Issue One
Issue One
In this issue:
Sylvia Brown is the brainchild behind MS With Attitude. She lives in Sheffield, England and her website can be found at: Living With MS She works with the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Center out of the UK and contributes regularly to New Pathways magazine. I urge all of you to visit the MSRC's website regularly and subscribe to New Pathways. Each issue is JAM PACKED with useful information for people with MS who wish to help themselves and keep on top of the latest research. It is by far the best MS publication the world has to offer!
Sylvie has taken a very active role in the MS Community. Whether it be skydiving or participating in an abseil down the side of a tall building to create awareness and raise money for MS, forming support groups or spreading the word about the Best Bet Diet, Sylvie is the most inspiring MSer I've had the pleasure to come across. She truly lives the vision of "MS With Attitude" and lets nothing get in her way.
"MS With Attitude began in the U.K. under the umbrella of the MSRC. Together we have plans to organize "MS with Attitude" Groups in different parts of the country, so people with MS can get together and help each other to help themselves! What's the Attitude I hear you say? The Attitude is about facing MS and Giving a Damn about your future with MS in your life. It's all about being pro-active about MS and not just sitting back and pinning all your hopes on some wonder drug that will miraculously make MS go away. Though there is always hope for a cure, our time for ACTION IS NOW and that is what New Pathways and MS with Attitude is all about.
OK so you have MS, that's a reality you can try to run away from but you can't hide forever, better to face MS sooner rather than later! Why? So you can search out supplements, therapies and medications that work for you and to help you to re-claim control over your life.
For some of you if may well be that you feel relatively OK and that's great, you may not need to make too many lifestyle changes at present. Your focus may be on Living life to the Full and good for you! I can't fault this attitude as long as you're not living for the minute out of fear for the future. It's important to get the balance right. I used to live life pretty manically and this was not healthy. I was living in fear as if every day were my last. I don't regret living life to the full, but with hindsight I do wish I'd taken better care of myself and of my future.
I was unaware that I could help myself and stabilize MS myself, and so I remained an MS Victim for too long and paid a heavy price when MS did catch up with me. Live life to the full by all means but be wise, search and learn. Fore-armed is fore-warned as they say, and it's good to be Aware of all the options open to you. You never know when you might need them!"
Sylvie
Each issue I would like to include one of your own stories telling of your MS Experience. The first issue I'll talk about my own, but I look forward to hearing from the rest of you. If you would like to share your own story, please forward it to me (with photos if possible!) at donna@mswithattitude.ca
A great version of my story has been printed at the MSRC's website, and you can read it HERE.
Developed by Dr. Ashton Embry after years of research and inspired by the remarkable recovery of Roger MacDougall and others, the Best Bet Diet ("BBD") really is helping people with MS better their quality of life and, in some cases, to become symptom free.
When starting the BBD, It is important to have an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test completed to discover the foods you are allergic too. This test is not available locally and you must pay for it yourself, but it is an important test and well worth the cost and effort (Contact us for more info on how to obtain this test). However, allergies are only a small part of the MS and nutritional factors story. The main role of allergenic foods is that they increase gut permeability and thus allow food and bacterial proteins into circulation where they cause autoimmune reactions.
The key nutritional factors in MS are foods which yield protein fragments which initiate an autoimmune reaction through molecular mimicry. These foods are primarily dairy, gluten grains and legumes and should be totally avoided to significantly decrease autoimmune reactions.
The other key nutritional factors are the nutrients that contribute to immune regulation (i.e. the suppression of autoimmune reactions). These are Vitamin D and Omega 3 EFA and significant increases in intake are required to suppress the autoimmune reactions which do happen (mainly due to infectious agents). The BBD recommends 4000 i.u. per day of Vitamin D. It is important to ask your doctor to test your vitamin D levels by getting a 25(OH)D test before taking such a large dose. Your target is to reach OPTIMAL levels of 125-150 nmol/l. Normal levels are 50-140 nmol/l. (Donna's note - after 7 months of supplementing at 4000 i.u. per day, my level was 82.4 - imagine how low it was before I started supplementing!!) Be sure to get your actual results back because being told your levels are "normal" is not sufficient. Dr. Embry has concluded through extensive research that Vitamin D deficiency plays a large role in the cause of MS, and chances are you need the 4000 i.u. per day. It makes sense if you consider that MS is more prevalent in regions where we aren't out in the sunshine every day (does anyone in Africa have MS?) Important: If you have a history of liver, kidney disease or kidney stones do not use vitamin D supplements. Also ensure that the diet contains adequate calcium and magnesium while supplementing vitamin D.
This BBD is essentially a "Palaeolithic Diet" (Eaton and Konner, 1985) and is the one which our genetic structure evolved in concert with over 2 million years. Thus it is very compatible with our genetic makeup and results in few if any biochemical failures.
Dr. Ashton Embry
For more info:DIRECT-MS
If the BBD is an approach you are wanting to try, please visit the BBD Group's main website at www.ms-diet.org and consider joining the support group at Yahoo! Groups. They have a large number of people from all over the world with MS who are following this eating plan and seeing great results!
