I’m really, really looking forward to getting away from it all ( apart from my MS learning) next week on the retreat for people with MS run by George Jelinek of Overcoming MS. Vegan food, peaceful and beautiful surroundings – just hope they have wiFi!!

The reason that I’m there, is  to learn, as OMS have asked me to help them run the one day courses which will be running in the UK, to educate people about the evidence for lifestyle measures that can help people with MS to remain well. I’m looking forward to it! As this is not an either/or choice – there’s a place for both types of medicine – I have never been afraid to stand up and promote this from the rooftops!  Going to take my yoga mat and meditation shawls….

And here’s just some of the research that OMS have been up to recently

Our research team at OMS is excited about the findings of our latest study from the HOLISM database, published online early at the International Journal of Neuroscience (http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00207454.2013.803104). To refresh memories, this study recruited around two and a half thousand people with MS from Web 2.0 platforms like Facebook, Twitter and MS websites, from 57 countries around the globe. They completed a long survey about their lifestyles and the illness. We have been busy analysing the data ever since; the findings about one part of the lifestyle survey relating to fish and omega 3 consumption have just been published and add enormous weight to the OMS recovery program. Briefly, those consuming fish the most frequently (three or more times a week), and those taking omega 3 supplements, had better health in virtually all measured domains of disease activity, disability, and quality of life. Perhaps the most striking finding however of the research was that while people with MS taking regular fish oil supplements had 44% fewer relapses than those not taking omega 3s, those taking flaxseed oil regularly had 66% fewer relapses! This effect was independent of how frequently they were consuming fish. We have suggested flaxseed oil as the preferred omega 3 supplement in the OMS recovery program since its inception. These data provide strong support for that approach.
The take-home messages from the paper were that, in a real world setting, people with MS taking omega 3 supplements and eating fish regularly have much better health! They have less disability, fewer relapses and better quality of life. People looking to recover from MS everywhere who are incorporating these lifestyle changes into their lives can take great heart from these findings.
The full version of the paper is still not available for download from the journal website, so we have attached a pdf (above right) to enable people to read the full paper.

Get chugging back that Flax seed oil!