My wife, Caryn, and I had been doing a version of this as a means of weight control, and we found it worked well, both in terms of outcome and convenience. When some early research done at the University of Southern California found that the diet was helpful in modulating the immune system and even appeared to improve quality of life for people with MS, it excited many, myself included. More recently I read about some new research on intermittent fasting on the website of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. So far, the researchers have looked at the effects of intermittent fasting on mice with a mouse version of MS (called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis or EAE). They are now launching a similar study in people with MS to see if people see the same changes the mice did.
Intermittent Fasting Changes Gut Microbiome
The new study, published in June 2018 in the journal Cell Metabolism, seems to point in the same direction as previous research, and perhaps even further down the path. Highlights of the study include:
Intermittent fasting (in this case, fasting every other day) ameliorates the clinical course and pathology of the MS mouse model.Intermittent fasting in mice increases gut microbial diversity and alters their composition and metabolic pathways.Transferring gut microbiota from mice on intermittent fasting to those who fed freely led to protection from EAE in recipient mice, suggesting that intermittent fasting’s effects are at least partially mediated by the gut flora.In a small group of MS patients, intermittent energy restriction (limiting their calories every other day for two weeks) partially echoes what was observed with intermittent fasting in EAE mice.
There is much chatter about “gut health” out there in the ether these days. I always question a product or procedure when it simply purports “gut heath” or enhancing “gut flora” without being specific. After all, let’s remember it’s not only good things that grow in our digestive tracts. That said, this research was specific as to the bacteria which were enhanced, enriched, or even suppressed by strict intermittent fasting. Increased gut bacteria richness, enrichment of the Lactobacillaceae, Bacteroidaceae, and Prevotellaceae families, and enhanced antioxidative microbial metabolic pathways were observed in this experiment. All — or at least most — of us are now eagerly awaiting the results of the human trial of this diet.
I’m Willing to Give It a Try!
As I’d reported previously, fasting-mimicking diets have relatively few risk factors and are being recommended for MS by some researchers before any final results are known. That said, you should check with your primary care and MS-specializing docs before making the move. If restricting caloric intake to 500 or less a couple of times per week could have a positive effect on my MS, I’m in! Wishing you and your family the best of health. Cheers, Trevis