The *NEW* MS-Diet FAQ Page was recently completed. Tons of information here and many of your questions will be answered!
Each issue we will feature a recipe, preferably one that is "legal" to the Best Bet Diet. Feel free to contribute! This one is courtesy of Arlene at the Best Bet Diet Group.
Banana Bread
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder (gluten free)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
2 medium bananas mashed (1 cup)
1/2 cup rice milk (i.e. Rice Dream)
2 Tbsp. tahini (sesame seed butter)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients, including nuts (and raisins, if used). In a separate bowl, mix together mashed banana, rice dream, tahini and oil. Stir gently into dry ingredients until completely moistened and batter is evenly mixed.
Pour into an oiled 8-inch loaf pan and bake 45-50 minutes until golden. Cool on wire rack for no more than 10 minutes in the pan. Cool for another 20-30 minutes out of pan before cutting.
This day and age almost everyone has internet access and making your own personal web page is fun, easy and FREE through services such as Yahoo! and Tripod. Each issue we will feature one of the many personal websites out there devoted to MS. We all have a story...
This is Glenna's: www.naturalms.com
Glenna went from barely walking and having 1-2 relapses every 6 months, to running, cycling and weight lifting! She credits a natural approach that includes nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, oxygen, rest and her faith in God.
Coach K is MS With Attitude's Honorary Coach! Ken Larson, President of Optimum Performance Group Inc., is "The Champion's Coach". Ken traveled the world as a member of the Canadian National Basketball Team from 1981 through 1984, and now holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Performance and a Master's Degree in Sports Psychology. As an international professional speaker and seminar leader, Ken has inspired many people with his hands-on approach and unique presentation style. Ken is also a compassionate one-on-one personal coach, working with individuals who want to achieve success through personal growth and inner fulfillment.
MS With Attitude is proud to include a section in each newsletter devoted to a few words of wisdom (and maybe even some homework assignments) from our Coach! Take it away Ken...
Who Inspires YOU?
"HEY Coach K... Aren't you a motivational speaker?" "Who, me? - NOPE!"
I don't believe in motivation. Now that may sound odd coming from a former national team athlete, or from a former national champion, or especially from a personal life coach. But it's true. Motivation - Schmotivation is what I say. I don't believe there is anything I (or you) can do to other people to motivate them - especially not on a long-term basis. To me, motivation is quickly becoming passé. People are fed up with motivational attempts by bosses, colleagues, speakers and anyone else that wants more out of them. In fact, I see many people actively resisting these efforts. If people don't want to be motivated, then guess what... they won't be!
So... What do people want? What do people really need? INSPIRATION I say! "Yah Coach, that's just a play on words." You may be right. But I believe there are fundamental differences between the two concepts. Let me explain... The root of motivation is "motive to act". When you think about it, what could I (or anyone else for that matter) do to you to motivate you on a long-term basis? I believe you either have motive to act, or you do not. Do you think money motivates? It's certainly a quick fix, isn't it? Perhaps, but as soon as you get some, all you want is more. And do you do a better and more productive job as a result? Probably not - very few people do.
When it comes right down to it, motivation is something you do TO someone. It's short term. It's usually based on a fear of failure approach - the proverbial gun to the head. Most importantly, when operating on the motivational paradigm, people do their work because they have to - not because they want to.
Inspiration is very different. The root of inspiration is "to breathe in". It's something you do FOR someone for no other reason than to do it for them - with no underlying motive. It screams of caring. It has long-term affect, and it is based on a desire to succeed approach. The interesting by product is that we tend to get what we give. And most importantly, when operating on the inspirational paradigm, people now do their work because they want to, and not because they have to.
So... Which paradigm would you rather operate from? Which kind of environment and corporate and/or family culture would you rather be in? If you are not inspiring yourself, then you are actively choosing to allow someone else to motivate you. I don't know about you, but I've been there - and I don't like it!
So... "How do I get some of this inspiration?" Glad you asked. And believe it or not, it's already inside you! It all starts with asking yourself a few simple, yet probably tough questions (prepare to be coached!)... 
Who inspires YOU? Who are the people in your life who have inspired you in some way? Why do they inspire you? What have you learned from them about yourself and life? How is this helping you achieve all you want out of life? Have you told them lately that they inspire you (now there is an emotional workout)? And when times get tough, what wisdom would they have for you? And how will you act on this wisdom from within and build true-life fulfillment?
Now your homework... Connect with this incredibly inspiring feeling on a daily basis. In addition to answering the questions above, this can be done via pictures on your walls, trinkets and artifacts that remind you of these people, quotes and inspirational images on your desktop, music that matters to you in the background, and anything else you can think of that helps you truly connect.
Now when the motivation bandwagon comes a calling... You can say, "No thanks, I don't need it - I have a LIFE - Living Inspired & Fulfilled Everyday!"
Donna and Coach K
Ken Larson/OPG Inc. offers Keynote Speaking, Corporate Training, Team Facilitation, Performance Consulting and Personal Life Coaching. He can be reached via e-mail: optimally@shaw.ca or telephone: (403) 241-4555.
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