Home aging Dr Wahls’ super-nutrient paleo diet, that reversed her Multiple Sclerosis

Dr Wahls’ super-nutrient paleo diet, that reversed her Multiple Sclerosis

By
Julianne
-
98
SHARE

I’ve just finished reading “Minding My Mitochondria: How I overcame secondary progressive multiple sclerosis” By Terry Wahls, MD

If you haven’t already see the viral video of Dr Wahls talking about her reversal of Multiple Sclerosis, you must, it is inspiring.

As a result of watching her talk I couldn’t wait to read her book to get more detail on her diet and other therapies that she used to successfully reverse her disease.

Dr Terry Wahls is a medical doctor who was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2000. By 2003 it was reclassified as secondary progressive MS. This typically responds poorly to treatment. Dr Wahls had access to the very best care and drug treatments available, and continued to deteriorate. She was told that any function lost as the disease progressed would never return.

By 2003 Dr Wahls needed a cane to walk and shortly after needed a wheelchair most of the time. At this point she started researching why her body was failing and what she could do about it.

She distinguished seven factors and their inteactions that are likely play a role in the development of MS:

1. DNA (Your genetic inheritance)
2. Infections
3. Toxin exposures (eaten, inhaled or absorbed through the skin)
4. Micronutrient intake
5. Hormonal balance
6. Allergies or sensitisation to food
7. Stress level (physical, psychological, and spiritual)

Of these only our DNA cannot be changed, and prior impact of infections may cause ongoing issues, however Dr Wahls looked at how she could impact all the other factors.

It is interesting how we put so much weight on DNA when as Dr Wahls noted – if you get the same seed and plant one in a nutrient rich soil and one in nutrient depleted, you get 2 completely different plants. We must put more weight on the nutrient content of our diet to support maximum health.

Dr Wahls researched what our diet might need for maximum support of both our mitochondria and brain cells, and what food we would need to eat to get those nutrients.

Looking after your mitochondria

Mitochondria are the tiny organelles inside our cells.

Numerous functions happen here – one of the main is producing adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) from the food we eat primarily fats and sugars. ATP is the energy unit that our body runs on, it drives the creation of new components like proteins and anti-bodies. It provides energy for all the cells in our body. Some cells have a high concentration of mitochondria because they require a lot of energy. These cells are the brain, retina, heart, tongue, liver and then muscles.

In order to convert glucose into ATP the mitochondria require many other substances  to work as catalysts or co-factors to facilitate reactions in each step of the conversion process, for example vitamins riboflavin (B2), niacinamide (B3), and the mineral magnesium. Co-Q10 is required in the electron transfer chain. Antioxidants must be present to stabilise the reaction by-products (free radicals) otherwise they damage cellular tissue.

Where do we get these nutrients? From our food. You can imagine that if we have a nutrient deplete diet, our mitochondria simply cannot process glucose properly and the free radical by-products will cause ongoing damage to cells and proteins, causing ill health,  accelerating the aging process, increasing the risk of cancers, auto-immune disease and other degenerative diseases.

The richest sources of anti-oxidants come from richly coloured fruit and vegetables. Different colours represent different types of anti-oxidants. The cabbage family are rich in B vitamins, needed to properly convert glucose to ATP.

Looking after your brain and nerve cells

We have around 1 billion brain cells. Brain cells require a lot of ATP for energy, and hense they contain many mitochondrion.

Part of the nerve cell that is damaged in people with MS is the myelin sheath, a fatty electrically insulating layer along the axon. Myelin is about 70% fatty acids and Omega 3 is a major building block.

Messages are passed from one nerve cell to another via neurotransmitters, which are made from building blocks such as amino acids.

Dr Wahls notes two proteins that cause problems for the nervous system. One is gluten which can sometimes cause severe neurological dysfunction. The other is glutamate, a neurotransmitter  which in excess causes overstimulation. Glutamate is found in many food additives such as mono sodium glutamate (MSG)

A diet that supports mitochondria and brain cells is therefore rich in building blocks, protein (amino acids), essential fats – particularly long chain omega 3, a mass of micronutrients – vitamins, minerals, trace elements, antioxidants and polyphenols, and probably a whole lot of other nutrients not yet identified.

