This is an outstanding presentation! I've had MS for almost 30 years and on the Swank diet for 29....still fully mobile and active!!!! I cannot recommend this diet enough for other MS patients. It can be truly life-changing.
I was too for 27 years and then it turned progressive...had to get hsct to stop the progression...I knew I was just lucky..it wasn't abput my diet/exercise
@@arr2820 I've been on DMD's occasionally for the past 25 years or so. However, the majority of "Swankers" I know have never been on DMD's, and most are still thriving.
I have followed the Swank diet for 17 years, I am 53 now and doing fine. I have chosen this treatment route because it is already similar to my usual diet and it is also much gentler than medical solutions.
7 years on Swank, 6.5 years relapse free. Swank works!! Zero drugs. I am also dairy free, take vitamin D supps and some flax oil, (although not as much as OMS recommends) and strive to live a peaceful life and minimise stress.
Hooray! I went 11 years between first relapse and second. I had changed to vegetarian (later low fat vegan - whole food plant based) and believe it really made a difference. I also added yoga and stress reduction changes as well. Thank you for this valuable information, It is so wonderful to see neurologists looking to add diet and lifestyle changes along with medication!
Thanks Vicky. This has always been an interest of mind. I'm actually going to publish a video next Wednesday critiquing some of the claims about the Swank diet by Dr. Michael Greger (WFPBD advocate).
I believe there are so many other factors influencing MS such as stress, sodium intake, sugar intake etc. So it is hard to say whether low saturated fat diet is effective. Be that as it may, I still try to follow Prof. Jelinek's advice on diet as much as possible because it might decrease disability in the long run. Thanks for the video.
Thank you Dr Beaber for the comprehensive review. It's so challenging with MS to sort out all the diet recommendations since many contradict each other. I did try the Wahls protocol modified keto diet and the high fat intake really made things worse for me personally in terms of MS flares. I found that coconut milk and cream especially caused GI distress. Also consuming nine cups of vegetables daily burned me out on the greens. From there I tried the Grain-Brain diet. What has worked best for me has been to eliminate grains(especially corn), all dairy, eggs, and sugar and sugar substitutes. I limit red meat to once weekly and mostly eat chicken and limited nuts. I do eat lots of vegetables and have found I feel better eating two daily servings of pomegranates maybe due to the potassium. My eating plan is a conglomeration of all I've read it seems. I'm always interested in new insights. It has kept my EDSS score stable at 6.5 for the past 5 years. I progressed fairly quickly before then. I also started HD Biotin at that time and Vitamin D3 which may have helped as well. I appreciate so much the depth of your videos looking at all angles !
I’m a believer. Helped me. Was suggested by my MS Neuro immunologist. I believe he met Dr Swank as a young student. I also am a cardiology nurse so of course low fat diet is best. Helped me recover from the initial MS onslaught. ( that and a induction therapy approach). I need to get back on it as I have been feeling more symptoms. MRIs just fine. Great analysis, love your data driven approach.
Thanks Sandy. Believe it or not, I read his entire book to make this single video. Are you by any chance treated by someone at Oregon Health Sciences University? I know a lot of people there and once interviewed there for a position.
I use the diet in the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis protocol. I have been stable with no disease progression for nearly 4 years. I started the diet about 6 months after my diagnosis. I had a spinal lesion the left me numb chest down and disabled for awhile. No disability, no numbness, no tingling. I also take a DMT . I highly recommend the book you mentioned it changed my life.
I don't follow any one particular ms diet, however, I'm interested in all of them so I enjoy these videos. For me personally, eliminating dairy has been extremely helpful. I avoid gluten although eating it has never bothered me. I only eat whole foods, (with the exception of pasta) very simple meals. Lean meat, sweet potato, vegetables. Fruits. Make my own juice. Still lifting weights and jumping rope, at 55. You really just have to find what works for you.
