Hi I have mild Multiple Sclerosis and was taking 1000mg of GLA a day. I can recall Dr Sears saying in one of his books that the lesser amount of supplements, the better (except for these type of conditions). Any idea on what type of supplements and how much should a person with MS take according to the Zone principles? Thanks

Hi, [quote:73e83eb224="Nihaya"]Hi I have mild Multiple Sclerosis and was taking 1000mg of GLA a day. I can recall Dr Sears saying in one of his books that the lesser amount of supplements, the better (except for these type of conditions). Any idea on what type of supplements and how much should a person with MS take according to the Zone principles? Thanks[/quote:73e83eb224] MS is a condition that appears to be best treated with high doses of pharmacutical grade fish oil. 8 to 16 caps per day is recommended. now EPA should be 50 to 100 times greater than GLA so 8 caps contains 3200mg epa .So at that you should not exceed 64mg GLA On the higher side at 16 caps PGFO contains 6400mg EPA so you could have a maximum of 128mg GLA. Were you really taking 1000mg GLA a day ?? Most use evening primrose oil and generally for every 1000mg cap it contains 100mg GLA so to get 1000 you would need 10 caps. I am intreagued at the chemical efect this would have, Can you explain your experiences ? You may wish to research "spillover", A search in the old forums would certainly explain (but is not possible) but if you can read omega RX zone it is certainly covered there White Light

Thanks for your advise!! I will need to check the labels of the GLA supplement I was taking (Starflower oil), as now that you mention it, 1000mg is a very high dose (I might remember the wrong GLA dose :? ) I found a supplement that combines both fish oil and e.primrose oil, but at much lower dose than usually recommended in the zone diet. I might need to go back to the cod liver oil to get enough epa...

Hi [quote:385143b526="Nihaya"]Thanks for your advise!! I will need to check the labels of the GLA supplement I was taking (Starflower oil), as now that you mention it, 1000mg is a very high dose (I might remember the wrong GLA dose :? ) I found a supplement that combines both fish oil and e.primrose oil, but at much lower dose than usually recommended in the zone diet. I might need to go back to the cod liver oil to get enough epa...[/quote:385143b526] Please make sure your EPA is 50 to 100 times more than your GLA White light

Multiple sclerosis usually responds to high doses of pharmaceutical grade fish oil combined with zone diet and lifestyle changes. There are other factors which can help like advanced hygiene, sleep and emotional health. You can download free more information at the web site www.geocities.com/glorioushealth The notes on MS are also posted on this forum http://forum.drsears.com/viewtopic....+sclerosis I also suggest you read the free book From depression to gloious health. MS is linked to the bad eicosanoid PGE2 as is depression. The two diseases are closely linked. This book explains the dosage of pharmaceutical grade fish oil and GLA to treat depression and MS. The book was actually written as a protocol for an MS sufferer. I hope this helps. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

Thank you for your responses. Obviously, I got it wrong from the beggining!

Andrew, Thanks for sharing all this information about your book in the forum. I had a look at the rather exhaustive list of do's and don't when having MS. It had really shed some light to the concept I had about the desease and I'm very thankful for that. Doctors here in the UK prefer not to give beta-interferon (unless it's really necessary) and that's it, you can go home (no advise on what to eat, what supplements to take, etc). I was feeling quite "ignored" in this business as there's nothing to do about it, but now I feel ther's some hope! Thank you, Nihaya

Dear Nihaya, Thank you for you kind words. The book From depression to glorious health was actually written as a diet and lifestyle protocol for an MS sufferer from The UK so I'm familiar with the discouraging approach of many doctors in your country. I can tell you that this patient with MS went from being constantly ill with muscle siezures to being symptom free (at least as far as MS is concerned). Generally speaking diet and lifestyle seems to stop the progression of MS. Pharmaceutical grade fish oil in high enough doses seems to reverse the symptoms. I wish for you the best of health and happiness. Kindest regards, Andrew

Dear Andrew Thanks! I hope this will happen to me as well. The only thing I cannot cut back is diary products (I stopped eating red meat, bread, butter, almost all sugars ,etc) but I think I'm too dependent on low-fat dairy ... just love them. I trust however that all the other elements (exercise, pgfo, zone diet) that I've been following carefully will eventually reverse my symptoms! Any suggestions /comments about this dairy "craving"? Thank you