Dr Wahls outlines her search and what treatment factors made the most difference for her.

2003 she began the paleolithic diet, she eliminated grains, milk, and legumes. She continued to eat meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, including potatoes, fruit and eggs. over time she went back to eating a little rice and legumes. NOTE: Dr Wahls health continued to decline and in 2007 was in a wheelchair.

In summer 2007, she took a blood test for food allergies, which identified a marked allergy to eggs, pinto beans and milk. She eliminated these.

November 2007, she started a neuro-stim programme.

December 2007 Dr Wahls started an intensive diet, rich with a minimum of 9 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. 4 – 6 cups of cruciferous or onion family vegetables, 3 cups brightly coloured vegetables or fruits.

January 2009 she went back to a writing a food / symptom diary and began the elimination diet with a 4 day rotation of foods. In March 2009, she eliminated all sources of cereal grasses to further restrict gluten exposure.

How was Dr Wahls able to return to walking and cycling from being in a wheelchair?

Dr Wahls outlines what she sees as having made the most impact:

1. Neurostimulation – Nov 2007 – plus exercise, increased muscle strength and size and generated growth factors in the brain, which stimulates repair of myelin and grows new connections between brain cells. She says that prepared her brain to do repair work, and the food made it possible for the brain cells to use the growth factors.

2. Rigorous elimination of foods to which blood tests showed she was sensitive.

3. Greatly increased intake of B vitamins, co-enzyme Q, antioxidants, and organic sulphur with specific food choices. This resulted in a big boost of micronutrients.

4. Switched to eating entirely organic food.

5. She focused on eating food of every colour each day.

6. Entirely eliminated white potatoes, grains etc., so the amount of insulin her body made each day is low.

7. Kept a food / symptom diary and followed a 4 day food rotation.

She is clear for herself that increasing the nutrient content of her diet had a huge impact on her health. For example she eats 700 – 1000 grams kale each day. She says she notices a decline in energy and mental clarity if she doesn’t eat kale for a few days, but not the same decline if she misses supplements.

Here is an abbreviated outline of foods Dr Wahl eats each day:

3 cups of cruciferous and dark greens

3 cups intensely coloured: 1 cup red vegetables / fruit, 1 cup blue black vegetables / fruits, 1 cup yellow/orange vegetable / fruits

3 cups others including: 1 cup mushrooms / onion family (for organic sulphur), and seaweed for iodine and trace minerals.

(Note: 1 cup = raw vegetables chopped = 1/2 cup cooked, an apple sized fruit, or 2 cups leafy greens)

Include spices and herbs.

Omega 3 rich foods, green leaves and animals fed green leaves, wild fish and seafood. And you could add fish oil.

Eat organ meats once per week

Regular bone broth

Fermented foods or a probiotic

What about supplements as well?

Dr Wahls has an outline of beneficial supplements – I suggest you pick up a copy of her book if you’d like more on these. Magnesium is one she recommends – 500 – 800mg per day.

My experiment: This is a brief outline only of some of her recommendations, however my new experiment is to make a point of eating 9 cups of vegetables per day, from the groups she recommends and see what impact if any it has. Note – my current diet is paleo, I do have a little wine and dairy and the occasional rice cracker and chocolate.

Anyone else like to join me? One other effect Dr Wahls noticed is that her doctor comments on how much younger she is looking! (I’d better head off to find some kale)

Great interview with Dr Wahls from The Huffington Post An MS-Stricken Doctor Changes Her Diet… and Reverses Her ‘Irreversible’ Decline

These videos are fantastic – I highly recommend you watch them: Dr Wahls talks about the diet she uses, and the science supporting it.

http://www.thewahlsfoundation.com/overcome-multiple-sclerosis-food-as-medicine/

 

 

 

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

98 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you for the great reminder. I watched the video a couple of months ago and then with holidays and busy-ness, I forgot all about it. I’m another Paleo person who also sneaks in some coffee, a little wine, dark chocolate on a daily basis, and the occasional rice cracker. Since going Paleo my health and energy levels have improved somewhat, but there is still more work to do. I definitely need to continue improving my nutrition, so it sounds like a great idea to get her book now.

