| POLIO TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
By Dr. Richard L. Bruno
Americans are not very good at taking care of themselves. Americans with disabilities are no better at self-care, and are maybe a little worse, because it takes so much time to do things nondisabled folk do in a flash, like showering and dressing. There’s hardly time or energy left for planning meals, shopping, cooking or even eating.
Polio survivors especially show the consequences of poor eating habits. Being “Type A,” hard working, pressured, super-achievers, polio survivors push themselves beyond their physical limits and allow no room for time-wasting, self-indulgent luxuries, like eating. Polio survivors don’t want to slow down to eat, not only because they’re afraid that if they’re less Type A, people won’t like them, but also because they are afraid of gaining weight if they become sedentary. But polio survivors shouldn’t be afraid. Food is good! Eating properly doesn’t lead to becoming fat, but actually decreases PPS symptoms and can reduce weight.
First, let’s talk about eating and PPS symptoms. A Post-Polio Institute study discovered that polio survivors with blood sugar levels in the low normal range have as much difficulty paying attention and concentrating as do diabetics with blood sugars as low as if they had taken an insulin overdose. Polio survivors’ “Type A Diet”—three cups of coffee for breakfast, skipping lunch and eating a slice of cold pizza for dinner—is actually causing symptoms. The relationship between diet and PPS was seen in the 1998 National Post-Polio Survey: The less protein polio survivors had at breakfast, the more severe were daily weakness and fatigue.
Why do polio survivors function as if they have low blood sugar and report more symptoms when they don’t eat? Because polio survivors are starving the remaining overworked, poliovirus-damaged neurons that survived the original infection. Those neurons’ internal “power plants” were severely damaged. So polio survivors have been running their full-tilt, Type A lives on half the normal number of neurons that are less able to use their only source of fuel—blood sugar. And that’s where protein comes in.
Protein provides a long-lasting, “slow-release” supply of blood sugar throughout the day. Polio survivors who had protein for breakfast reported less PPS symptoms because their “fuel tanks” stayed full longer.
When our patients eat protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner (and even have small, non-carbohydrate snacks throughout the day) they report an almost immediate reduction in nearly all PPS symptoms, especially fatigue. But The Post-Polio Institute “protein power diet” is neither a fad nor a miracle; it’s just common sense. No engine, especially a damaged one, can be expected to run without fuel.
Second, what about our patients’ worry that resting more, maybe using a wheelchair, and eating breakfast will cause more muscle weakness and make them fat? A four-year study found that U.S. and Swedish polio survivors lost equal amounts of leg muscle strength, about 2% per year. However, the Swedes gained only 6 ounces per year, while the Americans gained more than 2 pounds. So weight gain doesn’t cause muscle weakness, but Americans’ “Big Mac” diets cause them to get fat.
You can fuel your neurons and feel stronger and less fatigued without muscle weakness or gaining weight if you eat low-fat, low-cholesterol sources of protein. In fact, our patients actually lose weight (about a pound per week) as they slow down and sit more if they eat more protein, reduce portion size and limit carbohydrates. How does eating cause weight loss? Because incoming food tells your brain to turn up your metabolism and burn calories.
We aren’t recommending an “all protein, no carbohydrate” diet. We aren’t recommending a “diet” at all, but a method for eating healthily every day. One ounce of meat or fish contains about 7 grams of protein. An ounce of milk has one gram of protein.
Divide the weight you want to be by 2, and that’s about the amount of protein you should have each day. Divide the amount of protein by 3 and that’s the amount you should have at each meal, especially at breakfast! (Remember to check with your doctor before changing your diet.)
Dr. Richard L. Bruno is Director of The Post-Polio Institute at Englewood (NJ) Hospital and Medical Center. E-mail PostPolioInfo@aol.com.
