Many healthcare professionals highly recommend that patients with multiple sclerosis, or MS, avoid dairy. Several research studies have demonstrated a high correlation between MS and dairy, especially cow’s milk. By way of instance, some of the proteins in cow’s milk are targeted by the immune cells of patients with multiple sclerosis. These include butyrophilin and bovine serum albumin, or BSA. Moreover, injecting those same cow’s milk proteins into test animals caused lesions to appear in their central nervous systems.
Some proteins in cow’s milk imitate part of the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, or MOG, the section of myelin believed to initiate the autoimmune reaction associated with multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, this can trick the immune system into initiating an attack on the MOG, subsequently causing demyelination. Another research study involving more than 135,000 men and women in the United States determined a connection between cow’s milk and the degenerative neurological disorder, Parkinson’s Disease. Researchers have speculated that dairy products, especially cow’s milk, may have a generally toxic effect on nervous tissue.
Lactose intolerance is common throughout the general population, and it is most notably frequent in Mediterranean, Asian, and African populations. People with lactose intolerance experience a variety of symptoms, including bloating, cramps, diarrhea, and nausea. Given the high potential risks for people with MS consuming dairy products, despite a lack of conclusive evidence, healthcare professionals recommend avoiding the consumption of dairy products, among other types of foods. The purpose of the article below is to discuss the nutrition facts in multiple sclerosis, including which types of foods patients with MS should avoid, such as dairy.
Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a multifactorial, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system which has been demonstrated to be closely associated with environmental factors like nutrition. Recent research studies on the role of diet in MS provided evidence that certain dietary factors, such as the consumption of dairy products like cow’s milk, influence multiple sclerosis incidence, disease course and symptomatology. For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at (915) 850-0900.