Study: Irish et al., 2017
Participants: n=34 people with relapsing remitting MS, randomly assigned to the modified paleolithic diet intervention group (n=17) or control (n=17).
Length: 3 months
Details: The modified Paleolithic diet encourages certain fruits, vegetables and meats and prohibits dairy, eggs and gluten. Compared to controls, the intervention group experienced reduced fatigue and improved MS-related quality of life. The strengths of this study were inclusion of a control group, randomization, and blinded raters. The limitations were small sample size and short duration. Additionally, data from only 8/17 people in the intervention group and 9/17 controls were analyzed due to poor adherence/study completion.
Study: Bisht et al., 2015
Participants: n=20 people with progressive MS, all assigned to the dietary intervention.
Length: 12 months
Details: The modified Paleolithic diet encourages certain fruits, vegetables and meats and prohibits dairy, eggs and gluten. This intervention also included supplements, exercise, electrical stimulation of the muscles and stress reduction techniques. Participants reported improved fatigue (11/20) and improved MS-related quality of life. The strengths of this study were blinded raters and good adherence. The limitations were no control group, no randomization, very small sample size and relatively short duration.
Study: Bisht et al., 2014
Participants: n=10 people with progressive MS, all assigned to the dietary intervention.
Length: 12 months
Details: The modified Paleolithic diet encourages certain fruits, vegetables and meats and prohibits dairy, eggs and gluten. This intervention also included supplements, exercise, electrical stimulation of the muscles and stress reduction techniques. The majority of participants reported improved fatigue over the course of the study period. The strength of this study was having blinded raters. The limitations were no control group, no randomization, very small sample size, relatively short duration, and adherence issues.
What This Means:
Following a modified Paleolithic diet, along with a program including exercise, may improve fatigue.