Researchers Find Link Between Oxidative Stress and MS in the spinal fluid of MS patients

Link between MS and oxidative stress documented in spinal fluid

This article was published December 2008

the link below should take you to the article --
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2584157#id409706%23id409706

J Neurol Sci. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 December 15.
Published in final edited form as:
J Neurol Sci. 2008 December 15; 275(1-2): 106–112.
Published online 2008 September 9. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2008.07.032.



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Cerebrospinal fluid evidence of increased extra-mitochondrial glucose metabolism implicates mitochondrial dysfunction in multiple sclerosis disease progression
William T. Regenold,1 Pornima Phatak,1 Michael J. Makley,2 Roger D. Stone,3 and Mitchel A. Kling4
1University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, and the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Research Service, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
2University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Center Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
3National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Neuroimmunology Branch, Bethesda, MD, USA
4Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Division of Clinical Translational Medicine. Formerly, National Institute of Mental Health, Clinical Neuroendocrinology Branch, Bethesda, MD, USA

This was published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences in December 2008. These authors talk about the evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction in those with progressive MS. Quoting from their abstract: "... the extra-mitochondrial glucose metabolism increases with impaired mitochondrial metabolism of glucose, these findings implicate mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of MS disease progression. CSF metabolic profiling may be useful in clarifying the role of mitochondrial pathology in progression and in targeting and monitoring therapies for disease progression that aim to preserve or boost mitochondrial glucose metabolism."

This is yet another bit of evidence which supports my theory that mitochondrial health have a large role to play in progressive multiple sclerosis. It may not be the whole story - inflammation is probably a factor also. But fixing one's mitochondria is probably a very important long term strategy.



T

MIcronutrients and Improved Function in MS

Progressive multiple sclerosis and micronutrients – is raw food superior to cooked food?


I am often asked whether raw food is superior to cooked food for micronutrient availability for patients with MS. The basic guide I provide is that food taken directly from the plant is the very best for you. If you cook food, the lower temper in steaming or a very low (180 degree) roast is the next best. The other key item is to eat any fluid or juice from the cooking (which is where all the water soluble nutrients have gone.


Micronutrients are critical for brain health. Unfortunately the average western diet is deficient in most vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids which have recommended daily allowances. The reason for this is the reliance on cheap sources of calories in grains which have most often had the germ and husk of the grain removed.
Very few vegetables are consumed. The animals are increasingly raised in high density farm factories with minimal exposure to green grass or sunshine. The consequence is that the meat has minimal omega 3 fatty acid, vitamin and mineral content.

Are nutrients lost with cooking? That depends on high the cooking temperature and how long. Immediately fresh and still raw when you eat the food means that cooking has not leached any of the micronutrients out of it. But some of the micronutrients may not be available to you because our bodies can’t digest all of the cell walls in plants. If you cook below the boiling point and drink all the juice – the food is generally more digestible and you have not lost much of the micronutrients. However – some of the compounds that are very helpful to us will gradually be lost with prolonged cooking. Cooking above the boiling point of water, particularly frying tends to oxidize many of the compounds in food. When that occurs many of the anti-oxidants in food have become oxidized – and therefore their anti-oxidant benefit to us is gone.

Bottom line – Raw retains the nutrients in the food. Cooking gently makes the nutrients more available because the food has been partially digested by cooking. Frying oxidizes many of the helpful compounds. Prolonged high temperatures cooking likewise can breakdown micronutrients. My advice is to increase your micronutrients through more vegetables and fruits. Eat them raw or cooked according to your personal preference. But if you cook, always drink the juice. Never throw it away.