Managing Your MS
You have received your MS diagnosis, now what? It is important to adopt a positive mindset and focus on managing your condition.
Research has shown that incorporating positive changes into your lifestyle such as a healthy diet and exercise can help manage your symptoms more effectively, while slowing disease progression and improving life span.
Some key areas of focus include:
01
Diet and Nutrition
While there isn’t one specific diet that will help your MS, making positive changes are likely to impact your overall health and well-being, and can prove beneficial to long-term health of the nervous system.
The following are recommended starting points:
Homemade Always Wins.
Prepare meals at home as much as possible.
Fresh fresh fresh!
Incorporate a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to meals.
Whole Grains
Opt for whole grain options over refined grain products.
No Processed Foods.
Avoid/limit processed foods and added sugars as much as possible.
02
Exercise
While it’s not certain which specific diet will help your MS, any positive changes you make are likely to positively impact your overall health and well-being, and prove beneficial to the long-term health of your nervous system.
The following are recommend starting points for diet/nutrition:
Improve Cognitive Function
Improve Mental Health
Improve Physical Function
Reduce Fatigue
What are some recommended exercises?
Cardio / Aerobic
Cardio/aerobic exercises are activities that increase your heart rate and make you breathe harder. They can help improve cardiovascular fitness, reduce fatigue, and improve your mood.
Recommended exercises include:
Cycling, walking, dancing, water aerobics, running, stair-master, swimming, rowing.
Strength
These exercises will help you build muscle mass and strength. They can help to improve balance and reduce fatigue.
Recommended exercises include:
Upper and lower body movements using weights, exercises using bodyweight only, or other forms of resistance such as resistance bands.
Core
Activities that help strengthen the muscles of the core, which includes the abdomen, back, and pelvis. They can also help improve balance, reduce fatigue, improve posture, and mitigate bowel incontinence.
Recommended exercises include:
Pilates, planking and Russian twist exercises.
Flexibility
Flexibility exercises help to improve the range of motion in your joints and limbs. They can help facilitate everyday movement and improve balance.
Recommended exercises include:
Yoga and stretching.
Neuromotor / Functional Fitness
These training exercises can help improve balance, coordination, and agility, as well as preventing falls and injuries at any age.
Recommended exercises include:
Tai Chi, yoga and any exercises which focus on hand-eye coordination.
03
Mental Health
Looking after your mental health is equally as important as looking after your body. Negative mental processes can affect your motivation to eat healthily, to exercise, and the way in which you interact with others.
We advocate newly diagnosed patients to focus on the positive, which allows them to meet challenges head on and maintain hope for the future.
04
Cognitive Health
Mental stimulation helps the mind stay active, alert and engaged even in the face of ageing or changes caused by MS.
For more detailed advice on lifestyle, please refer to your healthcare provider.
