Manifesto

BE KIND TO YOURSELF.

If you remember nothing else, please remember to be kind to yourself.

The Path to Creating the Best Life with MS

1. Bacteria are not the problem, it’s the environment we sit them in.
   
2. The best things in life are simple. Food. Movement. Nature. Mindset.
   
3. ”All the answers can always be found in nature. The job of science is to discover what they are.” Sir Frances Bacon
   
4. Your gut microbiome affects your mood, you thoughts, your mental health, and your multiple sclerosis. It’s all connected.
   
5. Genes and Epstein-Barr virus load the gun. Lifestyle pulls the trigger.
   
6. Don’t define yourself by your illness. There are better ways to define yourself than this lousy disease.
   
7. The countries with the lowest intake of dietary fibre have the highest prevalence of MS per capita.
   
8. No drug can do what food can. Take medication if you want to, but manage your lifestyle as well.
   
9. Good health is a lifestyle. It may be difficult at first, but it will become easy. Food Medicine Diet for MS isn’t a diet you go on and get off.
   
10. Asian countries have almost no MS. But Asia has equivalent knowledge, diagnostic tools, and rates of Epstein-Barr virus infection. The difference lies in how people live.
    
11. If you remove the triggers, you can stop MS attacks.
    
12. Your body is striving to be well. Be kind to it. Eat mindfully and ethically. Move your body. Relax your mind. Sleep deeply.
    
13. EBV and dairy are a perfect storm to trigger MS attacks in some people. All MS diets exclude dairy for its known capacity to trigger MS attacks.
    
14. Epigenetics and neuroplasticity completely change the MS conversation. Recovery is possible.
    
15. There is no reliable prognosis with MS. Some people are in wheelchairs. Some are running marathons. The difference is their lifestyle and mindset.
    
16. MS is an inflammatory disorder. The fastest way to soothe inflammation in your body is through what you eat and drink.
    
17. All food sits on a spectrum. It either causes, or calms, inflammation. You can stoke the fire or put the fire out. The difference often lies in whether it’s real food or foodlike.
    
18. Drink green tea every day. No milk. No sugar. 
    
19. Roy Swank studied MS for 50 years. The people with MS on Swank’s healthy diet who lived into their 90s were as well or healthier than other people their age. Learn from the pioneer. Become a pioneer.
    
20. If MS were a GIFT happening for you, what is the gift your MS is bringing?