By now most people know that a healthy lifestyle, which includes exercising and eating well, can improve overall well-being. But if you’re one of the 400,000 Americans with multiple sclerosis, making healthy lifestyle choices may pack even more of a punch. It could help you avoid MS relapses.
MS is a chronic neurological condition that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The Mayo Clinic‘s website describes the condition as “a potentially disabling disease” in which the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body.
[See: 10 Seemingly Innocent Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore.]
According to the National MS Society, approximately 85 percent of people with MS are diagnosed with a type of the disease called relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), which means after the initial diagnosis, the patient experiences flare-ups or relapses. “To be considered a relapse, a new symptom has to last at least 24 hours, but more typically it continues for days to weeks,” explains Dr. Richard Dunham, assistant professor of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Often the problem is weakness, numbness, difficulty walking or issues with vision or cognition. New symptoms are confirmed by MRI showing irreversible brain lesions.”
What Can You Do?
These are simple, scientifically based lifestyle choices that can help MS sufferers avoid relapses:
Take a daily dose of vitamin D. A 2014 Harvard study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association of people who were just diagnosed with MS found those patients with the highest levels of vitamin D showed the slowest progression of the illness with the fewest relapses. “On our first meeting with an MS patient, we’ll take a simple blood test and assess their vitamin D level,” says Dr. Mary R. Rensel, staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic‘s Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis. “We usually suggest oral supplements of 2,000 IUs a day. But some patients may need more in order to get their level up to a normal range.”
[See: 5 Rare Diseases You’ve Never Heard of (Until Now).]
Get your mojo working. Taking a daily pill is one thing, but what about getting the motivation to exercise? “It all depends on how much movement someone with MS can tolerate,” Dunham says. “Ideally, I suggest 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as walking three days a week, but MS patients need to tailor exercise to fit their level of ability. It might mean all they can do is lift a soup can from a sitting position.” For those with more mobility who want to have some fun, there’s salsa dancing. A four-week salsa dance program at Brown University showed improvement in gait and balance in MS patients. The benefits lasted for three months after the program ended, as reported in a 2014 issue of Neurology. That’s not all. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in a 2015 issue of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology reported that MS patients who are aerobically fit have slower shrinkage in their brain’s hippocampal region, the area responsible for memory, mood and spatial recognition. Caveat: Always speak with your doctor first before beginning any new exercise program.
Snub salt and opt for a Mediterranean diet. An Argentinian study published in a 2013 issue of Nature showed that eating less than 2 grams of sodium daily is linked to fewer symptoms in autoimmune diseases such as MS. While the recommended dose for healthy people is 2.3, the average American consumes at least 3.3 grams daily — and that doesn’t include the salt that’s shaken, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most salt comes from processed foods. “Low salt is one reason I recommend MS patients follow a Mediterranean diet, which has more fish, less meat, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and no processed foods which are usually the salt culprits,” Rensel says. “There’s evidence that following this kind of diet can decrease systemic inflammation, a trigger for relapse.”
Get your zzz’s. The results of research on 80 MS patients reported in European Neurology in 2017 show that sleep disturbances can trigger MS relapses. ” Poor sleep habits can also be responsible for extreme daytime fatigue,” Dunham says. “That’s why I suggest better sleep hygiene to my patients, which includes going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, avoiding emotional conversations right before bedtime, making the bedroom a sanctuary by keeping it dark, quiet and reserved exclusively for slumber and sex (no electronics), as well as identifying sleep-interrupters such as a snoring partner or a dog that jumps on the bed.”
Stop smoking. It’s not news that smoking causes cancer and can harm the heart, but it also affects the severity and frequency of relapse in MS patients, according to a British study published in the July 2013 issue of Brain. If you’re still smoking, it’s never too late to quit. The same study showed that those who stopped smoking, even after developing MS, were able to slow the progression of their disease with 5 percent fewer relapses each year after they gave up cigarettes.
[See: 17 Ways Heart Health Varies in Women and Men.]
Calm stress. It may not be the severity of stress but how frequently it’s experienced that contributes to MS relapse, says a 2006 Australian study. There are plenty of techniques to help reduce frequent stress, such as massage, meditation, biofeedback and progressive muscle relaxation, among others. “It also helps to stay socially connected,” Dunham says. “Many of my patients find joining a support group helps reduce stress by encouraging them to speak openly about their fears and know they’re not alone.” You can ask your health care provider to help find support groups in your area.
What else can help to reduce relapse? “Perhaps the most important advice I have to offer,” Dunham adds, “is for MS patients to stay in touch with their team of doctors. They can help tap into all the possible treatments, including rehabilitative therapies, that may help limit flare-ups.”
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What Lifestyle Changes Can Alter the Frequency of MS Relapses? originally appeared on usnews.com