  2. Awesome find! I too watched this video in early December and ordered the book. I haven’t read it yet because I’m in the middle of Dr. Jelinek’s terrific book, Overcoming MS, which also discusses the treatments MS specialists are unlikely to prescribe. I switched to a grain-free Paleo diet as of December 7 immediately after watching this in hopes of keeping my RRMS at bay. It is too soon to tell if it will prevent relapses for me, but the bonus is that I will likely not die of heart disease and I have lost 14 lbs and just feel “clean”. I often joke how it is amazing to me that my health insurance will pay $50,000 a year for medication, but won’t cover my Whole Foods’ bill! Please read my blog, I am only on day 2 of writing and it’s probably been as therapeutic for me as yoga : ) http://msguidedjourney.wordpress.com/

    • Yes – I highly recommend it. What I found particularly interesting that Dr Wahls found the standard paleo diet didn’t help that much. The auto-immune protocol made more difference – ie, no dairy, no legumes, no eggs. She was tested for food sensitivities. And the other of adding a large amount of vegetables for their nutrients, foods that are under-appreciated in the paleo community.

  3. After watching her video over Christmas I started to make a point to include more vegetables according to her recommendations to keep my RRMS at bay. It is a bit tricky sometimes, but I more or less get close to the levels she advises.

    I dropped dairy again on New Years after being back on for 3 months (it was making my eyes feel “tired” like before) so my already clean diet got even cleaner. As evidence of this, I did the Whole30 for fun (only had to cut out dark chocolate and the little bit of alcohol I consume) and my weight (I didn’t measure anything else) is just about identical to before (up a bit – I may have added some muscle).

    I really need to get seaweed and to eat my livers that are waiting for me in my freezer. A vita mix or some other industrial blender may be required to more consistently get the veggies in via a smoothie rather than the old fashioned way (I only have so many hours in a day to play bovine and munch my veggies!). I have not gotten an allergy test.

    • Hi, check out waring xtreme commercial blenders, I got one after working in a commercial food environment, the warrantee is commercial so only goes for 3 years but it’s much more powerful than a vitamix and is much cheaper than a vitamix in the states also.

    • Good suggestion Chris. I used to make soups of my veggies and add the flavors I liked, but haven’t done that in a while. Chewing that many vegetables (properly) is very time consuming.

  4. Great article and something I will definitely look into more detail on – it seems similar to ‘The Perfect Health Diet’ by Paul Jaminet and Shou-Ching Shih Jaminet (perfecthealthdiet.com). Although have been Paleo, the thing I will probably struggle with the most is the sheer amount of vegetables to prepare and eat each day, but will try and give it a go!

    • She does suggest for women 6 cups may be enough! It will take some discipline for me to do this, but I’m keen to see what it could do. Sometimes I get a bit lazy with my food choices, and I often eat what I feel like as long as I dont include the bad stuff, rather than making an effort to include the nutrients recommended.
      Yes there are similarities to Perfect health diet, interesting how people coming from different directions can end up in a similar place

  5. Julianne, do you have any references for the clinical trials she refers to that have been carried out by her group? I’ve been searching the journals without success. Does she mention any journals in her book (maybe if I narrow the field I might get somewhere..) 😀

      • Thanks. I will see what else I can dig up. As is usual, this promising treatment for MS is not exactly attracting a lot of research funding. I mean… nobody is going to rich off a study that concludes ‘eat MUCH more veges and less grains’. It is in the interests of nearly every funding body to keep this ‘fringe’ and ‘underground’.
        When I was researching nutritionally based arthritis cures, the best research was being done in India, where they appear to actually take note of individual cases. For example, when a 90 year old man showed spontaneous reversal of osteo-arthritis, a university group perked up their ears and went ‘hmmm, let’s look into that’. That would never happen here, sadly.

