“Drugs are not the answer. Let food, good, wholesome food, be thy medicine.”
Dr. Terry Wahls, MD
Dr. Terry Wahls, a highly respected medical doctor, researcher and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine is a true inspiration for everyone.
She was diagnosed with RR-MS in 2000, and her condition progressed quickly (in 2003) to SP-MS. From a very active woman who used to run marathons and climb mountains, Dr Wahls was confined to a tilt-recline wheelchair for four years. She started to use a nutritional/lifestyle plan, which later became “The Wahls Protocol.” Within one year, she was able to walk again without a cane and even complete an 18-mile bicycle tour!
Let’s look at Dr. Wahls’s success story because she describes beautifully the changes she made in her mindset, as well as the treatments she adopted. This is the summary of the first chapter from her latest book “The Wahls Protocol – A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions using Paleo Principles.”
At the beginning, she was simply a patient, following the recommendations of her neurologist and taking the medications (Copaxone, Mitoxantrone, Tysabri, CellCept).
“Taking my life back” chapter from her book reveals some details:
“Getting into that wheelchair triggered something. I realized that conventional medicine was not likely to stop what was happening to m… I decided to go back reading the medical literature… I started to think outside the box… I didn’t have anything to lose, so I decided to take action.”
Following Paleo diet did not help improve much the symptoms. Based on her extensive research of scientific literature, Dr. Wahls made a list of vitamins and supplements that she started to take along with the medication. Next, she discovered the potential benefits of e-stim, and added this form of electrical therapy to the daily routine. The following step involved learning the principles of Functional Medicine, understanding the importance to the brain of leaky gut, food allergies, toxins, mitochondria, neurotransmitter problems and more.
The Wahls protocol incorporates Paleo diet, functional medicine and her own research of scientific literature (PubMed), daily meditation, and self massage…
“That’s when things really began to change in my brain and body,” recalls Dr. Wahls. Within 3 months she was able to walk between exam rooms just with a cane. Within 6 months she was walking throughout the hospital without cane.
Her TEDx talk “Minding your mitochondria” reached millions of people. A less than 20 minutes talk where she covered so many important points, including specific nutrients needed for myelin (B1, B9 – folate, B12, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Iodine), for neurotransmitters (Sulfur, B6), for a healthier mitochondria (B vitamins, sulfur, antioxidants), and the overall Paleo diet she recommends.
Food for thought: Dr. Wahls believes that genetics play only a very small role (5%) in acquiring MS (or other chronic conditions), where 95% is linked to the environment: what we eat, poisons in our food and water, excessive levels of stress, and the quality of our social and family connections.
I agree with her. In addition, when we stop blaming the genes we really start taking control of our health, as we recognize how important are lifestyle changes and environmental factors.
She not only reversed her MS, Dr. Wahls also improved the life of thousands of people worldwide.
“My mission was never clearer. I needed to continue to do research, to teach the public because I believe the public will soon be far ahead of the medical community when it comes to understanding the power of food to reclaim and maintain health.”
“The power of healing is within you, you can turn your life around. Not your doctor. Not your pharmacist. Not the bottle of pills. You. The power is in your hands.”
Dr. Wahls improved her treatment plan over the years. According to the latest Dr. Wahls clinical trial, she recommends the following plan:
Behavior therapy: meditation, self massage and learning (or completing puzzles)
My note: Reading the first part of her book “The Wahls Protocol – A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles” made me realize that Dr. Wahls followed the same steps as Mona and Anna, and the other successful cases with MS described in my other blogs.
Yes, the same fours steps, do you see them, too ?
1.Losing bodily function made Dr. Wahls made a radical change in her mindset.
2.She developed responsibility.
3.She decided to take control of her life and,
4.She used alternative medicine.
The results are astonishing. Read her book if you haven’t yet. The book is not only filled with great research and information, but also with plenty of success stories from those who followed her plan. Read the feedbacks from Amazon as well, as you will find even more success stories there.
