Is There a Link Between Gluten And Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

Because MS has such a debilitating outcome, the question about whether or not natural treatments (including the gluten free diet) are effective comes up on a regular basis. I recently sat down with reporter, Melissa Wilson, from Fox News in Houston, TX to discuss natural options for the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis. After you watch this important video, scroll down and listen to one of the most profound podcast interviews with Dr. Terry Wahls. Dr. Wahls was confined to a wheel chair with multiple sclerosis. We discuss the connection between gluten and multiple sclerosis, but also go into detail about action steps you can take to naturally overcome MS. What makes Dr. Wahls an expert on this? Aside from being trained in medicine, she suffered with the disease. After ditching the drugs and changing her diet, she made a full recovery. She now rides her bike on a regular basis.

Want to Do If You Have Been Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis

1. Have a functional medicine doctor properly measure your nutritional status
2. Consider starting on vitamin D and vitamin B12. You can click on the links to find the best forms of these vitamins.
3. Stop eating processed foods immediately. This includes sugar.
4. Stop drinking alcohol immediately. Alcohol leaches many of the vitamins and minerals out of your body. It also puts stress on the liver. Because many MS patients have heavy metal toxicity issues, the liver function should be preserved as much as possible to help eliminate heavy metals more effectively.
5. Get sunshine every day possible. Use common sense. Don’t go out long enough to burn, but go outside as much as possible to ensure that your body is producing its own source of vitamin D.
6. Sweat. Sweating is an important mechanism that helps your body eliminate wastes and toxins. Because multiple sclerosis patients tend to have these in abundance, sweating because a natural form of detoxification.
7. Gluten and multiple sclerosis are connected. It is very important to have your doctor test you for gluten sensitivity. Don’t accept celiac testing. It has a tendency to come back with too often falsely negative. You need genetic testing to best identify gluten sensitivity.
8. Have your doctor rule out other food allergies. One man’s food is another man’s poison. The wrong foods can contribute to autoimmune disease and chronic inflammation.
9. Read No Grain No Pain. The 30 day protocol in this book will set you up with the basic knowledge you will need to achieve success in the long run.
10. Listen to the Gluten Free Warrior Podcast below where I interview Dr. Terry Wahls. She is a medical doctor who was stricken with MS. Frustrated with mainstream treatments, she began the diligent process of investigation and research, and overcame the disease.

Functional Medicine’s Role in Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis

Dr. Wahls gave up all dairy, all legumes, and all grains. She started to diligently supplement with key nutrients, and she modified her diet to include 20 key nutrients. She performed natural detoxification using infrared therapy. All of this was done because she discovered functional medicine.

Gluten And Multiple Sclerosis – Is There A Scientific Connection?

Simple answer: YES

Gluten has been shown to trigger neurological antibodies that cause demyelination. Gluten has been shown to contribute to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These same nutrient deficits can disrupt the nervous system leading to increased neuropathy and chronic inflammation. If you have MS and you are still eating gluten and grains, you need to rethink your dietary strategy fast. This is no longer what many neurologists like to call pseudo science. Gluten as a contributor to MS is the real deal.

Medical Research Sources:

1. J Med Life. 2014 Sep 15;7(3):440-4.
2. Nat Rev Neurol. 2012 Dec;8(12):678-89.
3. Med Clin (Barc). 2013 Apr 15;140(7):314-9.
4. J Biomed Sci. 2012 Oct 11;19:88.

If you have MS and you are struggling with mainstream care, share this post with your doctor, get educated, and take action.

Always looking out for you,

Dr. Osborne – The Gluten Free Warrior