In order to manage multiple sclerosis we need to understand and — if possible — remove the underlying causes and risk factors. We need to ask: "What else is going on inside the body that might allow multiple sclerosis symptoms to develop?"
Accurate diagnosis of the factors behind multiple sclerosis consists of three steps:
|Cigarette Smoke Damage||29%||Unlikely|
|Autoimmune Tendency||0%||Ruled out|
|EFA 3 Need||0%||Ruled out|
|Vasectomy Side-Effects||0%||Ruled out|
|Increased Intestinal Permeability||0%||Ruled out|
Multiple Sclerosis? Have you ever been diagnosed with this condition?
Possible responses:→ Never had it / don't know
→ Probably had it/minor episode now in remission
→ Significant problem in remission for some time
→ Current problem
→ Current major problem
Polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid deficiency may contribute to depressive symptoms in alcoholism, multiple sclerosis and postpartum depression.
It is interesting to note that the incidence of MS is quite low in Japan, where consumption of marine foods, seeds, and fruit oil is quite high. These foods contain abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids, including the omega-3 oils (alpha-linolenic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosahexanoic acids). Deficiencies of the omega-3 oils are thought to interfere with lipid elongation and permanently impair formation of normal myelin.
Lyme Disease has been called "The New Great Imitator", a replacement for that old "great imitator" neurosyphilis. The two diseases share so many symptoms that Lyme disease should be ruled out if multiple sclerosis diagnosis is in question.
A study at the University of Bergen in Norway, reported October 28th, 2003 in the journal Neurology, found that smoking can more than double a person's chances of developing multiple sclerosis. The risk was higher even if people had given up cigarettes. The authors, Dr. Trond Riise and colleagues, examined 22,312 people aged between 40 and 47. Of those, 87 had MS. The smokers were 1.81 times more likely to get MS than the non-smokers and men had a higher (2.75 times more likely) risk than women (1.61) who had smoked.
The leakage of toxic waste from the gut into the bloodstream is believed to be a primary cause of Multiple Sclerosis.
A 1987 study showed that the levels of mercury in the spinal fluid of MS patients was 8 times higher than normal. [Silberod, R: A comparison of mental health of multiple sclerosis patients with silver/mercury dental fillings; Psychological Reports 70: pp.1139-51, 1992]. Mercury has long been linked to autoimmune diseases such as MS because of its affinity to attach to collagen tissue, which is the most common protein in the body. Polluted by mercury infiltration, the collagen is seen by the immune system as 'not self.'
It has been reported that MS (possibly associated with low uric acid) and gout (associated with high uric acid) are mutually exclusive. A study of 20 million Medicare and Medicaid records found no overlap between MS and gout.