  6. I had her book ordered for the Christchurch city libraries and it should be available soon.

    She really inspires me. My veggi garden is full of what she suggest and I am taking great care in making my own compost to make sure the soil is as rich as possible. I include picking up sea weed to up the iodine mineral content of my compost.

    Mad Bucher sells mutton/Lamb bones at $6.00 for a HUGE bag so making my own 24 hour bone broth is part of the fun. I add nori sea weed to the broth to try and get as much nutrients in the broth. The softer cooked bones goes into my wood burner and get turned into ash which I also ad to the compost.

    This paleo business is a lot of fun!

    • Excellent to hear the Chch library will get it in, I’ll make sure to add my name to the waiting list. Your garden does indeed sound inspiring.

      We’re near the beach also, and now & again bring home a bag of seaweed for the compost. But you’ve got me thinking — the nori, the seaweed — is it possible that any of the seaweed that washes up could be eaten???

      • Inspired and now I’m number 3 on the waiting list for “Minding your Mitochondria” at the Christchurch Public Library. Thanks for letting me know it’s on order. I think nori equates to karengo as it is known in some tribes – parengo.

  7. PS the Kale chips (I sometine use silverbeet leaves as well) makes it really easy to consume a lot of greens without trouble. Nice crunchie munchies. I cover it in either coconut oil, butter or olive oil, season to taste before drying in the oven.

  8. Great article. I’m going to up my vege intake after reading this. I am guilty of being one of those paleo folk who has underrated veges although I never cut them back because of it.
    I’m expecting so I really need to improve my diet but have been so tired things have slipped. Thanks for inspiring me. It is great reading a NZ blog too.
    Btw, is kale available in nz?

  9. This may sound very ignorant (and so I apologise!), but what I would find very beneficial is a summary of vegetables that fall into each of the groups above (ie a list of cruciferous and dark greens), a list of red, blue/black and yellow/orange and 3 cups of mushroom/onion family. It is so easy to get used to eating the same vegetables, having a list means I could work my way through it and try new vegetables/fruits.

  10. I have an arthritis post in my ‘Work in Progress’ file… I need to put everything together that I learned without it sounding floopy. For arthritis, I used this diet (not my site, but lots of good info there, even if some of it gets a bit woo woo): http://www.frot.co.nz/dietnet/resources/ediet_howto.htm
    My theory is that arthritis of all sorts is linked to a malfunctioning gut/ malabsorption of dietary lectins./ formation of glycoproteins. It took about 6 months on a low-lectin /gut healing / glyconutrient supplemented diet (after the 6 day elimination diet on the link) for me to be completely free of osteoarthritis symptoms. Up to that point, osteoarthritis was making my life very, very difficult (I was only 37 with a degenerating hip). I was unconvinced that this was normal wear and tear (as I was being told by the doc) as it came on quite quickly when I had a three month run in with the epstein barr virus. So I started looking at links between viral infections and arthritis and .. well, look at that.. there does appear to be a correlation.

    Also, here is my post on Kale chips: http://sanafit.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/kale-chips.html Kale chips are fab.

  11. I like her recomendation
    I have already eatten 9cups of veggies a day, just need to make mix of them( I have mainly eat leafy green and less caloourfull or sulfur one)
    I have also change my carb protein ratio according to perfect health diet and feel much more better with less protein and more carb( before I eat only veggies no fruit no sweet potato) now I have 1/2-1cup blueberries and small banana after workout and also about half of big sweet potato for dinner. I have much more energy for my workout and my muscles do not sore as before. When I was eating only veggies I felt sluggish and and no energy for workout. I also do IF (drink only green juice and after workout only1pieces or 2of fruit and 2 cups of spinach smoothie, my muscles does not sore at all as when I have eggs only)) eat my protein in lunch and dinner. What do you think about it? About reduction of protein and increasing my carb.

