I'm sure all will find this article very interesting. It goes against the current thinking of most MS researchers and as a result, the scientist who wrote it is likely to be on the receiving end of a lot of flack.

http://asknicola.blogspot.com/2011/1...erosis-is.html

Harry

Sounds like a reasonable theory, just as does the Auto Immune theory. Is any of this going to lead to a cure? NOOOOOOOOO!!!

Makes sense to me. Maybe with CCSVI there will be additional research on this theory.

Wonder why it wasn't in any news media?

I say everyone post their LDL levels.

I wish Dr. Swank was alive to see this vindication of his view about fats and MS. He posited many many years ago that saturated fats caused an attack on myelin. However, he did still refer to it as an auto-immune disease, saying that consumption of fat causes a reactive auto-immune attack on myelin. His test for MS (which he used in conjunction with standard tests) was to see if blood cells slowed down in the presence of oil in a petri dish.
I was tested by him and my cells slowed down.

Concerning the request to state one's LDL, mine at last count was l79, and my HDL (the good cholesterol) was only 27. This very low HDL is characteristic of people with one of my other diseases, Polycythemia Vera.

I can't take statins because I have Porphyria. However, I have been on the Swank low fat diet for over a quarter of a century, with one modification, eating more eggs than he
advised (egg cholesterol has been shown to be more beneficial than harmful in current research). I have always gotten along well with eggs. It is important for me to force myself to eat good fats so my dry skin won't blow away.

I also limit my sugars, although I must have adequate carbohydrate because I have Porphyria. Dr. Swank did not limit pure sugar, although he probably would have advised moderation. I eat a little sugar, but not much. If I eat sugar it's pure sugar, not a substitute, most of which are toxic for Porphyria. I eat some honey and maple syrup to sweeten things like baked apples and cereal. Dr. Swank himself lived into his mid-nineties because (he said) he followed his own MS diet, even though he did not have MS.
He followed the diet because it's healthy for arteries and hearts.

Here's to you, Dr. Swank! A toast to you on Christmas Eve, 2011.

PS, I know I have a lipid disorder, although it has not been diagnosed. I have always had trouble digesting fats, and some time ago (ten years) a naturopath did a lipid study on me which blew her mind with the results. I had a skewed profile, with Omega 3 three times normal, even though I was unable to tolerate things like fish oil; I presume this might be due to not metabolizing Omega 3 and thus having it floating around in my blood, although I do not know, and she did not know. My other Omegas were low. Today I am unable to eat much Omega 3--just a few walnuts, occasional tuna or sardines, a little bit of walnut oil.
But must be careful to limit it. Bizarre?

Hi Sally,

If this theory pans out, then controlling the problem would possibly lead to the closest thing to a cure that I've seen. But one must remember, it won't do anything for axons that are already damaged by MS.

But we can also expect to see this scientist coming under a lot of flack from the established world of MS medicine. After all, she has just told them that decades of work they have done using the auto immune theory is out the window.


Merry Christmas.

Harry

The scientific world suggesting that MS is not an auto immune disease, is not new Harry. I believe John Hopkins brought up that possibility years ago.

I have failed on 3 DMD's and have really thought, what if the side effects of these drugs are worse than the MS!
I have often thought what if THEIR theories are wrong and we are all taking these powerful drugs!!
Really makes you think!!

The "not autoimmune theory" has surfaced a number of times over the years but each and every time the established world of MS medicine has always been quick to dismiss it, often very aggressively. And it won't take long for the attacks to happen on this latest theory. Instead of co-operation, it will be confrontation. How very sad.