A new study finds that, compared with healthy individuals, women with multiple sclerosis may have lower intake of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrients, including food folate, vitamin E and magnesium.
Quercetin belongs to a group of plant pigments called flavonoids that give many fruits, flowers, and vegetables their color. Flavonoids, such as quercetin, are antioxidants.
Onset of MS is most common between the ages of 20 and 50, although it can affect people of any age. The disease affects around two to three times as many women as men.
According to Dr. Cassard and colleagues, the increase in MS prevalence in recent years has led to the theory that inflammation-related dietary or nutritional changes may play a role in the development of the condition. The team wanted to investigate this theory further.
For their study, Dr. Cassard and colleagues enrolled 57 women aged 18-60 with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or less who were part of a vitamin D supplementation study. Of these women, 27 had MS and 30 were healthy controls.
Prior to undergoing vitamin D supplementation, all participants were required to complete a food frequency questionnaire, which gathered information on their diet and nutrition intake over the past 12 months.
The researchers found that on average, the women with MS had lower levels of five anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrients - food folate, vitamin E, magnesium, lutein-zeaxanthin and quercetin - compared with the healthy controls.
In detail, the women with MS had an average daily intake of 244 mcg of food folate, compared with an average intake of 321 mcg of dietary folate for the healthy controls. The daily recommended daily intake of dietary folate for adults is 400 mcg, so both groups failed to meet recommendations.
The average daily magnesium intake for women with MS was 254 mg, while the healthy controls had an average daily magnesium intake of 321 mg - just meeting the recommended daily intake of 320 mg.
Compared with the healthy controls, the women with MS also had a lower percentage of their calories from fat.
The researchers say their findings show a clear difference in intake of nutrients with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties between patients with MS and healthy individuals.
Dr Cassard further adds:
"Since MS is a chronic inflammatory disorder, having enough nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties may help prevent the disease or reduce the risk of attacks for those who already have MS.
Antioxidants are also critical to good health and help reduce the effects of other types of damage that can occur on a cellular level and contribute to neurologic diseases like MS."