Both multiple sclerosis and celiac disease are autoimmune disorders; this means that both ailments cause a reaction in the human body where your system starts to fight itself. A direct connection between MS and CD has yet to be proven and the medical community is still a bit torn. But I will share what I do know, going gluten-free is a major part of why I can now live symptom free.
I want to share what I learned that led me to my decision to go gluten-free. Celiac disease or CD isn’t as ambiguous a disease as multiple sclerosis. CD can be diagnosed with a series of blood tests that identify antibodies that indicate your immune system’s response to gluten.
We all know that multiple sclerosis on the other hand, doesn’t offer a definitive etiology, sometimes it can take people a number of misdiagnoses before they learn that it was MS all along. There is still so much the medical community needs to learn about our disease.
One connection that has been made though is that there is a prevalence of celiac in people who also have multiple sclerosis. This suggests that there is a connection between both diseases. So wouldn’t it be safe to assume that the treatment of celiac disease will also have a positive effect on the symptom of those with multiple sclerosis?
I’ve read and gone through a lot of material and MS research. And I’ve read different opinions and conclusions. I’ve also read enough success stories and anecdotes to decide that regardless of what the medical community is saying, I am going to try this out. And for me, it made a huge difference.
A study was published in Spain in 2011 by BMC Neurology, “Prevalence of celiac disease in multiple sclerosis.” The test was conducted on 72 MS patients who like myself had Relapsing-Remitting, or RRMS.
The test found a relatively high percentage of MS participants also had celiac. The percentage would even have been higher if those with gluten sensitivity were also considered as a form of celiac. The 11- percent found to have celiac indicates that MS patients are 5 to 10 times more likely to have celiac.
“All the celiac patients were put on a gluten free diet and all of them improved considerably both with respect to the gastrointestinal and to the neurological symptomatology in the follow-up period,” stated the study.
So by putting these MS patients on a gluten-free diet, they found an improvement in their MS symptoms.
“A gluten-free diet should be considered for any RRMS patient,” concluded the study.
Gluten-free can be tough at first, but it is a lifestyle change. There are so many gluten-free alternatives out there, so you can still enjoy food that normally has gluten, like pastas, desserts and beer.
Here are some awesome gluten-free blogs that my wife and I follow for some recipe ideas that are friendly for my MS:
If you haven't read it yet, I explain in my book how I went gluten-free, dairy-free and legume-free. Living a happy life with multiple sclerosis was a process for me that required a lot of trial and error. And this is what works for me; I hope it works for you too.
Good luck! And definitely share recipes if you decide to go this route. For other recipe ideas, remember that I have a MS recipe of the month!