Salt (sodium chloride) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS): What does the research say?

A lot of people have been asking me about salt and MS

There are lots of article in the press about this topic

I'm Dr. Conor Kerley, leading clinician, multi-award winning researcher and living well with MS since 2002, aged 15.

But what does the science say about salt and Multiple sclerosis?

 The story starts with a 2012 research paper in one of the most prestigious scientific journals, Nature, called:

'Sodium chloride drives autoimmune disease'

This study did indeed show that salt increased autoimmunity, including MS, in mice.

However, the researchers gave the mice massive doses of salt - the human equivalent of about 600g per day. This dose would certainly be very harmful and could even kill a human!

But actually research in humans does not show that salt is harmful for MS.

A 2016 study in children with MS reported:

'no strong association between dietary salt intake and pediatric-onset MS risk, suggesting that salt intake may NOT play a prominent role in susceptibility to MS in children'

Another 2016 study in children report:

Higher salt intake was not associated with more relapse in patients with paediatric-onset MS.

A similar study, this time in adults reported:

higher dietary sodium intake does not increase the risk of developing MS

A 2017 study reported from Harvard researchers:

Salt intake does not influence MS disease course or activity. 

A very recent study examined the UK BioBank and reported no association between salt and MS risk 

A 2016 expert commentary rom hard researchers published in the Multiple Sclerosis journal on this topic. the Title says it:

People with MS should consume a low-salt diet - NO