  12. Ialso have enjoyed a website http://marksdailyapple.com which is primarily a Paleo diet blog, but there are things that I have incorporated from it with the Terry Wahl’s diet. I have become very creative in how I get my 9 cups per day and also buy only grass fed meats. The one thing I can’t seem to tolerate is seaweed. I have only bought dehydrated kelp and tried to make chips, but I just thought it was disgusting. Any good ways of preparing seaweed or types that are more tolerable? Or a supplement perhaps?

    • There are kelp tablets, and kelp salt which you can sprinkle on food. Not sure what else – I’ll look into it. I do have a seaweed extract liquid I take, it has some polyphenols added like dark cherry, but it is quite expensive.

      • There’s a great product I’ve been using for years that has a lot of seaweed in it, you can mix it and make a smoothie drink. It has a lot of other great stuff in it too. It’s called “Billy’s Infinity Greens” and I highly recommend it as a way of getting your seaweed. It’s okay if you blend it with a banana or (I use frozen) blueberries and water, and maybe a bit of stevia. (www.infinitygreens.com)

        • I started adding Billy’s Infinity Greens to my smoothie and you don’t taste it at all…my smoothies are different every morning but usually are something like this: 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup frozen spinach, 1 cup fresh kale, orange juice, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup cranberries, 3 tablespoons flax seeds, 1 teaspoon Billiy’ys Infinity greens…maybe a tablespoon of agave to sweeten..I change the veggies and fruit to rotate each day with raspberries/blackberries, collard greens….

  13. I think I’m gonna give this a shot in March. I have been focused on the meat too much and the vegetables have been an afterthought. It will tough to go without eggs though. Can I keep them in? I also think seaweed is absolutely disgusting.

      • Hi Julianne
        Just found your site and so interested in what you have posted about Dr Wahl! I have followed Dr Sears (zone) for long time and last couple of year Marksdailymail but unfortunately I had a flu injection last year in june and thus suffered horrific medical induced auto-immune disease called CIDP. My body killed of my myelin sheth (with horrible horrible pain). As a result I my shoulder and upper limbs have atropied and I have limited use of my left hand. I was hospitalised and treated with IVIG and lately extreme high dose steriods for the last couple of months. Coming of the steriods I am looking for a way to repair these sheths so the message from brain to nerves came take place and I can get my muscles back!! I am dead keen to understand what allergy tests Dr Wahls did and where I could get them done in Wellington?
        Love your site by the way and have signed up to follow you
        Cheers
        Kelly

  14. Thanks for this post and the links to the detailed video.
    Since you did your nutrient break-down of Durian-rider, I again looked at vegetables as an important source of health and healing. (I usually just go for the meat and fat) Terry Wahl’s story is very powerful and her comment about greens possibly having compounds we don’t know about is interesting.
    Do you know what her position on fat is? She seems to still be a bit mainstream in not mentioning Sat. fat…and I have to re-listen to her comment on Cholesterol, but I think she said ‘don’t worry about it’.
    You’re blog is a great resource, Julianne, thank you!

  15. I’m so glad I found your blog. I want to get Dr. Wahl’s book. I think what she’s done is amazing. Maybe you can answer some questions I have now, before I can get her book.

    1. Is juicing the 9 cups acceptable? It would make it easier to consume a large volume.
    2. I’ve been gluten free for years, but still use oats(controversial-I know), sorghum, buckwheat, millet, tapioca, and arrowroot. Are they still okay? Many of them are grasses, not grain.
    3. Is this totally dairy free, or are fermented dairy products okay?

    Thanks,
    I look forward to looking around your blog more thoroughly. Patrice

    • Dr Wahls uses smoothies rather than juices. This helps get through the vegetables, as does cooking. A big pile of kale or spinach shrinks down when cooked. I eat brassicas cooked due to their goitrogenic activity. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=47 (I have Hashimotos)

      In my opinion – if you have any type of auto-immune issue it pays to trial an auto-immune version of the paleo diet – and remove all seeds (including nuts and sunflower / pumpkin etc) and grains of all types, and all dairy and eggs for a month or so and see it that helps. Add one thing back in a time and see what your response is over the next week or so.

      Tapioca and arrowroot are starches from a root vegetable and are fine.

