Behind the headlines: does eating fish reduce MS progression?

What do these results mean for people with MS? 

We now have around 20 treatments that can help reduce MS attacks. But these treatments don’t work for everyone and they’re not enough to stop MS for everyone. So we need more research to find ways to slow or stop MS progression. This includes understanding the role of diet. 

The results of this study suggest that eating lean and oily fish could be beneficial for people living with MS. It doesn’t tell us exactly why. But the nutrients in fish could play a role in reducing inflammation and protecting the brain from damage.  

There are some limitations to this type of observational research, which looks at what’s happening in the real world. For example, it relies on people remembering what they eat and sharing it accurately. But it is difficult to study diet in clinical trials – the gold standard in research, where a specific drug or change is tested. And eating fish is unlikely to be bad for you. 

Ultimately no ‘one’ diet works for all – it’s a personal choice. And a healthy balanced diet can help people with MS to stay in the best health possible and guard against other issues, like heart disease and strokes. 

What did we already know about diet and MS? 

Previous research suggests that a diet rich in certain foods, including vegetables, whole grain cereals and fish, may improve quality of life and possibly reduce disability progression for people with MS. And some studies have suggested a link between a diet high in fish and slower MS progression. 

But to fully understand this association we need to follow people with MS over time and look at how disability progression changes. And how this is related to fish consumption. Researchers in Sweden did just that.   

What did the researchers do?  

Researchers recruited people newly diagnosed with MS between 2005 and 2015. When they joined the study, people had their EDSS recorded and provided information about their fish intake. They were then asked for the same information again in 2021 so researchers could look at any changes.  

What did they find? 

Data from 1719 people with MS was included in the study. Most people in the study had relapsing remitting MS. 

Their key findings were:  

• People who ate the highest level of lean and oily fish at the time of their diagnosis had a 44% lower risk of disability progression.   

• People who increased their fish intake after diagnosis had a 20% lower risk of progression than those who continued to rarely or never eat fish. This suggests that changes in your lifestyle after diagnosis can make a difference to your MS.  

The researchers took into account a range of factors that could have an impact on MS progression. Including age, sex and whether someone was taking a disease-modifying therapy. They also considered physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and body-mass index.