It is no mystery that stress can worsen our health. Some of the more obvious effects are:

• Overeating and extra weight
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Suppression of immune system and ability to fight infections

Now it appears that MS can also be adversely affected, which is no big surprise. Personally, since I have learned to apply Metabolic Typing and emotional balancing in my practice our success rates for MS have been dramatically improved.

The vast majority of the patients who come to our clinic with early MS seem to do quite well. It is absolutely amazing--it is uncommon for a week to go by without seeing someone in the practice who has resolved their MS challenge with the program. I am convinced that, just as the article mentions, resolving the stress is a major part of improving the MS equation. Eating a healthy diet that is right for your nutritional type is also an important part of controlling this disease.

I recommend avoiding nearly all drugs for MS since they are only Band-Aids (and for most are quite expensive). Vitamin D is also an essential part of the treatment. In my book it is medical malpractice not to normalize vitamin D levels with testing to values in the high 40s or low 50s.

Always remember that omega-3 fats are also extremely important, with cod liver oil being one of the best sources for most people now as fall is approaching in the United States.

Now is the time of year when people living in cooler climates will want to switch from fish oil to cod liver oil. The main difference between cod liver oil and fish oil is that cod liver oil is high in vitamin D. In warm weather months, the more intense sunshine allows your body to produce high and usually sufficient levels of vitamin D without any supplementation necessary. However, in cool weather when intense sun exposure is limited, your body will need more vitamin D, and so I recommend cod liver oil versus fish oil in cool weather months or climates.

I generally recommend that you take cod liver oil from autumn to early spring, and fish oil from late spring through the end of summer. However, those who live in more tropical environments with regular exposure to more intense sun will most likely be fine taking fish oil year round, as your vitamin D intake from the sun will be sufficient. If you aren't sure of what you should take, please have your vitamin D levels tested as it is possible to overdose on vitamin D.

When using fish oil or cod liver oil it is important to obtain a high-quality reputable brand. In my research--and in my clinical experience with my patients--I have found that:

• The liquid form is superior to capsules
• Certain brands definitely seem inferior to others
• The Carlson's brand of fish oil/cod liver oil is of an exceptional quality and purity

It is likely not the only brand in the world of such high quality, but up to this point it is the only one of such quality that I can recommend, so I now offer the Carlson's fish oil and cod liver oil on Mercola.com; you can also check your local health food store to see if they carry it.

Also consider these other helpful approaches for MS:

1. Elimination of pasteurized milk and dairy is important for most people. Studies have shown that cow's milk consumption is correlated with MS prevalence. Many people will tolerate RAW dairy, however.

2. Calcium AEP--Although I don't know of any good studies on it, the late Dr. Nieper in Germany used it extensively in his clinic, and Dr. Robert Atkins in New York City claims that 85 percent of his patients get positive results from it. Although there is an oral form available, most physicians use an IV administration. I have not tried it yet but might enter a clinical investigation with it in the near future.

3. Electromagnetic Stimulation of the Pineal Gland--There is a Dr. Reuven Sandyk in the NYC area who uses AC pulsed electromagnetic fields to stimulate the pineal gland, and he seems to get some very good results. The treatment is very expensive and must be done long-term, however, and due to the prohibitively expensive equipment, Dr. Sandyk's clinic is probably the only place that offers this treatment.

4. Alpha Lipoic Acid--A study from the Netherlands showed that Lipoic acid is a non-specific scavenger of Reactive Oxygen Species and has decreased the phagocytosis of myelin by macrophages. Free radicals appear to play a regulatory role in the destruction of myelin (Journal of Neuroimmunology 1998 Dec 1;92:67-75).

5. Progesterone--Progesterone has been shown in animal studies to promote the formation of new myelin sheaths (Human Reproduction 2000 Jun;15 Suppl 1:1-13, J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 1999 Apr-Jun;69:97-107, Mult Scler 1997 Apr;3:105-12). I am not aware of any clinicians using progesterone the treat MS patients.

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