Why am I writing about Anti-Inflammatory Foods and MS?
There are two reasons why I want to talk bout this in today’s post. First and foremost because MS is an inflammatory disease and therefore I deduce that any recommendations regarding anti-inflammatory disease dietary recommendations apply to people who suffer from MS too. The second reason why I want to look at these recommendations is to investigate whether the OMS diet can be seen as an anti-inflammatory diet too.
Harvard University Medical School suggests that people with chronic inflammatory disease have the chance to make a healthy choice by choosing to eat the right types of food to reduce their risk of illness and avoiding foods that accelerate the inflammatory disease process. It seems to me, they too recognise there are foods that have an adverse effect on inflammatory responses in the body. Likewise there are foods who have the opposite effect. This corresponds to the OMS programme. (For more information on the science behind the OMS programme, please refer to Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis by Prof. George Jelinek.)
The Harvard University Medical School lists the following foods as ‘bad’ for people who suffer from inflammatory diseases:
- fried foods
- highly refined carbohydrates such as white flours, white sugars as well as sugary drinks such as sodas
- red meats
- refined meats
- lards, shortenings, margarines
They list the following foods as anti-inflammatory and therefore beneficial to people who suffer from inflammatory illnesses:
- nuts
- tomatoes
- olive oil
- fish (especially oily fish)
- leafy green vegetables high in natural antioxidants and polyphenols
- fruits high in natural antioxidants and polyphenols
Modern medicine is beginning to recognise the food we eat can have an effect on our well being to an extent that it can be seen as a way of treatment for particular illnesses. I find that empowering because it means that if and when I choose to eat certain foods and avoid unhealthy foods I can help my prognosis and reduce the risk of illness or illness progression.
So let’s compare the recommendations above for anti-inflammatory food and ms dietary recommendations the cooking of the Lotte Wild kitchen is following. The above recommendations are not in conflict with the dietary recommendation of the OMS Program.
It is my impression the OMS Program is a lot more specific about the types of fats that are beneficial and those that are not. It explains why fried foods, lards, margarine, red meats and processed meats are harmful and why fish and cold pressed olive oil are not. It suggests to people with MS a somewhat zero tolerance attitude towards harmful fats saying that it is best to not consume these type of fats knowingly at all as a way to minimise the effect of the hidden unhealthy fats in our foods we consume anyway.
Going back to the recommendations of the Harvard School of Medicine, the second key inflammatory triggering food component seem to be refined carbohydrates. The OMS programme says to minimise the amount of sugar consumed but it isn’t specific nor does is recommends the reduction or elimination of simple carbohydrates in favour of complex carbohydrates. It does recommend to stick to a whole food diet though and thereby the OMS Diet can be seen as a making recommendations that comply with the recommendations set out by the Harvard School of Medicine.
The Lotte Wild Cookbook Series only includes recipes that comply with the recommendations of both the OMS Program and the recommendations of the Harvard School of Medicine. Going by the recommendations of the Harvard School of Medicine there are very few recipes that would need to be adjusted to reduce or remove any simple carbohydrates to be 100% compliant to people who follow a strict anti-inflammatory diet.