Omega-3 Fatty Acids Linked With Slower Progression Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

A neuromuscular wasting disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is invariably fatal. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and motor neurine disease, the average survival from onset to death is between 2 to 3 years. Most patients afflicted with it die within 5 years. Crucially, therefore, a number of nutrients have been shown to be helpful in the prevention and control of ALS. Examples include vitamin B12, vitamin C and carotenoids, vitamin D, vitamin E, CoQ10, and others.

World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 22. Unusually, however, he managed to survive with it for more than 50 years, eventually passing away in 2018 at the age of 76. Hawking’s longevity in spite of ALS inevitably resulted in a great deal of media speculation. Most journalists attributed his survival to either his work ethic or his courage in fighting the disease.

But in a little known article published in the British Medical Journal in 2002, Hawking indicated that he suspected the cause of his disease may have been a poor absorption of vitamins. The article stated that he was therefore supplementing his diet with daily vitamin and mineral tablets, zinc, cod liver oil capsules, folic acid, vitamin B complex, vitamin B-12, vitamin C, and vitamin E. He was also following a diet free of gluten and vegetable oil, and avoiding convenience foods. While quite rightly celebrating Hawking as the visionary scientist that he was, it is truly a shame that the mainstream media chose not to draw attention to these important aspects of his treatment and survival.

To read the case report of a patient who fully recovered from ALS after using natural therapy approaches, see this page on the United States National Library of Medicine’s PubMed website.