There are five major and three less common types of muscular dystrophy, each with its own pathology; one form may affect persons at a specific age, another involves the degeneration of a specific muscle area in the body. Some forms may stop progressing, but so far none have gone into complete remission. The disease is currently considered to be largely hereditary except for one type that occurs in adults around the ages of 40 or 50.

In dystrophic tissue, the oxygen requirement is tremendously increased, many enzymes necessary for muscle function are greatly reduced, and the essential fatty acids that form the structural part of the muscle are destroyed. The cell membrane becomes increasingly permeable, allowing nutrients to leak out into the blood. Eventually the muscles are replaced by scar tissue.

Some time before muscular dystrophy can be detected, amino acids and a substance called creatine are lost in the urine. This indicates that muscle tissue is breaking down. If the degeneration has not advanced too far, the administration of vitamin E has prevented further progression. It is speculated that the hereditary factor of the disease may be an abnormally high genetic requirement for vitamin E, which is essential for the formation of the nucleus of every cell.

The major symptom is great weakness in the legs and back, so that the patient has trouble walking. The weakness gradually progresses throughout the muscles of the body, creating partial, then total, paralysis.

In animal studies, dystrophy has been produced from a deficiency of protein and vitamins, A, B6, E and choline. Vitamin E and choline, found primarily in the germ of cereals, are easily deficient in diets of refined foods because of their removal during the refining process. (They are not replaced as are some nutrients.) Chlorine in drinking water and rancid fats also destroy vitamin E.

The diet of a person with muscular dystrophy (and for the pregnant woman as well) should be adequate in all essential nutrients including complete proteins and vegetable oils. In the early stages, muscular wasting may be arrested and remissions prolonged. In others, the disease may not worsen and often improvements, including muscle strength, can be observed without complete recovery.

Nutrients that my be beneficial in treatment of muscular dystrophy: Vitamin A, Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin B6, B12, Choline, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Potassium, Protein and Unsaturated fatty acids.

Information obtained from Nutrition Almanac, Third Edition

Health & Wellness Haven suggests a complete vitamin and mineral system along with a high quality, plant based protein source to assist in receiving the nutrients needed with this disease.

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