      • Thanks for this tip. I eat mostly vegetables all day with chicken nuts, seeds and eggs. Will try cutting back on the full fat diary and eggs and see what happens.

      • What is the reason to cut out nuts? Also I’ve been researching and trying to find out what legumes to cut out… Everything? Even lentils and mung beans? How about sprouted?

          • Thank you! I was eating a lot of nuts including tree nuts and I think I do have a sensitivity. It might have just been the fiber that was giving me trouble. But, I’ll try to cut down.

            My problem is that I don’t eat much meat and so I have trouble getting the calories that I need and nuts were pretty high in calories. I don’t eat any dairy either. What do you suggest? There’s only so much olive oil and coconut oil that I can consume. I eat tons of avocados. But, without nuts and limited sugar and meat, it’s hard to get enough calories!

  17. I’ve been eating a nearly identical diet to her’s for six years. It was a Paleo zone diet for the first five. I didn’t make the real health leap for my fibromyalgia/chronic fatique till I went from white meat chicken/turkey and 30 % fat to grass fed beef/lamb offal and 50% -60% fat. I peaked at 20 cups of vegetables a day in the lower fat (ZONE) days. Now with increased activity ,double the fat and more tubers, I hover around six to ten cups of veggies a day. I took a lot of practice to get to those levels, but I assure you it can be done.

    • Thanks for your comment Lloyd. How did you respond healthwise to the different versions of paleo? Are there any specific connections between diet and health for you?

  19. Hi
    I am in the UK and have recently watched Dr Wahls’ talk on TEDx Before this I was reading the Dukan Diet.
    I am so wanting to try the Dr’s diet to the letter (I don’t have MS) Is there anywhere on the net where I can get a specific shop list of the foods? I trust the science and reasoning behind it, I just want a list to go shop.

    Matt 🙂

  20. Dr. Wahls,
    I watched your web- cast a couple of weeks ago and at that time I ordered some material from you…$49. I have not received any information…Would someone look into this and let me know what has happened…
    Thanking you,
    Kappy Williams

  22. Dear Julianne,
    Thanks for your blog. I´ve just dicovered it and it´s great. I´m also dealing with Hashimoto’s and your posts are very useful for me. I just wanted to ask you what´s a “4 day food rotation”.
    By the way, how was you experiment?

  23. This article and videos have really helped me. I have questions regarding kale. I know Dr. Wahl is big on eating kale. What is your opinion on including kale in the diet if one has hypothyroidism? Additionally there seems to be mixed opinions as to whether more health benefits are derived eating it raw or cooked. Thank you.

  24. I too I am hypothyroid and I’m very interested in Dr. Wahls’ protocol. Could you speak more to the amount of cruciferous and goitrogenic vegetables included in the plan? She calls for four cups a day. Even cooked, don’t these vegetables still retain some goitrogens? How would I modify her recommendations to avoid damaging my thyroid but still get the benefits? How are you modifying her protocol for yourself?

  25. This is fascinating. I was told years ago by a wellness practitioner that my mitochondria were “shut down.” I didn’t know what that meant but have been studying diet and thyroid issues for years. Just recently found this page, and saw Dr Wahl’s talk on TED.com. So, I have alot of work to do. As far as I am concerned, many of us have the same issues with gluten, dairy, etc. but it shows up differently as Hashimoto’s in one person, MS in another, etc. But this information hits the nail on the head!

  26. Just discovered dr Wahls, have MS, will buy the book and start slowly , testing for allergies or intolerances and get stuck in vegies
    Will need some doctors support I feel as if I start I want to be commited it sounds worthwhile and smart.

  27. Lol I am following a plant based diet and aware that I am noshing what seem to be epic amounts of vegetables I weighed and measured a typical day: Which comes to 1kg of vegetables, mostly leafy greens and crucifers, and another pound of fruit (inc less sugary fruits such as tomatoes)

    Averaged at 80g raw per serving this places me between 12 -14 servings a day and the more green vegetation I eat, the better my mood. This is improving exponentially. I really had to reframe the role and amount of vegetables and get used to eating them in volume. I am sticking with this for a while, it could be a game changer.

