Last Updated on December 7, 2023 by Cathy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease caused by chronic inflammation. Recent studies have discovered gut bacteria and its connection to MS. Removing the triggers such as poor diet will support gut immunity. Improving the good bacteria in your gut is the key to getting your MS in remission.
What is inflammation?
Think about when you get a splinter in your finger. It may hurt, swell, or turn red, your body begins to send signals that there is a foreign invader. It then begins to push the splinter out. The swelling and redness are a reaction caused by inflammation. This is part of the healing process. Unfortunately, chronic inflammation is a whole other story.
Inflammation isn’t always bad, it’s our body’s warning sign that something is wrong. It’s when the inflammation continues (chronic inflammation), that our bodies send an inflammatory response where there are no foreign invaders to fight. Eventually, it starts to attack its own internal organs, tissues, and cells leading to autoimmune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
What causes chronic inflammation?
Chronic inflammation isn’t necessarily from one cause. It’s usually a build-up of multiple causes. Say you’ve been drinking milk all your life but it always causes you to have to bloat but you continue to drink it.
Eating lots of processed foods, fast foods, and other toxic foods that kill beneficial bacteria and you don’t repopulate your good bacteria with probiotics. Ignoring your body’s warning signs of bloating, fatigue, headaches, acne, depression, weight gain, food sensitivities, and a host of other problems. Continuing to drink out of plastic bottles and using body care products (shampoo, toothpaste, soap, etc) with many harmful chemicals and hormone disruptors.
On top of that, you’ve had many rounds of antibiotics throughout your life. I’m not saying antibiotics are bad, they are good and save lives. Unfortunately, we have had too many antibiotics throughout our lives. Not only from medications but also in the food we eat. Antibiotics not only kill the bad bacteria, but they also kill the good bacteria. What they don’t kill is Candida.
What is Candida?
Candida is a yeast that is inside everyone. It helps with nutrient absorption and digestion. It’s very beneficial when there is a good balance between good and bad bacteria. But when the good bacteria dies Candida begins to grow out of control.
Candida overgrowth begins to take over your entire body. It punches its way through your intestinal walls creating a leaky gut. It also causes more infections and inflammation throughout. As it’s punching holes in your gut it’s allowing toxins to enter into your bloodstream. Causing inflammation throughout the entire body. The proteins in your digestive tract begin to inflame and your body sends an immune response.
Candida feeds off sugar, and as it begins to grow, you may notice possible signs:
- Allergies
- Athletes foot
- Brain fog
- Cravings for sweets or carbohydrates
- Exhaustion
- Nail fungus
- Oral thrush
- Sinus infections
- Yeast infections
There are many possible culprits causing yeast overgrowth including:
- Antibiotics
- Birth control pills
- Chemotherapy
- Environmental toxins
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Steroids like prednisone or cortisone
- Stress
- Toxic foods
What’s the connection to MS?
Yeast is normally found in everybody. It’s when they become overgrown releasing toxins and weakening your immune system. Once they hit the bloodstream they trigger a widespread inflammatory reaction.
The yeast begins to multiply and invade every part of your body. Including deeper tissues causing more symptoms. When yeast digests the sugar it becomes particularly potent. It can damage all the tissues including the nervous system and brain. You go back to the doctor and are given more antibiotics and the cycle begins.
There has been a lot of news lately about Multiple Sclerosis and gut bacteria. A recent study showed people with MS have more bad bacteria. In other words, an insufficient amount of good bacteria. They now believe this may have a direct link to MS and other chronic autoimmune disorders.
The National MS Society is funding a research study for “The MS Microbiome Consortium.” It will determine the factors that drive the progression. They will also look into developing probiotic strategies to stop the progression. Unfortunately, studies take a long time and who wants to wait as MS is progressing?
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What can I do to stop the inflammation?
First, start eating a healthy diet. Then stop feeding the yeast overgrowth to get your good bacteria back into balance. A good digestive system is important to strengthen your immune system and health. Like Hippocrates said over 2,000 years ago:
“All Disease Begins In The Gut”
Functional medicine providers have a four-step protocol. It’s called the 4 R’s to get your digestive system back into balance.
- Remove foods that cause inflammation allowing Candida, bad bacteria, and parasites to thrive. Everybody is different, pay close attention to which foods are your digestion problems. Remove the most common food allergens: gluten, dairy, processed foods, refined sugar, and refined oils.
Stay away from pesticides, antibiotics in your food, and growth hormones, these all lead to a leaky gut. You may need to start an elimination diet, this is how I discovered I was sensitive to tomatoes. - Replace the good for proper digestion and absorption.
- Reinoculate by restoring the gut with beneficial bacteria. Eating a diverse range of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices is beneficial for gut health.
- Repair the damage. Over time the gut lining of the intestinal tract will begin to tighten and keep toxins out.
It’s best to work with a functional medicine professional to help tailor the diet for you. They will also recommend any supplements to fit your needs. Check out the Functional Medicine website to find a doctor in your area.
When I started working with a functional medicine provider, I knew I was suffering from Candida. However, I didn’t realize I was also suffering from small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). He put me a regime of many supplements including probiotics. He also had me take Perma-Clear by Thorne Research. It supports a leaky gut and promotes beneficial gut flora, it provides the “good bugs.”
Summary
This is a strict diet if you cheat you are only feeding Candida and the bad bacteria which sets you back. Hopefully, you will begin to see results quickly. If not remember this is not a race the nervous system is one of the slowest systems in the body to heal.
Once your body is back in balance and you are feeling good you can reintroduce some foods to see if you react to them. Never consume processed foods and refined sugars again! If you go back to eating them, your symptoms will also return.
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Gut Bacteria and it’s Connection to MS
