This is an incredible and inspiring story.  I have a family member who has very severe MS and I would like to suggest this to her.  Can the author or anyone else in this group offer any scientific rationale as to how the low-fat plant-based diet improved her MS?  Does it actually impact the myelin degeneration or are there other physiologic effects which aid in improving function?

I work for the National MS Society. I can't tell you how frustrating it is about the lack of nutrition for helping MS. It's all about the drugs! There's junk food at all of our events and programs, and in the office. So many people with MS are overweight because their mobility goes downhill. When I bring up the subject about food as medicine, I'm the weird one, I'm proselytizing, I don't know what I'm talking about! I don't have MS, or any other disease. I'm a vegan and have always been very health concious. I see all the literature and they mention eating a balanced diet and vitamin D. That's it. I'll send this story around the office, but everyone will just say, "Wendy and her weird diet again!"

The Swank Diet was the first one I studied featuring the healing power of plants, and ultimately led me to the vegan diet. I've been vegan for two years and diagnosed with MS for sixteen years. The last two years are my first with no MS progression on the MRI! Keep up the good work Donna, I will too!

http://midlifevegan.blogspot.com

My sister discovered she had MS about two years ago.  She has her good days and she has her bad days. One thing I know for sure is she has a very bad diet.  I have sent her all I can in regards to studies proposing all the difference diet can make but she doesn't seem to want to make a change. I beg her “even if it doesn't work for you, wouldn't it be worth trying something that might make a difference to your body, the earth and leading kind life?”. I am so happy to be a vegan now. The Kind Life, Fork and Knives and other books and documentaries opened my eyes and I changed my life. I have never looked back nor felt happier or healthier. It’s a shame rather than embracing the changes I have made for myself and my family I get a lot more criticism than praise.  I will forward this story like I do so many others in hopes that she will at least try. Thank you for always sharing inspiration with your followers. As Steve Jobs once said “Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice”. Peace to all of you.

Wendy-- keep up your great work in promoting change from within the National MS Society! They need your voice more than ever, continuing to champion this life changing information. You may not think you're being heard, but once a few people get on board, it will be a snowball effect and you'll be leading the way having so much experience already. Keep up the good work! :) 

Thanks, Alaina. It seems like an up hill battle. I work in the communications department, so I see all the information being put out there. Not too promising as far as diet lifestyle change. :-(

I wished more people would pay attention to the way diet can heal.  My mother in law has Rhuematoid Arthritis and I went to all her her appts with her when she was first diagnosed...I wished you all could have seen the look on the Rhuematologists face when I asked about whether or not diet could help her.  The doc looked at me as if I were the least intelligent person on the planet and as if I was insulting her.

I too have dealt with illness and learned that as patients we need to participate in the healing process.  I am so thankful that I found doctors who believe this as well.

Every time someone tells there story, they provide inspiration to others.  Hopefully eventually this message will become mainstream.

That is why I pen my blog...to share information about the health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle with others.

Gretchen

www.veggiegrettie.com  

Great story! Very inspirational. The more we get the message about the impact food has on our lifes the better! :-) 

After wanting to blog about food related health-topics for years now, I finally took the step to start writing but I'd like to get some feedback on where to start; which topics to talk about first... so to everyone who reads this comment, I'd like to ask you to take a few seconds to fill out my poll at http://eatandgetmoving.wordpress.com/ :-) You'd help me out a great deal :-)

I hope I'm not too rude for posting this question on your blog Alicia!

Love to all! Leanne 

I have had MS for the past 10 years and hate how the general consensus out there is that pumping my body full of chemicals is the answer.  Thanks for this great story and for showing people that there are other options :)  

The plant based diet is the most common sense approach to health and well-being both economically, spiritually and health wise.

It is what we recommend most at Lewis Harrison's Natural Healing Academy

LOVE all you kind girls and guys!  Your comments make me feel like I belong - NO ONE in my family 'gets it'.  xxx

VeggieGrettie - isn't is tragic how little physicians stress diet.  My husband is a physician and my son in med school and they tell me that nutrition may be a half hour class.  My youngest daughter had severe Polyarticular Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosed at age nine.  Jess was severely ill with this.  Her whole life changed when we switched her to a plant based diet.  I was already vegan for ethical reasons and Jess was the last in my family to step up but she is now enjoying the rewards of a healthy and very happy lifestyle, in college and living finally a normal life.  No more meds, no more injections, no more visits to TX Children's Hospital.  I am attempting to put her story into a book.