

What I mean is, does rest, beside helping from not moving, do anything to make fatigue go away or does only time do that? What I mean by that :) is, can it last for days no matter how much rest you get?

Thank you for the dietary advice, I'm still suspicious about prunes and figs though, I guess the appearance. I'll have to try one some day. Uhhh..., maybe.

Hi,

Some of the things that have helped me with constipation are ground flax seed.  I mix it in my pancakes, and cereal.  Always eat whole grains.  Make sure you drink plenty of water.  The other thing I also do is massage my bowels.  This aids in getting things going.

Robert

Conquer Multiple Sclerosis

Keep it up MM.  I personally need all the help I can get with information and motivation on diet, exercise, and other lifestyle improvements, that enhance my participation the the MS CLUB.   matt

Hi Diane,

Thanks for writing this article and sharing it with me. (via subscription!) While I knew a lot of this information.. it is great reading it in this context. Like a poke in the arm to remind me of another reason to eat well.

Thanks, I needed that!

Amy

Hi Diane,

Thanks for writing this article and sharing it with me. (via subscription!) While I knew a lot of this information.. it is great reading it in this context. Like a poke in the arm to remind me of another reason to eat well.

Thanks, I needed that!

Amy

Thank you so much for this series! I am forwarding it to my sister who has MS. We are working hard to help her deal with many symptoms and this helps cut down the research time because you've already done it for us. I appreciate it so much! I can forward this to her and she can print it out, too, which is wonderful.

Speaking of symptoms, has anyone had trouble with high potassium levels, with low sodium levels at the same time? My sis is really struggling with this. Her MS doc seems to think it could be a side effect of the triliptol (sp?) she takes. He has had her cut back on the medicine to see if that will help things balance out. She's really struggling with gastrointestinal problems lately, and has had a couple of fainting spells. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Spinner 

I have found that mixing a teaspoon full of Salba (ground white chia seed) with gluten free rolled oat hot cereal helps. I'm curious through, I've seen websites on the internet that advise MS patients to cut out wheat and soy. Also, what if someone has an under-active thyroid condition as well as MS, this limits the food choices considerably. Perhaps in the future someone can address this issue?

Thanks,

Mrs. Lee Cardillo

Hi MM:

   I love your series and I am anxiously awaiting the next installment.  

Signed  Impatient-in-Chi-Town.

Very interesting and informative. I was especially interested in your concepts of bladder and fatigue as virtually all MS sufferers face these a wide variety of the time. Thanks for the food info. Great article.

I'm glad that you are writing this series.

I would love to have more information about foods which can increase inflammation (ie. red meat), foods which might aggravate symptoms (ie. caffeine which can irritate the bladder and cause urgency), or foods which are astringent and clear the body of excess fluid (ie. asparagus which also has a mild laxative effect).

In treating my rheumatoid arthritis, I am looking to learn more about these types of food effects.  Since MS is an inflammatory disease, too, it would make sense that many of the same things would be beneficial.

Perhaps you could write more on this subject?  I'd love to read what you find.