RRMS 21y no DMTs! I have been on a Swank diet for almost two years, the first year there were frequent exacerbations i experienced, I wanted to quit the diet. But in the second year there are no more exacerbations. But I am now on experimental treatment MS with trehalose (SLS-005) after it began, my exacerbations stopped and my vision recovered by 100% I couldn't even believe it because I had persistent visual impairment for 4 years also, all neurological functions were restored almost completely. I don’t understand what saved me, diet or trehalose I also take micro doses of RSO oil. But I believe more in trehalose than diet
I'm following a mix of different diets: 30 ml flaxeed oil daily from OMS,9 servings vegetables and fruits of different colors almost daily,fermented veg.included/from the wahls protocol,no deep fat fried foods,minimal commercial oils,olive oil used more often,salmon twice/week,lean red meat max twice/w,include organ meats like chix liver,and trying to cut down on total carbs especially refined,I was diagnosed in Nov.20,symptoms since Feb.17,on Aubagio,last relapse when i was diagnosed was bad,but now,I'm almost back to normal,feeling well.
I'm glad you're doing well Eileen. One thing that all of these diets have in common is the avoidance of processed foods, and it's hard to go wrong if you follow this advice.
@@DrBrandonBeaber I must admit I took o during my time swanking, but stopped any dmts since last September. No real lapse since my initial two…2010, I have had trouble with balance and walking, pt and Pilates are helpful.
I was basically already on the Swank diet without knowing it, before I developed MS, with the exception of eating grilled chicken thighs. I ate little red meat and everything was the low fat version. If fatty meat is the cause, then MS must've been an epidemic among Native Americans, Okinawans (their traditional diet is largely wild boar), the Maasai, and all pre-agriculture humans.
I used to hear a lot more about Dr. Swank 10 years ago, but people still follow this diet. One appealing thing about Swank's studies even though the methodology isn't great is the long-term follow up.
This is what has been so difficult for me. I believe a healthy diet is extremely important- ms or not- but some say low fat others say high fats (healthy fats: salmon, tuna, olive oil, avocado oil, avocados, coconut oil). Our brains are mostly made up of fat so... do we eat the healthy fats daily or not? Its so important to control and help ourselves with the things we can control and diet is one of the things we can control. The last thing I want to do is hurt my body with the wrong foods. I'm grateful for you videos so appreciate your videos so much thank you even though I'm still confused what to do diet wise fat or no fats... lol 🤦♀️
Dr Swank and OMS both recommend good healthy fats to be taken daily. UNsaturated is classed as healthy, think oily fish, olive oil, hummus, nuts, avocado in moderation etc. Swank allows up to 50 gms (10 teaspoons) of this daily with as low saturated as you can but with the upper limit of 15gms (3 teaspoons). Coconut flesh and oil is strictly forbidden on both diets as it is mostly saturated fat. Saturated fats are the enemy of MS.
I have MS and am on OMS. Before I started Tysabri and after DX I good hit with a huge lesion in the PONS brain stem, my neurologist recommended Tysabri after this as it seemed quite aggressive. I was already limiting meat and dairy so OMS wasn’t a big change just a refinement. I have been free of disease activity for 2 years/MRI’s. I still have disability but I try hard to improve it. Thank you OMS and you’re right, it’s hard to stick to a diet when you have to limit sat. Fat., restaurants put a lot of coconut products into the vegan options, even though OMS is not vegan, that’s generally the only dairy free thing on the menu, so it’s hard to believe that people complied to the diet so strictly
Thanks for sharing Melissa, and I'm glad it's working fell for you. It is definitely hard to comply perfectly with any strict diet, but many people are able to do it for long periods of time if sufficiently dedicated.
The swank diet had merits for the time but does not hold up to current scientific knowledge, good to see you have your own critiques. Given that fasting was the only 'diet' which has proven to help people with MS, we are best to understand the importance of ketones and being fat adapted. Don't get me wrong, industrialized seed oils are terrible for peoples health, as are trans-fats. However it is 2021 not 1950, we now know of the role of NAD+ and autophagy in MS and how these fit with pathways such as AMPK and mTOR. Over consumption will continue to be a killer in the west for some time to come.
There is a study on the McDougall diet at OHSU: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27645350/ It showed benefits in fatigue and weight loss but not in MRI lesions or clinical outcomes, though the sample size was small.
I'd like to see the patients dr seray stancic really gets this subject as much as anyone. Being herself a doctor and patient and the other doctors whom have results. This can't be overlooked. Find the doctors whom have results. This is where I want to focus see the difference in the people's outcomes .
