The new study revealed that among people monitored after an episode of CIS, those who ate more ultra-transformed foods have had more relapses and increased brain damage over time than those who have eaten less of these unhealthy foods.
The results of the study were presented at the 2025 congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research on Sclerosis in Plate (ECTRIMS) and have not yet been examined by peers.
The researchers found that although a diet with more ultra-transformed foods did not ultimately affect if a person with CI continued to develop MS, he seemed to worsen the activity of the disease in those who already showed other early signs of the disease.
What this suggests is that ultra-transformed foods seem to act as a chronic inflammatory accelerator, rather than a trigger of the disease, said the main author, Gloria Dalla Costa, PhD, nutrition researcher at Harvard Th Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
“Eating more of these types of food has clearly exacerbated the activity of the disease in clinically isolated syndrome,” said Dr. Dalla Costa.
Ultra-transformed foods are products that go through several stages of industrial transformation and often include additives such as conservatives, emulsifiers and flavors of flavors.
Blood biomarkers can say a lot about the diet
The research team analyzed the data of 451 people registered in the service test, which began in 2002 and followed individuals with isolated clinical syndrome. Instead of relying on food newspapers, the researchers used a validated “metabolomic signature” – a panel of 39 blood markers of participants’ samples – to estimate the amount of ultra -transformed food that each person ate.
This study is one of the first to use a blood analysis for this evaluation rather than relying on self -depressed food questionnaires.
“This methodology is important because the regime questionnaires can be inaccurate,” said Rob Bermel, MD, director of the Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research at the Cleveland Clinic.
Ultra-transformed foods increase the risk of seals relapses
During the five -year study period, 208 participants were diagnosed with clinically defined multiple sclerosis.
By combining blood data with magnetic resonance imaging analyzes (MRI) and results for the health of the participants, the researchers could see how food exposure was linked to the progression of the early MEP over time.
Participants who consumed the most ultra-tangled foods had around 30% relapses in more than five years than those who ate the least.
The participants of the high -consumption consumer group also had:
- More active inflammatory lesions on MRI by the second year
- Larger lesions volumes on five -year follow -up
- STOPE NEUROLOGICAL FUNCTIONS
“These results were independent of other factors such as age, sex, body weight, vitamin D, smoking or the allocation of treatment,” explains Dalla Costa.
“Using blood-based metabolic markers, the study provides stronger evidence than ultra-transformed foods are linked to increased inflammation in sclerosis in early plates,” explains Dr. Bermel, who was not involved in research.
Unhealthy diets have not increased the risk of developing sep
A highly processed food diet has not increased the risk of a participant to switch from CI to clinically defined multiple sclerosis. Instead, the diet seemed to influence the severity and frequency of disease activity once the symptoms had already started.
“Our results suggest that ultra-adjigden foods do not cause multiple sclerosis, but they make it more difficult for the nervous system to resist and repair damage,” said Dalla Costa.
This result was surprising for Bermel. “It is possible that the study methodology is a factor explaining these differences, which deserve a more in-depth investigation,” he said.
How ultra-transformed foods can affect the brain
The researchers have proposed several biological explanations to explain why ultra-transformed foods can worsen inflammation in the MS.
- Good barrier disruption: Additives such as emulsifiers can damage the intestine mucosa, allowing bacterial toxins to enter the bloodstream and activate the immune system.
- Modified cell membranes: Modified fats in processed foods can change the composition of the membranes of nerve cells and myelin (a protective sheath around the nerves), which makes them more vulnerable to attacks.
- Metabolic stress: Some metabolic markers suggest a reduction in energy production in brain cells, which can limit brain capacity to repair after inflammation.
Questions remain on the way the quality of food affects the activity of the SEP
As with any study, there are warnings. The food signature was measured at one moment, at the start of the test. This means that researchers do not know if changes in diet have changed the modified results. Participants’ blood samples were also taken approximately 20 years ago – and the food landscape has changed since then, said Bermel.
“We must be cautious in applying the results of the samples taken in the early 2000s to the food and food environments today,” explains Bermel. It is not clear either if certain SEP treatments are less effective according to a person’s diet, he adds.
Another limitation is that, although the blood signature of the ultra-suitable food intake is objective, it does not reveal exactly what foods or additives are the most harmful. “We still do not know the specific mechanisms that stimulate these effects,” explains Bermel.
Is there a “best diet” for MS?
“We already know in other studies that diets rich in processed foods can affect brain health, including increased risk of stroke and dementia. This research adds to this set of evidence, which suggests that food choices can also shape inflammatory activity in multiple sclerosis, “said W. Taylor Kimberly, MD, PHD, a neurologist, researcher and associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Kimberly was not involved in the study.
Kimberly points out that small lasting changes are more realistic than extreme food revisions. “Even increasing changes can make a significant difference over time,” he says.
Bermel also encourages healthy lifestyle habits for his patients with MS, although he warns that it is always difficult to know what impact on the disease. “This is why we consider well-being strategies as an essential part of the treatment of MS, but not a substitute to take therapy modifying the disease,” explains Bermel.
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