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Anqunette Jamison on living her best life with MS

Published  March 6, 2017 12:26pm EST
Health
FOX 2 Detroit

(WJBK) - MS Awareness Week is all about raising awareness about multiple sclerosis and encouraging those with MS to live their best lives. One of our friends is doing just that -- former FOX 2 News morning anchor Anqunette Jamison.

She retired in November of 2016 after taking several months off for health reasons. Q loved her job, but multiple sclerosis was making it harder and harder. Q says her mind would play tricks on her and her memory was deteriorating.

Multiple sclerosis, simply put, is a disease of the central nervous system. The cause isn't known yet and it can't be cured, though treatment can help symptoms. Diet modifications can help, too.

Q joined us in the FOX 2 Cooking School to tell us more about the lifestyle modifications she recently made, and to share one of her favorite recipe with us. You can get her recipe for her cherry chocolate bites. Q says she'll have an MRI in about a month that will check how her lifestyle modifications are going.

Suzanne Croll, a registered nurse with Henry Ford Health, says there's no much research yet on your diet's affect on MS symptoms, but she suggests pro-imflammatory diets that cut out processed sugars and flours will help MS patients feel better.

During MS Awareness Week, many will wear orange to raise awareness about MS. Many MS patients may "look fine" or "look healthy" but they are often in pain or experiencing other symptoms.

The National MS Society is asking people to share their breakthroughs to overcoming the challenges of MS - in video, pictures, or words - on social media with the hashtag #WeAreStrongerThanMS.

Q mentioned an African-American MS Education Conference in Detroit on March 25. You can get more information on that event here.

The annual Walk MS Detroit is also coming up on Sunday, May 7 at Comerica Park. You can get more information on that event here.

Q'S CHERRY CHOCOLATE BITES

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, plus a bit more for greasing the pan
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, grated
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1/4 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup dried cherries and blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons cacao nibs
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan with coconut oil.
In a medium saucepan, warm the honey, coconut oil and almond butter over low heat, no higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add chocolate and stir until melted and mixture is smooth.
Remove from heat.
Stir in remaining ingredients. 
Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and press into an even layer.
Cover and refrigerate for two hours.
Cut and wrap tightly in aluminum foil and store in refrigerator for up to a month.