I want to share my experiences with everyone about my ketogenic diet. The Keto diet is very low in carbohydrates and high in healthy fats with a medium protein intake, and it is designed to put you into ketosis, which makes your body burn fat for energy, instead of glucose. The benefits can be amazing: not only in treating or preventing chronic illness, but in boosting brainpower, increasing energy, providing better sleep and helping people to lose weight and keep it off. The science behind it is a little complicated, so I would urge any interested folks to read “Keto Claritly” by Jimmy Moore or “Fat For Fuel” ny Dr. Joseph Mercola. But this is my story: I was diagnosed with MS 25 years ago, my first symptom being complete blindness in one eye that never healed. I went along without a hitch for a few more years, until one morning when I woke up and was paralyzed down my left side and after a long and difficult recovery, was on a roller-coaster of relapsing remitting MS. The drugs were brand new back then, so I was happy when Copaxone became available to me, but I didn’t like self-injecting and I felt ‘toxic’ the entire time I was taking it. I stopped after a number of months and decided to try to get control over my own health through diet and exercise. I tried a vegan diet and then a very low fat diet and neither was helping at all. At the same time, I started increasing my activity, first through yoga (modified for me because of my balance issues by a very special teacher) and then I embarked on a weight training program. I started to get stronger and I pushed myself to the gym even during my relapses so that my muscles wouldn’t atrophe. It was a good start but it wasn’t enough. The Internet was still relatively young back then, but I had found an interesting post by a young man who had cut gluten out of his diet and had good results. He felt it was somehow directly related. I tried it and although it was so difficult to give up bread and pasta, I started feeling better and better. Then I got rid of the rest of the grains: corn, rice, barley, etc., and my health continued to improve, until I was no longer having any exacerbations. My neurologist was so impressed after seeing my progress year after year, that she wanted to do regular MRIs to see what was changing in my brain (I declined because I didn’t think repeated MRIs were healthy and in my best interest). Then I took my diet one step further: I started on the Atkins Diet (super low carb) because I had wanted to take off a few extra, stubborn pounds that menopause was helping me accumulate. The pounds fell off at an astounding rate, my energy was abundant (with no spikes or drops) and I had never felt better since my first dibilitating exacerbation had occurred years before. I was going to the gym 4 to 5 times a week and even took on a personal trainer. I went from walking with a cane (early in my illness) to being able to leg press 500 lbs. Amazing!! My new neurologist (last one moved out of the country), when he saw my improvement over the previous year, remarked that maybe it was possible that I had been misdiagnosed with MS. (Of course, that wasn’t the case, but it was a nice thought). Then things turned. My general practioner called me after my yearly physical, to say that my cholestrol numbers were up and that I had to start on a low-fat diet. I complied, but I thought I would just do a low fat/low carb diet so that I wouldn’t gain any weight. I didn’t really understand how important the high fat component of my diet was. My energy level dropped so much, I could barely get out of bed some days. And the weight started piling back on! I thought it had to do with my inactivity, so I pushed myself to the gym 6 times a week and started injuring myself. I had to take long breaks while I healed pulled muscles and ligaments and was spending a fortune on physiotherapy. I was miserable and depressed! I started searching for answers for why the change had happenned in my health, when I stumbled upon information about the Keto Diet. I picked up some books from the library, and learned that my diet (which had been inadvertently ketogenic) backfired when I stopped eating lots of high quality fats and ate too much protein. A few months ago, I started back on the Keto a few months ago and the results were almost immediate. I dropped 15 pounds to start, but my energy is up, my mood is elevated, my joints aren’t aching and I feel like I’m on my way back! Now here’s the thing: I told of my experience on a post on a Keto Diet Facebook group page, and I was overwhelmed by the response. There were numerous comments and private messages from others with MS who had similar experiences on the diet! So now I’m trying to spread the word! Has anyone here had any experience with this? The books I’ve read and am reading say this may be a breakthrough for people with neurological disorders. Comments?