I'm guessing there are numerous possibilities why NSD may not be the gospel solution for many: severe damage from long term inflammation may not be able to mitigated by diet (e.g. too much structural damage in the body already), other things than AS going on (other disease / complications / environmental factors), the NSD isn't a one-size fits all diet.

There's likely no single diet that addresses everything. However, one of the ideas that I've latched onto is not only avoiding starch, but eating foods to strengthen your immune system. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but if you believe sugar weakens your immune system, you may want to avoid sugar too. Avoid all hydrogenated oils, processed foods, toxins in general, etc...

One of the most powerful things about the diet is that it empowers the patient. If you feel you can hold onto some sort of hope / control of your environment, it can have a materially positive affect in your life. They've done studies in nursing homes where they randomly assign two different treatments for the patients - one group is allowed to re-arrange the room and personalize their room; the other group is not allowed any of those luxuries. They found a statistically significant improvement in life expectancy for the former. There are number of other of studies that focus on the power of holding onto some degree of hope / control in their environment. I'm sure I royally botched the description of the study, but you I just want to mention that it there may be other benefits of that approach.

Bottom line is that everyone is unique, and their solutions are likely to be unique (NSD, meds, etc.). Almost everyone stands to benefit from a healthier diet, NSD or not. Trade-offs exist for both a conventional approach with meds (e.g. many meds are toxic and not ideal to take long term) and diet (e.g. maddeningly inconvenient), and the decision for treatment is a personal one.

Good luck and hope you find a way to go skiing with your kids this year!

Last edited by FormerFoodie; 01/23/12 08:23 AM. Reason: Typo
"But I also have to say, for the umpty-umpth time, that life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all." -- from William Goldman's _Princess Bride_