It appears that specific types of food
are
most commonly responsible for causing
various
hypersensitivity reactions which lead
to
MS. Such foods are dairy, cereal grains,
eggs, yeast and legumes. The evidence
supporting
this comes from the previously-quoted
statistical
studies of food consumption and MS
prevalence
(e.g. Malosse et al., 1992) and the
abundant
anecdotal data (e.g. MacDougall, 1980).
As
noted by Eaton and Konner (1985) these
food
types, as well as substantial saturated
fats
have been added relatively recently
to the
human diet in terms of our two million
year
evolutionary history. Our distant ancestors
did not consume such foods and did
not suffer
from most of the current lifestyle
diseases,
including MS, which are now common
in Western
societies. It would seem that humans
are
genetically less tolerant of these
"recently"
introduced foods which cause a great
variety
of health problems (e.g. heart, stroke,
cancer,
autoimmune) for genetically susceptible
individuals
in societies which consume large quantities
of them (Eaton and Konner, 1985).
To me the best explanation for the
appearance
and steady increase of MS in Western
societies
is the continued increase over the
last 150
years in the consumption of the "late,
genetically-hard-to-handle" foods
such
as dairy, cereal grains, yeast, eggs,
legumes
and saturated fats. Thus, although
these
"late", potentially problematic
foods have been consumed for thousands
of
years, it is only recently that large
quantities
have been ingested so as to exceed
tolerance
levels for many genetically susceptible
individuals.
Later a suggested treatment for MS
is put
forward and it is based on the final
conclusion
of Eaton and Konner (1985) - The diet
of
our ancestors is perhaps the best defense
against the diseases of civilization.
|
MS-Diet Support Group 
DIRECT-MS