What Vitamins and Minerals Help People With Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

Here is My Question:
What vitamins or minerals help people with M.S. (i.e., magnesium deficiency)?

Answer:
Very few people with MS are deficient in vitamins or minerals; supplementation in most cases is based on symptoms of deficiency or a measurement suggesting lower than normal amounts stored in the body. Most people with a deficiency are strict vegetarians, take medications associated with deficiency states (examples include dilantin or phenytoin and carbamezipine or tegretol),have a disease associated with malabsorption or have undergone gastric bypass or bowel resections in the past.

A couple of vitamins and minerals are often recommended as supplements for most people with MS

1. Many people with MS are Vitamin D deficient and benefit from supplementation with vitamin D3 per day. It is usually best to take calcium carbonate as well.
2. Some people with MS are relatively deficient with Vitamin B12 and supplement with this vitamin.
3. Magnesium, usually as magnesium oxide, can help with some MS symptoms such as cramps and spasms.
   

I would suggest discussing this issue with your doctor and getting his or her advice on appropriate supplements. Please also refer to previous blogs on Vitamin D3 supplementation.

Rip Kinkel, MD