Swank Diet, anyone?

[MomtoM]

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone here has tried the Swank diet and seen any noticeable changes. I just ordered the book and I guess I'm going to give it a shot to at least justify the $20 I spent!

My yoga teacher had suggested to me that I start eating an anti inflammatory diet. And I really had no idea what that was so I did a search and came up with this.

Usually I take things like this with a grain of salt and go on my merry way eating chocolate and whatever else!
But, after I finished this last course of steroids, I feel like one big inflammation!

I know it sounds weird but it's like my body is out of control and I got this weird rash all over my face and this after I was just saying how nice and smooth my skin felt on steroids! And I am hot! It's 35 degrees outside!

Ayway, enough of my early morning rambling, (I can't sleep either, lol!) I really should hide my credit card when I get up at 3!

Just interested in anyone's experience...

Deb

[xo++]

Hi Deb,

I've used a modified Swank diet since not long after my first exacerbation 10 years ago.

I believed that the essential elements of the diet were a low daily intake of saturated fat and daily supplementation with healthy oils. Swank recommended cod liver oil I think, but I just use fish oil tablets.

Frankly the diet is much easier to follow now than when Swank first proposed it almost 50 years ago. Back then foods high in saturated fat were much more staples than now. I have no problem keeping my saturated fat intake less than 15 g per day -- in fact I probably take in less than 10 g per day. And because I do exceed the recommendations with respect to saturated fat, if I want to splurge and eat a rack of ribs every couple of months, I don't stress over it.:)

We do have considerable evidence that the diet may alter the disease course in MS but even if it doesn't we know that restricting saturated fat and increasing healthy oils is heart-healthy. High fat diets are also implicated in various cancers. Most of us with MS are more likely to die from cancer or a heart attack or stroke than MS.

I posted a long piece with references discussing the evidence for the Swank diet years ago at Braintalk -- the moderators at the Swank MS Board chose to include it as a sticky here (http://swankmsdiet.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=arch;action=display;num=1032734135;s tart=0#0).

Incidentally I have no disability after 10 years, and haven't had an exacerbation in over four years, but I don't know whether my diet has had an effect. But I regard it as part of keeping healthy.

Good luck,
Mark

[MomtoM]

Hi Mark,

Thank you!

That was an awesome piece. So, just a couple questions if you don't mind. Fish oil tablets are necessary? Is that the only source of the oils that seem to be very important?

I am asking because I have been a vegetarian for a long time. I do use flaxseed meal on my food, about 1 tbsp a day.
But I will change that if the fish oil is absolutely required.

I tried to read some of the references about level of disability/outcome on the diet but it took me to some other places. I hope I haven't waited too long to start. But from what I could read, it seemed that the diet still lessened exacerbations anyway even if the person started at a higher level of disability than a newly dx patient.

I feel very excited about this but I think it will be hard! I love crackers, chocolate, and other junk food that has tons of this bad fat in it. That's one of the reasons I exercise at a very intense level so I can eat what I want and not gain weight!

Of course, that intensity decreases during a bad time anyway.

Anyway,, thanks for your info!! And congratulations on making such a positive impact on your disease course!

Oh yeah, what about vitamin D? I saw it was not recommended to take extra, but I've been taking extra for quite a while now because of the research that shows it to be beneficial for MS. Do you take it?

Thanks again,
Deb

[xo++]

Hi Deb,

There is an algae source of DHA in pill form but not of EPA, which are the two essential components of omega-3 fatty acids (for example see here (http://www.devanutrition.com/vegan_DHA.html)). However a Swiss company recently announced (http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=66482-eau-plus-omega-dha-algae) they are now able to produce both DHA and EPA from algae, and the product will be less expensive than fish oil (which is already inexpensive).

Flaxseed and flaxseed oil are a source of omega-3 fatty acids but the problem is the body has to convert this form to EPA and DHA, and it is a matter of some debate how effectively the body does this. The animal source is better.

Again I don't claim that my MS has been stable because of the Swank diet -- I also use Copaxone, statins, and various supplements (including D3). And undoubtedly I have been lucky -- some people do everything I consider correct and still progress. Unfortunately there is no magic bullet.

However I firmly believe that I am improving my odds to stay healthy by adopting a variety of therapies which have evidence supporting their use in MS.

Mark

[MomtoM]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that I thought your MS was stable only because of the diet!

