Last Updated on December 11, 2023 by Cathy
Congratulations on making the decision to start eating real food to improve your health. You will start feeling better, and you could even put your multiple sclerosis (MS) into remission like many others have already done!
As you are working on healing your body and putting your MS into remission, it’s important to know exactly what you need to eat and what you need to eliminate to start your body’s healing process.
As people are wanting to get their MS into remission, they are always asking “How do I get started?” or “What can I eat?” It sounds hard but it doesn’t have to be, here are 6 steps to help you get started today!
Stay Positive
The first and most important step is your attitude, this is a total lifestyle change compared to the typical Standard American Diet (SAD). You need to stay positive and believe in yourself. The human body is amazing and it has the ability to heal you.
Don’t listen to negative people, this includes your family, do this for YOU! I was lucky because everyone in my family and my co-workers were extremely supportive and would even bring things to work that I could eat.
You have to stop listening to advertising campaigns like the USDA Food Pyramid or the “Milk Does a Body Good” because it doesn’t, milk, and most food that is sold in grocery stores are full of toxins.
You need to remove gluten, grains, dairy, legumes, vegetable oils, refined sugars, and all processed foods and start eating a healthy high-nutrient diet to begin healing.
What can I eat?
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Wild-caught Seafood
- Grass-fed and finished meats and Game Meats including Organ Meats
- Nitrate/nitrite-free Bacon
- Free-range Poultry
- Healthy Fats and Oils
- Nuts and seeds
It’s best to eat organic locally grown fruits and vegetables that are in season, and avoid meats with growth hormones or antibiotics. If you need help with avoiding gluten or dairy check out How to Go Gluten-Free and How to Go Dairy-Free.
Start cooking all your own food, no more boxed meals, take-out, or fast-food restaurants, make extra that you can freeze for times you need something quick and easy. Find new recipes, and menu plans, and make a shopping list when you go to the store. To save money plan your meals around what is on sale and/or in season and buy extra to freeze, you’ll discover your freezer is your new best friend.
Our nervous system is one of the slowest to heal so if you don’t see results immediately don’t give up, for some, it happens quickly for others it can take years. The longer or more disabling you have had MS the longer it could take to heal, just don’t give up.
You Can Do This!
It’s a Lifestyle Change
This is not a temporary diet until you feel better, this is a lifestyle change for the better. If you’re feeling better and then go back to your old eating habits, your MS will flare back up. This is not a cure, it’s just putting MS into remission so you can continue to live a healthy and mobile lifestyle.
To heal your nervous system you will need to eat a wide range of many vegetables, it’s best to have organic locally grown, and in season. If you don’t have access to organic or can’t afford organic you should at least avoid the vegetables that are on the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list, these are the fruit and vegetables with the highest amounts of pesticides.
Organic is more expensive but there are ways around it to help bring the cost down, check out How to Save on Organic Produce, I like to look at it as “food is thy medicine” (I don’t use or purchase MS drugs or any drugs for that matter).
Don’t focus on what you can no longer eat instead focus on what you can eat, you will discover many new favorite foods. Even foods you hated as a child when prepared properly with seasonings can turn into a new favorite. Give new recipes a try, don’t get stuck eating the same thing over and over.
Example of What I Eat for One Day:
- Upon Rising: One glass of room-temperature lemon water
- Brunch: a huge salad with many different vegetables including lemon juice and olive oil or homemade dressing and whatever meat was leftover from the night before.
- Mid-day: Smoothie (any veggies, gelatin, flaxseed, and fruit, mostly berries)
- Dinner: a large salad with many different vegetables, meat (fish, poultry, meat, or organ meat)
- Snack (whenever hungry): vegetables (finger carrots, avocado, etc.)
- Drink*: water or flavored water (use fruit, vegetables, and/or herbs), herbal tea
I fast for 13-14 hours each day starting in the evening until the next morning, this helps my brain to heal. According to the University of Southern California, fasting may reduce symptoms of MS:
“A fasting-like diet switches on a process in which body kills bad cells, begins to generate new healthy ones, report scientists”.
NOTE: It’s important to drink half your weight in ounces to help flush out toxins, if you weigh 150 pounds you should be drinking 75 ounces of water.
Clean Out Your Kitchen
Remove everything that is processed (see the list below) and either give it away or throw it away. If you keep anything that is off-limits it becomes too tempting, you know the old saying…
“Out of sight, out of mind”
If your family is not on board ask them to not eat junk food in front of you and to keep their snacks out of sight from you. If there is unhealthy food within reach, the next time you’re hungry it will be too tempting to eat it.
