The Best Bet Diet was developed by Ashton Embry, Ph.D. as a dietary strategy for managing multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr. Embry began to look into nutritional and dietary factors in MS when his son, Matt Embry, was diagnosed with MS in 1995.
Leading MS organizations, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society, are aware of the Best Bet Diet and do not endorse it for management of MS. If you or a loved one has MS, you may be interested in understanding more about this diet and what it could mean for you.
The Principles of the Best Bet Diet
The Best Bet Diet is based on the widely known causes of MS. But the diet was developed based on additional ideas about the cause of MS that are not established or accepted by leaders and experts in the field.
Causes and Risk Factors of Multiple Sclerosis:
The authors and supporters of the Best Bet Diet suggest that leaky gut syndrome could be responsible for MS. They believe that undigested components of food can escape into the bloodstream, initiating a series of events that leads to MS.
They suggest that the immune system responds to these undigested particles by creating antibodies against them as if they are invaders. The theory continues that these food proteins are similar to the proteins in myelin and that antibodies formed in response to the food proteins begin to attack the body's own myelin (a biological process called molecular mimicry) causing it to break down.
The Basics of The Best Bet 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 Best Bet Diet.
Guidelines regarding food include:
Eliminate:
Dairy: All animal milk, butter, cheeses, yogurt and any products that contain them.
Gluten: Wheat, rye, and barley and any products that contain them.
Legumes: Beans and peas, peanuts, soybeans, and soy products.
Refined sugar: This is also avoided based on the idea that they cause inflammation, which is suggested to exacerbate autoimmunity. The dietary guidelines suggest using other sweeteners instead, such as honey, maple syrup, and stevia.
Allergins: Any food that you have had an allergic reaction to
Get an ample amount of:
Chicken
Fish
Fruit
Vegetables
The dietary guidelines recommend avoiding foods that contain components that resemble those in myelin, as these components are believed to trigger the autoimmune reaction that attacks myelin.
Recommended vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements:
Vitamin D3: Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is recommended at a dose of 2000 IU/day in the summer and 4000 IU/day in the winter.
Calcium: This is recommended at a dose of 800 to 1,200 mg/day.
Magnesium: This recommendation is based on calcium to magnesium ratio between 2:1 to 1:1. For example, if you take 1,000 mg of calcium, you should take between 500 and 1,000 mg of magnesium a day.
Other Vitamins, Oils, Minerals, and Antioxidants: Embry recommends omega-3 fish oil, vitamin A, vitamin B complex, and vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, copper, selenium, manganese, gingko biloba, grape seed extract, coenzyme Q10, acidophilus, lecithin and amino acids.
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