I actually get kind of angry sometimes because it seems like everyone I know has an idea of what I should be doing to help this "get better" or how I can "cure" it! Or what I did to cause it.

Which is why I normally would ignore another diet or whatever, but this does actually seem to have some merit and since it is good for me anyway, I want to try it.

I decided I'm going to take the fish oil. At least until there's a non-animal source!

Anyway, so far today it hasn't been bad at all and I've only had 4 g of saturated fat which includes lunch + snacks!
Maybe it won't be so hard after all.

Deb

[Ctown1002]

I've been on Swank for over 2 years now (along with copaxone) and have had no MS symptoms of any kind. I've also read the Gold Coast Cure and Jelinek's MS book, both of which advocate a "Swankish" type of diet. Unfortunately, around Christmas I became complacent and kind of fell off the wagon. I hadn't been following the diet very well at all and just last week felt a slight tingling in my feet and legs. Needless to say I'm back on the diet full force. Maybe it's all in my head - who knows, but I'm not taking any chances. Worst case scenario, it's a healthy diet anyway!

Good luck.

[Aiko]

I also eat a modified Swank diet and have since dx 7 years ago ... modified because I eat a small amount of dark chocolate every day (Droste 72% cocoa, a little goes a long way).

The change in diet seems to have helped. I also quit coffee and drink a lot of tea (black, green, red, herbal). I also take Copaxone.

in wellness

Aiko

[MomtoM]

Interesting, Ctown1002 . The reaction you had. I went to this board on the swank diet and there were a few people who said the same thing. Like they noticed immediate reaction to the wrong food!
hmmm.

Aiko, that is one thing I will be hard pressed to give up. Dark chocolate! My favorite is Godiva chocolate truffles...I have 6 left from my Christmas box of 8!

I think I need to wait till I get the book to really do this. The more I read on that board, the more confused I got. So I am only cutting out the sat fat and adding fish oil. The rest will wait till I can read through the book and understand it.

Of course, with the way my brain is running right now added to having a 17 month old running circles around me, lol...it could be a while!

But I'm definitely going to give it a shot, it can't hurt and who knows? It might help.

Did you see the news about trans fat? How NYC banned it? Wow, people are finally starting to pay attention to what is bad for you.
There was an article in our paper today that in my area, the restaurants are changing it themselves before it gets banned here too.

Anyway, thank you for sharing your experiences! I have to talk to my dr about what med to take next appt. :( I know I have to wean my sweetie and it will be very hard...

Talk to you later,
Deb

[Ctown1002]

One more thing regarding the chocolate. I too try to eat small amounts of high quality dark chocolate (usually dagoba brand). I've read that although the sat fat is very high in chocolate, it's plant-based and may not be as bad for you as once thought. I really try and avoid the animal fats personally.

[Jmak]

Hi, I also have a 17 month running around! We call him "the destroyer". I bought the swank diet book when I was first dx'ed 6 years ago. Unfortunately I am allergic to fish so I can't take the fish oil. I had a really hard time following the diet. I figured that MS has taken too much away from me already to stop eating foods I enjoy.

Reading your post has made me want to take another look at it. I could still lose about 10 pounds of baby weight so I may try again. Let me know how it goes. The book is expensive so I am pasting a link for you at half.com for cheaper books.

http://search.half.ebay.com/swank_W0QQmZbooksQQsbyZ2

Take care,
Jean

[MomtoM]

Ctown1002, hmmm, interesting about the chocolate! I don't eat any meat at all, although I feel like now I cannot call myself truly vegetarian as I started taking those fish oil capsules yesterday.

Hi Jean! Mine is the drama queen, lol! Although she is darn good at destroying the living room!

Right now we are limited to the living room during the day because I can't pick her up, so we put gates up and a lot of her toys are down here. You should see this place after naptime (on the living room floor, of course!)

Thanks for the link, I already ordered it from B&N!

IT's not too bad, but you do have to think about certain things. I did get a "veggie cheese" sub for parmesan that is pretty good. That helps. Because although I'm used to having a veg stirfry every night for dinner, I'm also used to dumping LOTS of cheese on it!

And I have to admit, I love butter. That's a hard one. But I found Kashi crackers are pretty good for you and a "safe" snack. And graham crackers.
Sometimes I really need that crunch.

Good luck, let me know how it goes for you!

Deb