In Western industrial nations, home cooking is becoming increasingly rare. In many families, there is sometimes no longer any competence in preparing meals independently, tastily and cost-effectively. The preparation is “outsourced” – reliance is placed on providers of ready meals or the “fast food” of restaurant chains. This range of dishes – which is characteristic of the so-called “Western diet” – often contains far too much sugar, fat, and especially salt.The following figures show that our salt consumption is quite high: While the average consumption in East Africa is 1.5 g of table salt, up to 3.9 g of table salt per day is consumed in Western industrial countries.
But what does salt have to do with the autoimmune disease MS? Well, there is now clear scientific evidence that high salt intake can be an important (co)-factor in the development of autoimmunity. Animal experiments have shown that a high-dose salt diet intensifies the clinical course of EAE, the animal model of MS. An increase in pro-inflammatory Th17 cells and an increased influx of these cells into the central nervous system (CNS) is observed. In line with these findings, Th17 cells maintained in culture under salt-enriched conditions showed significantly more aggressive behavior. In addition to the effects on immune cells, a high salt intake can also directly influence the blood-brain barrier permeability for inflammatory factors.
These are all findings from the animal model and one could perhaps downplay them somewhat, if not for an Argentinian study on patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) recently showing a correlation between increased salt intake and increased clinical and MRI activity. On average, the risk of developing new MR lesions was approximately 2.8 times higher if salt intake exceeded 2 g/day (recommended limit) and 3.4 times higher if salt intake exceeded 4.8 g/day. In addition, patients with high and moderately increased salt intake had a higher relapse rate than patients who adhered to the recommended salt intake limits.
In contrast, however, a European-Canadian study found no association between salt intake and MS activity or progression in the study cohort. However, a possible explanation for these differing findings could be the very inaccurate assessment of salt intake among the included MS patients.
So, as already announced, there are no clear results, but there are indications that too high salt intake could be unfavorable for MS patients. Accordingly, it is absolutely plausible and sensible for MS patients to think about their diet and perhaps long-term abstain from dietary habits such as “fast food” and ready meals. Alternatively, it would be advisable to cook more for oneself again and to choose food more consciously. Not only is this tastier compared to ready meals, but according to current knowledge, it is probably also good for health.
This was part 1/4. The other articles on nutrition and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can be found here:
