MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CURE REMAINS ELUSIVE
A Paleo diet, including plenty of berries, latest suggestion but evidence is lacking
It’s a compelling story, to be sure. The headline reads Doctor Cures Her Incurable Multiple Sclerosis with Diet Alone. It is all about how Terry Wahls managed to discard her wheelchair by resorting to a “hunter-gatherer diet,” or as it is commonly called, a Paleo Diet. Before going any further, let’s ask this question. What is the likelihood that an internist at a Veterans’ Administration hospital in Iowa has discovered a cure that has eluded thousands and thousands of high-powered researchers around the world? Not impossible, but pretty unlikely. Especially given that the “cure” is so simple. Just eat like the cavemen did! In multiple sclerosis (MS), the body’s immune system mistakenly targets and damages myelin, the protective sheath that coats nerves in the brain and spinal cord. The upshot of this is an impediment to the transmission of nerve impulses, resulting in a host of symptoms that can include fatigue, lack of co-ordination, weakness, tingling, impaired sensation, vision problems, bladder problems, cognitive impairment and mood changes. No cause has been established, but it is likely that both genetic and environmental factors are involved. Since MS becomes more prevalent with distance from the equator, lack of exposure to sunshine has been proposed as a causative factor. Canada has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world, although curiously, not among Inuit populations. As is often the case with conditions that have no known cure, patients will try almost anything, be it homoeopathy, acupuncture, herbs, self-infection with hookworms or “liberation” therapy in which balloon angioplasty devices or stents are used to widen narrowed veins in the chest and neck. And of course, dietary supplements, ranging from vitamin D to coral calcium. Since our body literally is constructed of the food we eat, and since the thousands of compounds that constitute food play various roles in the array of biochemical reactions that are critical to life, it stands to reason that dietary approaches to the management of MS should be explored. And they have been. In the 1940s, Dr. Roy Swank suggested a low-fat diet supplemented with cod liver oil. Later, emergency physician George Jelinek advocated eliminating dairy and meat, and Canadian geologist Ashton Embry proposed purging dairy, gluten and legumes and reducing saturated fats and sugary foods. German professor Markus Kleinewietfeld leans toward a low-sodium diet. The latest entry into the dietary sweepstakes is the Paleo Diet championed by Wahls. It eliminates grains, dairy and sugar and features 12 cups a day of berries and vegetables supplemented with grass-fed beef, organ meats and oily fish. There is nothing wrong with eating lots of fruits and vegetables, although the recommendation to drink loads of kale juice on one hand, while on the other talking about iodine deficiency contributing to MS, is a curious one since kale interferes with thyroid hormone production. Wahls purports that diet and state of consciousness are capable of curing any ailment in the human body. She may believe that, but science works on the principle of evidence, not faith. And the evidence is quite clear on that one. It is blatantly untrue that “any” ailment can be cured by diet. Some, such as celiac disease, diabetes or cardiovascular problems, do respond to, but are not cured by, diet. Wahls is quite correct in attacking the current western diet, but her evidence for curing MS is purely anecdotal. MS is a curious ailment with an unpredictable course. There are ups and downs and sometimes inexplicable spontaneous remissions. Wahls, like most patients, tried various treatments, and when she improved after adhering to a Paleo diet concluded it was responsible. An association like this can never prove cause and effect, especially when exercise, meditation, electrical stimulation and medications are part of the picture. We have seen similar claims of MS cures by removal of dental amalgam, hyperbaric oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, bee sting therapy, acupuncture, magnets, Prokarin skin cream, pig brain tissue implants, high dose vitamins, chelation, spine ultrasound, blueberry diet (half a pound a day) and superesonant wave energy treatment, whatever that may be. It’s a good bet that numerous MS patients have given Wahls’s regimen a try after listening to her seductive TED talk. How is it, then, that neurologists are not reporting a surprising number of patients conquering the disease and discarding their wheelchairs? Patients are unlikely to publicize failures, so we have no idea of the number of MS patients who have followed Wahls’ advice to the letter without seeing any benefit. Wahls’s condition has indeed improved, but since this is a case with n=1, it is not possible to come to a conclusion about what has transpired. Claiming that a hunter-gatherer diet is an effective way to cure a complex disease leads people down the garden path where they may smell the roses but it is their thorns that are likely to leave an impression.