Items you want to remove from your pantry:
- Baked goods (bread, bagels, cookies, donuts, etc)
- Boxed items (cake mixes, dinners like hamburger helper, Jello, macaroni, and cheese, etc)
- Chips
- Candy
- Cereal
- Crackers
- Granola bars
- Fruit Roll-Ups (it’s not real)
- Milk chocolate
- Mix seasonings (they usually have additives)
- Pasta
- Peanut butter
- Popcorn
- Seasoned nuts
- Tuna (unless it’s Wild Planet – they have no soy)
- Vegetable Oils (canola, corn, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower, soybean)
Items you want to remove from your refrigerator and freezer:
- Alcohol
- Cheese
- Condiments (ketchup, pickles, salad dressings, etc)
- Energy drinks
- Fruit juice
- Frozen breakfast items (hash browns, waffles, etc)
- Frozen dinners (Hot Pockets, lasagna, TV dinners, etc)
- Ice cream, frozen fruit bars, popsicles
- Margarine, butter, and butter substitutes
- Milk
- Processed meats (hot dogs, lunch meat, etc)
- Sodas
This list doesn’t include everything but it gives you an idea of what to look for, if it comes in a box you need to get rid of it.
Fats
You need to remove all processed vegetable oils and start using healthy fats like:
- Avocado oil
- Bacon fat
- Coconut milk, unsweetened full-fat (I use this Native Forest)
- Coconut oil, cold-pressed unrefined
- Macadamia oil
- Olive oil
Consume 3 tablespoons of coconut oil per day, it is an excellent source of energy for our brain cells, mitochondria, and muscle cells.
Learn to Read Labels
You need to eat nothing processed, no hormones, no pesticides, nothing harmful only real food that nourishes and heals your body. Avoid gluten, grains, dairy, legumes, vegetable oils, refined sugars, and processed foods, you also need to reduce your natural sugars (raw honey, good quality maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc) and focus on a dense nutritional diet.
You need to get in the habit of reading EVERY label, even if you THINK it’s healthy, there may be some hidden ingredient. For example, a can of tuna has soy in it, vanilla extract can have corn syrup in it, the reason manufacturers do this is so it can sit on the shelf at the grocery store longer.
Generally, if you can’t pronounce it or don’t know what it is, you shouldn’t be eating it.
How to Start Eating Real Food
As you are working on healing your body and putting your Multiple Sclerosis into remission, it’s important to know exactly what you need to eat and eliminate to start the healing process.
It’s best to eat lower carbohydrates (starchy vegetables) to help keep your blood sugar level to prevent spikes and dips. If you’re like me and can’t afford to lose any weight you may need to add a few more carbs, do what works best for you.
Sugar is so addictive and replacing it with lots of natural sugars is not what you want to do. I admit, I was also addicted to sugar so I used fruit as my replacement, I’m not talking one piece per day I’m talking about a lot of fruit but I slowly weaned myself down to one per day.
You can also do this slowly if you’re addicted to sugar, use natural sugars in the beginning then slowly cut back. If you need a sweetener your best option is Stevia, I use SweetLeaf Organic Stevia in either a liquid or powder form.
The best food items to consume every day for healing MS are:
- Coconut Milk
- Coconut Oil, 3 tablespoons per day
- Fresh Ground Flaxseed, use a seed grinder or coffee grinder
- Sardines (fish oil)
- Vegetables, as many and a huge variety as possible (9 cups per day either raw, cooked on stovetop, steamed, broiled, grilled, or in smoothies)
Find Support
There is no wrong way of doing this if you’re too overwhelmed then take it slower by removing gluten first or by removing dairy first. Either way works, just make sure you restock your kitchen with real food. As you are moving toward real food you will notice your pantry items getting smaller and your refrigerator getting fuller.
It sounds tough and I’m not going to lie, it is tough especially when you’re coming from the Standard American Diet (SAD). If you’re struggling find a friend to do this with you, or join a Facebook group the people are very helpful and supportive.
It doesn’t need to be tough, you just need to stay focused, stay positive, and believe Your Body Can Heal!
The Ultimate Guide to Surviving & Thriving with MS
Unlock the key to a vibrant life with multiple sclerosis by subscribing to my newsletter and gaining exclusive access to ‘The Ultimate Guide to Surviving & Thriving with MS.’ It’s packed with valuable information on natural management strategies and clean health lifestyle practices that you can start today.
Resources:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160526151941.htm