    I now snack on baby tomatoes, and fresh lettuce, I know that sounds weird, but it’s a good gauge of hunger. These are wonderfully water rich and eating them alone I think is good for digestion. Then I can have two large cooked meals based on vegetables and increase the volume that way. Blend a banana into spinach and pour as sauce over a sweet potato as a dessert.

    Just some ideas! Good health to everyone!

  28. I has Hashimotos and gut/digestion problems. My dietician has put me on a plan to eat 9 cups of veges a day, 2-4 pieces of fruit, 750ml bone broth, 200-400gr protein, 1-2 TVs fat, probiotic, etc.

    I’m struggling getting my head and mouth around so much food. She said 9 cups of veges is equal to 4.5 cups cooked veges. One serve of cooked veges is 75gr.

    I am becoming lost trying to work out what to eat. I feel I am shovelling in food and just not enjoying it at all. It all appears way too much for me abs puts me off.

    The dietician said the more veges are needed to feed the gut.

    I am to have no starches, sugars, grains, nuts, seeds, dairy.

    Whew!!! I am looking over the net for ideas on serving suggestions and recipes, daily plans.

    I see a few people on here can get that amount of veges in.

    Please could I ask for more specifics.

    I look forward to understanding this more 🙂

    Thank u 😀

  29. I totally agree. Diet and nutrition is medicine and most doctors don’t know enough about it. Note that the diet Dr. Wahl recommends specifically excludes gluten! Gluten was not available to nomadic/hunter-gatherer and aboriginal people. They didn’t make sandwiches either. Gluten must be eliminated from our diets so that we can absorb the necessary vitamins and minerals she refers to. If we keep damaging our intestines and neurological functions with wheat, barley and rye in particular, it doesn’t matter how many salads or vitamins we eat…they won’t get absorbed!

    After just 3 days of eliminating all gluten from my diet, I felt amazing! Its been 3 weeks and I have no more health issues. Read ingredient labels. Gluten is in everything! Even cosmetics, shampoos and skin creams.

  30. I have not read all the comments, so this may have been addressed already.

    I’ve had neurotransmitter problems, which my QRA practitioner says is caused by my mercury amalgam “silver” dental fillings. A good way to learn about the dental health / physical health connection is to read WHOLE BODY DENTISTRY by Mark A. Breiner, DDS. Dr. Reinhard Voll (a German physician who developed Electro-Dermal Screening) “estimated that nearly 80% of all illness is related entirely or partially to problems in the mouth. (p. 23, WHOLE BODY DENTISTRY). On the same page, Dr. Breiner gives a case history of a man diagnosed with MS who asked him to remove a root-canaled tooth. “…his neurological problems disappeared.”

    The receptionist at my mercury-free dentist told me of a patient who came in with chronic kidney pain. After the dentist removed the tooth on that meridian, the patient was IMMEDIATELY free of the kidney pain. Another patient came in very weak, leaning on her husband’s arm, but after her offending dental problem was fixed, she walked out on her own strength, quite dramatically changed. I personally have had a wound heal once I had a couple of amalgams replaced with biocompatible materials. Amazing!

  31. thank you for running this blog! I read the book last week and immediately implemented the 9 cups of veggies and the elimination of dairy soy Grains and eggs. I ran into a problem yesterday and again this morning. I was having my berries with organic coconut milk and my mouth and lips and tongue and throat began to itch terribly. Yesterday it happened with almond milk. Until now I’ve never had a tree nut allergy. So I’ve taken my benadryl but I’m very discouraged! I found no longer drinking caffeinated drinks and can’t have dairy, what am I supposed to do? And I’m worried about these moving allergies. I was always allergic to mango and shellfish but never anything else. I drink coconut water for years without an issue. Any feedback? I’m afraid of giving up entirely if I’m afraid if I become allergic to anything new I stick in my mouth!