You could try EFT (tapping etc) to remove the craving for dairy. Obviously low fat milk or cheese is preferable. There are some milks where the lactose is predigested by bacteria (In Australia the brand is Parmalat and the name of the milk is Zymil. Parmalat is a European company so I imagine you could find the same product there.) It would be better if you didn't drink milk at all. It can affect your immune system and could be linked to MS. A healthier dairy alternative is low fat unsweetened yoghurt. The good bacteria in yoghurt can help restore intestinal bacteria which is often compromised in patients with MS. Avoid yoghurt or any product that has been sweetened with aspartame - aspartame has been known to cause MS type symptoms and more. The symptoms are so similar most doctors can't tell them apart. I think most important is that you're symptom free from MS and depression. You can break the rules a little if you're really well. You really can't afford to break the rules at all if you're unwell. I hope this helps. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

Thanks for your advice! Now that I'm going through a relapse ,I cut short on dairy products. I know it's hard, but my health is in my hands now... I've heard of Parmalat before (Italian brand) but haven't come across Zymil. I'll gladly go for low-fat yoghurt! By the way, what is EFT? Thanks again.

EFT is a method of removing negative emotions. The method seems rather bizaare involving tapping various points of your body but it is usually very effective. Since a high degree of stress is caused by negative emotions this therapy is particularly useful. Reversal of many physical conditions often results from the removal of negative emotions. You can learn more about EFT and order free CDs at www.emofree.com Most important of all you can learn to do EFT yourself in a few minutes so you won't be reliant on a therapist etc. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

Thank you Andrew. I saw you mentioned tapping and rubbing in your book, but never heard of this method before. I'll check the website. Very interesting the link between MS and depression, because I had the latter 10 years ago...

You are welcome. Yes MS and depression are linked by a bad eicosanoid PGE2. You should not consider yourself free of MS unless you're free of MS symptoms and depression. Often a bout of depression precedes an MS attack. The depression can be the early warning signal that PGE2 levels (bad eicosanoids) are high. Actually depression is linked to a whole host of diseases including all the major western diseases heart disease, strokes and cancer. This very much strengthens the case for eicosanoid control and an approach that deals both with physical issues like diet and exercise and emotional issues. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

It's me again... I've being trying to look for an answer in the different forums but couldn't find any. It's concerning the fat content in PGFO. I'm taking 10 gr of PGFO a day , however I'm not sure if I should consider the fat content as part of my of my daily 'fat block' intake? I've gained some weight this week , when I also started taking PGFO ... probably the latter has some kind of impact on weight? Thank you for any suggestions/comments!

You don't need to add the fat as part of your blocks.

FAT IN FISH OIL Dr Sears answers this question in chapter 8 page 81 of the Omega Rx Zone. 10 grams of PGFO amounts to an additional 160 calories. When you consider that a zone diet is a low calorie diet at 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day these few extra calories will still leave you under the limit most people require to lose fat. Also fat is very unlikely to make you fat unless insulin is elevated. Insulin is usually elevated by eating too many carbohydrates. Fat does not stimulate the release of insulin. Excess insulin causes your body to store fat and inhibits your body from burning fat. So it's highly unlikely the fish oil will cause you to put on weight. If you wanted to be particular I guess you could consider 3-5 grams of PGFO as one fat block. But most people don't bother and they don't usually have any weight problems as a result. I hope this helps. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

Hi Tech, [quote:926f4fe96a="tech@drsears.com"]You don't need to add the fat as part of your blocks.[/quote:926f4fe96a] People on 16 caps a day are adding 160 calories (as andrew correctly points out) which is about 18g fat. That is 6 Full fat blocks. All fully useable by the body. in terms of added fat its 12 mini blocks. Of course you count the fat in fish. Please try to explain the difference ? White Light

Hello to my good friend White Light. I agree that the fat in fish oil is fat and should act as other dietary fat if eaten with a meal : in other words it should slow the release of glucose into the blood thus slowing the release of insulin. In practical terms if you're already on the zone diet and you add fish oil you may have to change some of your recipes which is probably unecessary. Of all the things you can add to the diet fat is fairly safe. Elite athletes, for examply, are advised to eat twice the quantity of fat on a zone diet to ensure they consume enough calories. I believe your primary concern with any diet and lifestyle program should be health - fat burning follows naturally from a healthy diet. If your primary concern is weight loss then you would probably count the fish oil as fat. But 160 extra calories a day in the form of fish oil is unlikely to cause weight gain because by itself the fat in fish oil should not stimulate the release of insulin which is involved in fat storage. The difference between fish oil and other fats is that fish oil is likely to make your cell membranes more fluid, enhancing the action of your insulin receptors. This could result in reduced insulin release and less fat storage. I agree with white light. It would be nice for tech support or Dr Sears on this forum to give us their opinions. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh