Reducing calorie intake may alleviate fatigue in people battling multiple sclerosis (MS), recent research suggests. The findings add additional weight to previous studies, highlighting the importance of reducing fat intake to improve fatigue among people with the condition.
“Fatigue is very disabling for these patients,” says senior author Vijayshree Yadav, professor of neurology at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine and director of the OHSU Multiple Sclerosis Center. “There is no FDA-approved drug for fatigue, but we know that fatigue greatly affects their quality of life.”
The paper published last week in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal showed that patients whose daily caloric intake was reduced by 19% reported lowered fatigue levels. The study’s authors describe this as a “notable reduction” when compared with the control group and conclude it demonstrates the capacity of low-fat diets to reduce fatigue among MS patients successfully.
