Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPrinciplesBasicsEffects
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Principles
Basics
Effects
Dr. Embry began to look into nutritional and dietary factors in MS when his son, Matt Embry, was diagnosed with the disease in 1995. You too may be driven to explore any option that could possible help improve your or your loved one’s disease course. If The Best Bet Diet is something you’re considering, here’s what you need to know.
Verywell / Nusha Ashjaee
Principles of the Best Bet Diet
Established Cause of MS
MS occurswhen myelin, a type of fat cell that protects nerves, is diminished. It is not completely understood why MS develops, but experts agree that there may be genetic, environmental, and autoimmune factors.
Demyelination may occur due to an autoimmune process in which the body’s immune system attacks the myelin, slowing or stopping nerve communication and resulting in neurological issues.
Embry’s Theory
The theory continues that these food proteins are similar to the proteins in myelin, and that antibodies formed in this immune response begin to attack the body’s own myelin in a biological process called molecular mimicry, causing it to break down.
Basics of the Diet
There are two main components of The Best Bet Diet—dietary modification and supplements. Some of the guidelines follow healthy eating recommendations, and some are specifically focused on the leaky gut and molecular mimicry that are central to the principles behind the diet.
Eliminate:
Get an Ample Amount of:
The dietary guidelines of the Best Bet Diet recommend avoiding dairy, gluten, legumes, and refined sugars, which are thought to trigger the immune system.
Supplement With:
1:11What Does Vitamin D Have to Do With MS?
1:11
What Does Vitamin D Have to Do With MS?
Effects of The Best Bet Diet
Matt Embry runsMS Hope, a website in which he shares his experience incoping with and managing MS. It includes videos in which he discusses his own personal experiences with the diet, which he says have been positive. And many people comment and share their own personal experiences about this diet and others in numerous MS patient forums.
Anecdotal reports can sometimes be helpful, but they must always be considered in light of available research. A multi-center review of online dietary advice regarding MS did not find any benefits of The Best Bet Diet, and there is no current peer-reviewed research supporting or explicitly refuting its use.
There are some theoretical concerns that The Best Bet Diet may not provide enough energy-supplying nutrients, but this has not been validated.
Furthermore, there are a number of medical conditions that can be worsened or improved with diet, but so far there is no evidence thatanydiet can have a major impact on MS.
A Word From Verywell
While you can easily find recommendations for dietary regimens and supplements in magazines and online in articles and forums, that doesn’t mean they are right for you—or even helpful. Be sure to check with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your MS care plan. Among the issues that she needs to weigh in on are whether or not the suggestions you want to try will provide you with adequate nutrition, cause toxicity, or interact with any medications you are taking.
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Multiple Sclerosis-UK.Choices: Diets and supplements.MS Society.Special diets and MS.MS International Federation.What is MS?Embry, AF.Multiple sclerosis - best bet treatment.Katz Sand I.The role of diet in multiple sclerosis: Mechanistic connections and current evidence.Curr Nutr Rep. 2018;7(3):150-160. doi:10.1007/s13668-018-0236-zYu M, Jelinek G, Simpson-Yap S, Neate S, Nag N.Self-reported ongoing adherence to diet is associated with lower depression, fatigue, and disability, in people with multiple sclerosis.Front Nutr. 2023;10:979380. doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.979380Beckett JM, Bird ML, Pittaway JK, Ahuja KD.Diet and multiple sclerosis: Scoping review of web-based recommendations.Interact J Med Res. 2019;8(1):e10050. doi:10.2196/10050Additional ReadingBagur MJ, Murcia MA, Jiménez-Monreal AM, et al.Influence of diet in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.Advances in Nutrition. 2017;8(3):463-472. doi: 10.3945/an.116.014191Direct MS.Nutrition.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Multiple Sclerosis-UK.Choices: Diets and supplements.MS Society.Special diets and MS.MS International Federation.What is MS?Embry, AF.Multiple sclerosis - best bet treatment.Katz Sand I.The role of diet in multiple sclerosis: Mechanistic connections and current evidence.Curr Nutr Rep. 2018;7(3):150-160. doi:10.1007/s13668-018-0236-zYu M, Jelinek G, Simpson-Yap S, Neate S, Nag N.Self-reported ongoing adherence to diet is associated with lower depression, fatigue, and disability, in people with multiple sclerosis.Front Nutr. 2023;10:979380. doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.979380Beckett JM, Bird ML, Pittaway JK, Ahuja KD.Diet and multiple sclerosis: Scoping review of web-based recommendations.Interact J Med Res. 2019;8(1):e10050. doi:10.2196/10050Additional ReadingBagur MJ, Murcia MA, Jiménez-Monreal AM, et al.Influence of diet in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.Advances in Nutrition. 2017;8(3):463-472. doi: 10.3945/an.116.014191Direct MS.Nutrition.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Multiple Sclerosis-UK.Choices: Diets and supplements.MS Society.Special diets and MS.MS International Federation.What is MS?Embry, AF.Multiple sclerosis - best bet treatment.Katz Sand I.The role of diet in multiple sclerosis: Mechanistic connections and current evidence.Curr Nutr Rep. 2018;7(3):150-160. doi:10.1007/s13668-018-0236-zYu M, Jelinek G, Simpson-Yap S, Neate S, Nag N.Self-reported ongoing adherence to diet is associated with lower depression, fatigue, and disability, in people with multiple sclerosis.Front Nutr. 2023;10:979380. doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.979380Beckett JM, Bird ML, Pittaway JK, Ahuja KD.Diet and multiple sclerosis: Scoping review of web-based recommendations.Interact J Med Res. 2019;8(1):e10050. doi:10.2196/10050
Multiple Sclerosis-UK.Choices: Diets and supplements.
MS Society.Special diets and MS.
MS International Federation.What is MS?
Embry, AF.Multiple sclerosis - best bet treatment.
Katz Sand I.The role of diet in multiple sclerosis: Mechanistic connections and current evidence.Curr Nutr Rep. 2018;7(3):150-160. doi:10.1007/s13668-018-0236-z
Yu M, Jelinek G, Simpson-Yap S, Neate S, Nag N.Self-reported ongoing adherence to diet is associated with lower depression, fatigue, and disability, in people with multiple sclerosis.Front Nutr. 2023;10:979380. doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.979380
Beckett JM, Bird ML, Pittaway JK, Ahuja KD.Diet and multiple sclerosis: Scoping review of web-based recommendations.Interact J Med Res. 2019;8(1):e10050. doi:10.2196/10050
Bagur MJ, Murcia MA, Jiménez-Monreal AM, et al.Influence of diet in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.Advances in Nutrition. 2017;8(3):463-472. doi: 10.3945/an.116.014191Direct MS.Nutrition.
Bagur MJ, Murcia MA, Jiménez-Monreal AM, et al.Influence of diet in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.Advances in Nutrition. 2017;8(3):463-472. doi: 10.3945/an.116.014191
Direct MS.Nutrition.
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