Progression Of ALS Slowed By Special Diet

A 12-center clinical trial involving patients with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) demonstrated that a high-carbohydrate, high-caloric diet can delay progression of the disease. A fatal neurodegenerative disorder that destroys the ability to control muscles, ALS leads to respiratory failure and death within three years of diagnosis. For the U.S. study, three groups of patients were fed different diets. After four months, patients given the high-carbohydrate/high-calorie diet experienced fewer adverse events (23 vs. 42), and significantly fewer serious adverse events (0 vs. 9, including deaths from respiratory failure) than the control group.