People diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) commonly search online for dietary advice to manage their symptoms and/or control their disease. However, this advice may be unreliable and/or contradictory and ‘MS diets’ promoted online may be restrictive and not aligned with national dietary guidelines. This is concerning given people living with MS are at increased risk of malnutrition associated with symptoms such as dysphagia and fatigue. The problem is exacerbated by a mismatch between people living with MS, who desire specific dietary guidelines for MS, and healthcare professionals (HCPs), who are aware of national dietary guidelines but appear disengaged from diet-related conversations at the time of diagnosis.
Currently, there are no known tools that compare ‘MS diets’ with Australian dietary guidelines, and no studies that have explored associations between adherence to dietary guidelines and MS health outcomes in an Australian population of people living with MS.
Previous research has investigated online dietary advice for MS but an update is needed, given the dynamic nature of internet content and as search tools advance from traditional search engines to AI-based large language models.
This research aims to determine whether online dietary advice for MS promotes adherence with the Australian Dietary Guidelines and explore associations with health outcomes in MS. Given the variation in national dietary guidelines between countries and a requirement to analyse dietary intake data according to regional guidelines, this research is undertaken in the context of Australian observational data and Australian dietary guidelines. The research also aims to provide consumers with a tool to help make informed dietary decisions.
Over the last year, Ms Zoszak and her team modelled an online search for dietary advice for MS and identified 17 eating patterns promoted as ‘MS diets’. These ‘MS diets’ were quite varied and were sometimes restrictive (avoiding certain foods or food groups) or contradictory. There were also inconsistencies in how these diets were encouraged or cautioned against.
A balanced diet (healthy eating with no restrictions) was the most recommended eating pattern online, followed by the Paleolithic diet. Interestingly, the Paleolithic diet was also the eating pattern that received the most cautions against. This demonstrates the varied views on diets for MS online, depending on the source.
Given the general advice for people living with MS is to follow dietary guidelines, Ms Zoszak compared the 17 ‘MS diets’ to the dietary guidelines of Australia and several other countries. This showed the ‘MS diets’ varied considerably in their degree of agreement with dietary guidelines.
Ms Zoszak has published two peer-reviewed papers from this research and is preparing another two papers for publication. She has commenced a literature review exploring associations between diet and nutrition-related outcomes in MS.
Over the next year, Ms Zoszak will explore associations between diet and nutrition-related outcomes in a group of Australians living with MS. This will contribute to our knowledge of eating patterns that benefit people living with MS across a range of outcomes including disease state, symptom management, nutritional condition, and metabolic health.
Last updated 31 March 2025
Associate Professor Yasmine Probst
Professor Marijka Batterham
Dr Steve Simpson-Yap
$70,000
2024
2 years
Current project
