Link to Dr. McDougall's Multiple Sclerosis Research paper

[dteresa]

I do not understand how dr. swank could have gotten great results in a relatively short time but those results do not seem to be able to be duplicated. I wonder if there is a difference in the McD diet in that Swank did not allow saturated fat but did allow polyunsaturates. Do these make a positive difference?



didi

[baardmk]

I don't understand it either. But we have to remember that the preliminary study was very short and with few participants. And we should view all the results before making major conclusions.

I hardly believe anything in Swank's protocol was superior to McDougall's. Would Swank's diet produce results in this type of short trial. Maybe not. But I think being even stricter than McDougall's diet may have been helpful, think MWL or a diet of tubers, fruits and certain vegetables, a diet low in protein and low in common allergenic foods. Reading about the success of many people on this board with autoimmune diseases by limiting many grains and certain vegetables and fruits, I can't help to think that a restricted diet may have more potential to give quick or substantial results. But I guess the drop out rate would increase from 20% to 90% with such a regimen.

[fieldlab]

There are some very specific, well funded pharmacological treatments for MS also coming out of OHSU, including by researchers involved in the study. I would hate to wonder if an ordinary dietary study could come into conflict in any way. For instance, at least one person walked away with a miraculous recovery..?

http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/foundation ... update.cfm

[colonyofcells]

in lifestyle change studies, there seems to be some miraculous cures every now and then such as in the old breast cancer study that Ruth Heidrich participated in, so these lifestyle changes are definitely worth a try and probably also contribute to longevity.