Hi, I would like to ask off topic question to the related video, is it possible that during Ocrevus treatment if there is an infection, the PlasmaBlasts and Plasmacells are on rise (or any of cd19 B cells which are not affected by OCR), which then when blood sample is taken, CD19+ gives higher percentage?
I'm not exactly sure what you are asking, but even though the overlap between CD19 and CD20 cells is extremely high, it is not perfect, so these values are usually close but not always identical on flow cytometry. I'm not sure how this relates to infection to be honest.
@@DrBrandonBeaber I wrote the question hard to understand, sry. I wanted to ask whether during an infection while on Ocrevus treatment, on flow cytometry examination can CD19+ get higher counts/percentage as reaction to infection? We had discussion about anti drug antibodies to Ocrevus in previous video comments because I had too high percentage of CD19+, but in meantime I dug deeper and maybe infection could also cause this (I read such opinions). I would like to know your opinion to this. Thank you.
@@matusgramblicka6758 I don't know if this has been studied, but my experience is that CD19/CD20 cells do not rise during infection in people treated with b-cell depleters.
I did an MRI because I had stings and muscle spasms and it shows the presence of solitary, non-specific type, focal lesion at the height of the radial crown left, dimensions 10x7 mm......is MS? ....
12:20 - showing that the Swank diet stacks up fairly equally against in high effectivness DMTs which makes me wonder if there really has been true progress with DMT's vs giving the body its best chance to try and right itself. As much as I have respect & gratitude for those who toil in medical interventions that part of the video, unless refuted, doesn't vouch significantly for the claim that advances in MS treatment have progressed. :/ Although it should be asked whether this stat speaks more to relapserate after several years vs disability progression
It is not fair to compare the results of swank's observational studies vs. actual randomized controlled trials, but it is certainly possible that lifestyle changes could make a large difference.
@@DrBrandonBeaber true and fair - however the question burning in my brain (and admittedly it is just a naive hunch) is whether even a rogue MS immune system which is left to it's own natural devices has some advantages of at least trying to right itself whereas I wonder if in the case of DMT intervention (even the more proven ones) if there is a draw back of intervention in some cases. How often are DMT's clincally compared to giving natural healing a chance - or are DMT'S more often compared to other DMT's?
@@ernietollar407 It would be very difficult to conduct a randomized trial of a medication vs. a lifestyle intervention. It would be difficult to recruit people into this study, and it would be hard to get people to comply with the intervention for a prolonged period. Also, there would be no blinding, and some people might drop out of the study if they didn't like the group they were randomized into.
Dead 😂.. They are generally attractive 🤣 hahah I’m sure all of us with MS will take it. Lol. Seriously though always appreciate your presentations and the information you provide. Thank you!
Also the argument that this is a strict diet and that it is to difficult for weak minded people to follow is also equally insulting and an argument from incredulity. Another logical fallacy.
Thats an argument of incredulity. You cant believe there could be a cut off at 8 % saturated fats so there fore it must not be true. Thats a logical fallacy.
Consider this: The measurement of saturated fats was not even accurate (all natural oils contain some saturated fat), and people are not 100% accurate in reporting their intake. Also, everyone has a different body weight and genetic and physiologic differences. How is is plausible there could be such a sharp cut-off?
Well, a Mediterranean style diet seems to be good for just about everything (ref: your last video about avoiding dementia and Altzheimers). That said, as things work out, I don't eat that much altogether. Therefore, I actually make an effort to eat some fat - an egg fried in, or spelt bread smeared with, coconut oil, and some tehina, to make sure the vitamin D and the Omega "stick". Then a huge salad, after which I generally forget to eat until the evening (generally a whole grain with a cooked vegetable), so I unintentionally practice intermittent fasting. PPMS still progressing mercilessly despite the Ocravus, but at least I'm calm and still seem to have preserved some of my intelligence! 🥥🥑🥜🥬🥗🍳🧠🤭
Also battling PPMS and tried about everything, FMD , OMS, Walhls protocol and very strict Keto. I am on ocrelizumab but this also seems to do nothing. I am as non active PPMS as can be, still the neurodegenerative process keeps going. Gonna give Keto another shot, cause this is where the science is. Good luck with your battle!