  33. I have been reading your book Dr. Wahls Potocal as suggested by a physician that noticed my tremor due to having Charcot Marie Tooth. I am encouraged by your results that I may stop my nerve degeneration and keep me out of a wheelchair. I am a vegetarian and have been reading a Paleo cookbook. The hardest thing that I face is where to get protein without eating meat. I currently supplement with protein shakes and bars. I am excited to bring this to my neurologist and get her opinion on the Paleo diet. If you can give me any ideas about protein supplements it would be greatly appreciated.

    • I think it is important to eat real food as much as possible. Omega 3 is important with any neuro-degenerative issue – that comes from fish and seafood. Can you eat that?

  34. Hi, very informative blog, thank you!
    My 9 year old son recently got diagnosed with Achalasia, which current studies in Europe show to be an autoimmune disease. Do you know if Wahls Paleo would have similar effects on Achalasia? Also is the diet suitable for children? I am dreading for him to loose weight and as we many 9 yos he is fussy with veggies but i want to try it. Any feedback you may have I’d really appreciate!
    Thank you!

    • I suggest a standard paleo diet – but don’t miss out the starchy carbs – like sweet potato and fruit. And add plenty of healthy fats as well. Many auto-immune diseases respond to a paleo diet. It might help to work with a practitioner or nutritionist if you are worried about his weight and removing foods from the diet.

        • I would also suggest trying to mix a lot of the required veggies in a fruit smoothie. I use blueberries, strawberries, cherries, cucumbers, and carrots to cover all the recommended colors. I toss it in with some coconut milk and some non-denatured, organic whey protein. This smoothie provides 2-3 cups of your colorful veggies and fruits, plus a good whey source for protein to help maintain mass. Make sure they are all organic and if he wants to add some sweetness, try an organic honey or agave nectar.

  35. I started the Wahl Protocol diet yesterday! I must say her book makes a lot of sense. It is like someone finally looked at the most logical way to make us healthy and happy! The entire concept of maximizing the efficiency and health on a cellular level seems to be the answer to all health issues.
    Good luck everyone, and stay with it. When issues occur find a way around it because everybody is different, but I believe where there is a will there is a way!

  36. Hi
    I have progressive ms and want to try this diet but here in the UK we don\’t do cups or things like this so measurements are quite tough.
    I just want my life back these vegetables can they be frozen or are they all fresh

    • You can just use an ordinary measuring cup (250mls) or use your fist as a guide – 1 closed fist is approximately 1 cup
      Yes – frozen vegetables and fruit are good to use

  37. I have MS I eat healthy but sometimes I have a slice of pizza & & other stuff & my oatmeal with fruit in the morning & I was wondering what other things can i eat & not & I’m Italian so I eat Lol

  38. I´ve just found Dr. Wahls and your inspiring article. I´m not sure what she says about how often we should eat meat. Is it three times a day with every meal or once every day or once a week? Do you know which one of her books is best describing specific what to eat? Thanks in advance, Jenny from Sweden

  40. I started the Wahl’s Paleo Plus food plan on St. Patrick’s Day. I have MS and had Lemtrada infusions in Sept 2015. I’m doing better after starting the diet. I’m still working on the proportions but it’s getting better. This is a great blog.

  41. You forgot the most important part of Wahl\’s protocol- she consumes up to 1 can of full fat coconut milk and/or 4-6 Tablespoons of MCT oil!

  43. Hello Julianne,

    My name is Lisa and I have primary progressive MS. I have had it for 20 years now and I have been a quadriplegic in a wheelchair for nearly 10 years. I would like to read Dr. Wahls book. I can only read on the computer. Can you send me a PDF form or if you know where I could buy a CD form of this book I would greatly appreciate it.
    I love your website.

    Sincerely,

    Lisa

  45. What do you suggest for people with high oxalates? Both my children have Lyme and co-infections and we have to really watch what we eat. They also both have elevated oxalates. Hard to know what to do because kale, spinach and other healthy veggies and fruits (berries) are high in oxalates.

    I also get conflicting lists of “low/medium oxalate foods”.

    Thanks,

    Carol
    Dallas

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.