Page 14 - 2021 Summer CMTA Report

MANAGING CMT SYMPTOMS

WITH NUTRITION

Nutrition can’t cure or Sara, who works in the Neuromuscular While each individual’s needs are
stop CMT, but it can Clinic at Stanford Healthcare, outlined different, in general people should
consume less than a third of their daily
three symptoms of neuromuscular
be very, very helpful in disease that can be ameliorated by calorie intake in protein—things like
managing symptoms, good nutrition: inflammation, fatigue poultry, fish, eggs, soy products, lentils,
and vitamin/mineral deficiencies and
beans, nuts and seeds. Protein is com-
registered dietitian Sara Kevern told toxicities. posed of amino acids, which are the
more than 200 people watching a smallest components of protein that
CMTA online education session April 1. Inflammation is basically a cascade of the digestive tract can absorb. When
On the flip side of the coin, poor nutri- chemical reactions in the body that can we eat protein, she said, we digest it
tion can worsen symptoms, she said, cause oxidative stress, tissue damage, into amino acids, which the body then
“so it’s definitely worth paying attention fat deposits on nerves or mitochondrial repackages into full proteins and sends
to and trying to develop good habits changes, she explained. These chang- where they’re needed. “We really have
and really optimize your own nutrition es in the body can cause pain and very little control over what our body
even if it’s not going to be curative.” affect nerve health, so it’s important to does with the protein that we eat,”
reduce inflammation.
she said.
The second way that nutrition can help So, for example, taking collagen means
in neuromuscular disease is by opti- that while you get the amino acids that
mizing energy and reducing fatigue make up collagen, there’s no guaran-
with the right macronutrient balance. tee your body will use them to make
And the third way is by addressing any collagen. The best course is to eat a
micronutrient deficiencies or toxicities.
good variety of protein sources so your
Kevern explained that macronutrients— body has the amino acids it needs to
proteins, fats and carbohydrates— make the proteins that it needs. With
are the three nutrients in food that CMT, you don’t need extra protein,
contain calories, which are the units she concluded, noting that resistance
of energy that our bodies create training in addition to adequate protein
when digesting it. is what builds muscle.

DIETITIAN SARA KEVERN EDUCATES CMT PATIENTS
AT STANFORD HEALTHCARE ABOUT USING DIET
TO IMPROVE THE WAY THEY FEEL.

14 THE CMTA REPORT SUMMER 2021