Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the central nervous system and the disease can be devastating. As with all other autoimmune conditions the cause of MS is not well understood.
In an emerging field of medicine called “functional medicine”, questions are being asked about the drivers, or causes of disease processes. By better understanding the drivers, or potential drivers of any disease process we can better eliminate the cause of the disease at it’s source, rather than taking a medication to manage symptoms. With a better understanding of how autoimmune conditions occur (the leading theory is “leaky gut”) we use our understanding of those processes to naturally slow, stop and potentially reverse the disease process all together.
So that brings me to a very likely connection between gluten, a protein in many grains, and Multiple Sclerosis. In a previous post on leaky gut, the link between gluten and a leaky gut were discussed. Leaky gut is the leading theory in the cause of autoimmunity, and from clinical experience, and through other doctors, I can tell you that when leaky gut is treated effectively, autoimmune processes are significantly decreased. So gluten has been shown in numerous papers to have a strong correlation to autoimmune conditions including MS.1,2,3 There are many more research papers on this topic that show a strong connection between gluten sensitivity and autoimmune conditions including leaky gut.
Bottom line, gluten, other food allergens, and other things that cause bowel inflammation (parasites, fungi, bacterial and viral infections, etc.) are very strongly linked to autoimmune conditions like MS, because they promote a leaky gut. GET THIS POISON OUT OF YOU, AND YOUR FAMILY’S DIET! I know it’s hard to believe, you’ve been told to eat whole grains for blood sugar, cholesterol, and all kinds of other health benefits, BUT many people just like you don’t have this information…NOW YOU DO. Just like smoking, you can choose not to believe it will kill you, and there are those people that live for one hundred years that smoke everyday, but you can bet they are the exception. The question for you is, do you really want to roll the dice?
Get off theses foods, and if you want it in black and white, get immune testing through Cyrex and Enterolab. No skin tests, and no blood testing through conventional laboratories, go to the specialists in immune testing.
Dr. Shook works with patients around the world suffering with chronic health conditions. If you would like more information, or would like to see if Dr. Shook thinks you would benefit from functional medicine or functional endocrinology, you can reach him at drshook@aitcofnc.com.
