Study Expands Knowledge on Dietary Composition and MS

A dietary composition review suggested that limiting one’s alcohol and pork intake while increasing the intake of fish oil, vitamin C, folic acid, and cereals may reduce an individual’s risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) or their disease severity. These findings, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, provide possible guidance for dietary-based modalities in treatment approaches or efforts to prevent MS.¹

Currently, there is no consensus on the best diet for managing MS | image credit: Diana Vyshniakova - stock.adobe.com

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, diet can play an important role in the progression, severity, and even risk of MS.² Healthier diet regimens can help individuals maintain healthy body weights, reduce cardiovascular risks and comorbidities, build stronger immune systems, and more. Factors such as these have been linked to reduced disease activity and disability, among other benefits. While there is no current consensus on the “best” diet for an individual with MS, using diet to promote better overall health and well being is beneficial for one’s nervous system, especially considering the nerve damage that occurs throughout the course of MS.

Study author Haitian Nan emphasized the inconsistencies that persist in the literature exploring the relationship between diet and MS.¹ With no concrete conclusions derived from these studies, Nan conducted an investigation into any casual link between genetically predicted dietary composition and one’s MS risk and severity.

Data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) regarding dietary compositions were collected from the UK Biobank, International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium, and the GWAS and Sequencing Consortium of Alcohol and Nicotine Use systems. Furthermore, 2-sample Mendelian randomization was utilized to evaluate causal links between MS and 30 genetically predicted dietary compositions to shed light on any supporting evidence for diet-based approaches in patients with—or at higher risk for—MS. Nucleotide polymorphisms that are related to exposures—instrumental variables (IVs)—were used to evaluate this data.

The 30 dietary compositions were subsequently split into 6 categories: milk products (milk/cheese), staple food (bread/cereal), fruits and vegetables, drinks (water, alcohol, coffee, tea), meat (beef, fish, poultry, etc), and micronutrients or other supplements (vitamins, folic acid, iron, zinc, calcium, etc).

In total, 692 IVs were collected across these categories, with an average of 9 to 124 IVs obtained per dietary composition. Mendelian randomization determined that 5 of the dietary intakes had a casual association with MS risk. Notably, increased intake of pork was found to increase one’s likelihood of developing MS (OR, 6.76; 95% CI, 1.77-25.81; P = .005). Additionally, consuming more cereals was attributed to reduced MS risk (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.21-0.85; P = .016), as was higher amounts of fish oil supplements (OR, 0.04; 95% CI, < .01-0.56; P = .017), vitamin C (OR, < .01, 95% CI, < .01 to < .01; P = .0000434), and folic acid supplements (OR, < .01; 95% CI, < .01 to < .01; P = 4.91 x 10-71).

As for risk of MS severity, results found that genetically predicted higher intake of alcohol was linked to more severe MS (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.01-1.36; P = .041), whereas increased consumption of folic acid supplements correlated with less severe MS (OR, < .01; 95% CI, < .01 to < .01; P = .015).

There were no limitations identified by the authors in this study. Reflecting on their results, they emphasized the value of incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into one’s daily routine to potentially curb MS risk or reduce disease severity.

References

1. Nan H. Causal effects of dietary composition on multiple sclerosis risk and severity: a Mendelian randomization study. Front Nutr. 2024;11:1410745. doi:10.3389/fnut.2024.1410745

2. Diet and nutrition. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.nationalmssociety.org/managing-ms/living-with-ms/diet-exercise-and-healthy-behaviors/diet-nutrition