High Rate of MS is Colorado?! (Boulder, Center: live in, to eat, health)

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

First off, MS is not contagious and is not something acquired from any particular environmental factors. It's an auto-immune disorder likely caused by genetic factors (though that's not fully understood.) What you are probably seeing in the statistics is the result of MS patients moving to Colorado because of the cooler climate. Heat seriously exacerbates the symptoms of the disease so if you live somewhere cool you'll be able to function much better outdoors for longer periods of time. You're going to be no more or less likely to contract MS living in Colorado than anywhere else.

Having several friends with MS, I'm not sure I agree. Colorado does have a higher incidence per capita of MS than some other areas of the country, and there is not a good explanation as to why. There are all kinds of specualtive explanations, none of which have been scientifically proven, as far as I know. Things like concentrations of naturally occurring heavy metals in many mountain town water supplies, artifacts from 1950's above ground nuclear testing west of Colorado (with fallout dropping here), natural background radiation in many places, prolonged exposure to high altitude, etc., etc. I don't put a lot of stock in most of those possible explanations, but no one really knows why the incidence is higher, either. Oh, and all of my friends with MS are Colorado natives and have lived in Colorado all of their lives.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Oh, and all of my friends with MS are Colorado natives and have lived in Colorado all of their lives.

have you ever thought that maybe they didn't move away because of the better climate there? I also forgot to mention the lack of humidity. Heat and humidity are absolute hell for MS. If someone who had it were asking me where to move, I'd recommend a cooler, dryer Western state over anywhere else.

Before people freak out too much about this, MS is still a fairly rare affliction. It's estimated that only about 300,000 Americans out of 300,000,000 have it.

[CAVA1990]

There's another factor that probably comes into play here - demographics. MS is much more prevalent the further one moves away from the equator. Northern Europeans have a very high incidence of MS relative to Africans and SE/South Asians. I believe they found the highest proportion of it in one area of Scotland. Since Colorado has a relatively high percentage of Northern and Western Europeans, one would expect to find more of it there, probably more in the North than the South, since Hispanics and American Indians have much a lower incidence of it.

[jazzlover]

Interestingly, one of my friends afflicted with MS is Hispanic--and a Colorado native.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Interestingly, one of my friends afflicted with MS is Hispanic--and a Colorado native.

Why did I know you were going to say that? I know you love to share reasons for people not to move there but fear of MS should not be one of them. Here's an interesting article I found on how MS clustering studies can mislead:

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/msstats.html

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Why did I know you were going to say that? I know you love to share reasons for people not to move there but fear of MS should not be one of them. Here's an interesting article I found on how MS clustering studies can mislead:

MS and statistics

Don't read so much into my statements. I was just stating a fact.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Don't read so much into my statements. I was just stating a fact.

Okay. I probably overdid it on the demographics piece as apparently the climate plays the stronger role. According to some studies one can become more likely to contract MS if one moves from a less temperate to a more temperate climate before the age of 15. Your hispanic friends' ethnic heritage is likey much less consequential than the fact that he's lived there since birth.

[Shuffler]

My common sense opinion is that diet has a big part in this, just look at what people eat. Many are being 'passively poisoned', ingesting a lot of chemicals in the form additives, preservatives, and pesticides...not to mention the air we breathe in some places. Just read the label on most any packaged food item...can you count the ingredients on one hand and pronounce all of them?

Margarine is dyed yellow (it's really black) and is one molecule short of being plastic...and this is a 'healthy' alternative to plain old butter?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

My common sense opinion is that diet has a big part in this, just look at what people eat. Many are being 'passively poisoned', ingesting a lot of chemicals in the form additives, preservatives, and pesticides...not to mention the air we breathe in some places. Just read the label on most any packaged food item...can you count the ingredients on one hand and pronounce all of them?

Margarine is dyed yellow (it's really black) and is one molecule short of being plastic...and this is a 'healthy' alternative to plain old butter?

Please provide any evidence of a link between diet and MS or that margarine is naturally black (it's actually white or offwhite as "common sense" would tell you based on the ease with which it's dyed yellow). Makes me question your assertion that it's also one molecule away from plastic. However, I'm no chemist.

[Shuffler]

[quote=CAVA1990;14771846]Please provide any evidence of a link between diet and MS or that margarine is naturally black (it's actually white or offwhite as "common sense" would tell you based on the ease with which it's dyed yellow). Makes me question your assertion that it's also one molecule away from plastic. However, I'm no chemist.[/quot



YouTube - The Paleo Diet and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Part 1/7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkrcn...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7iN9...eature=related

etc. etc.

As for margarine, it's grey first, then bleached, then a 'natural flavor' is added and then the dye. Mmmmmm good!!

I heard the '1 molecule away from plastic' a while back, and is more or less hyperbole according to Snopes. Sure sounds compelling, though...so I'll keep telling people.