We are always delighted to find MDs speaking out in favor of healing disease and creating health using food as medicine. This presentation is a standout, especially given the fact that we have a few loved ones living with multiple sclerosis. In this TED Talk, Minding Your Mitochondria, Dr. Terry Wahls tells a little about her story and how she took her health into her own hands. Dr. Wahls is a physician who has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Her M.S. had progressed until she was confined for four years to a wheelchair. 18 months after focusing intensively on healing herself with nutrition and regaining her strength, she now enjoys being active again and she spends her days biking, skiing and loving life. Both this video and her new book explain that eating whole foods can help reverse M.S. by healing inflammation and repairing the myelin sheath which allows impulses to transmit along the nerve cells, and list specific foods that are critical for healthy function of the nervous system.
“Like most physicians, I was always focused on quickly diagnosing my patients, and then using drugs and surgical procedure to treat them. That is, until I became a patient myself…in the face of this chronic, progressive disease for which there was no cure, I began to experiment on myself. Conventional medicine was failing me. I saw that. I was heading towards a bedridden life. What I didn’t expect were the results I got from my experimentation: stunning results, not only to me but to my colleagues and my doctors. I not only arrested my disease, I achieved a dramatic restoration of my health and my function. What I learned changed forever how I saw the battling worlds of health and disease.” -Dr. Terry Wahls
Here are a few “Quick Tips” from Dr. Wahls’ New Book
- Eat organic
- Eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables
- Eat plenty of dark leafy greens, cabbage, onion and broccoli
- Avoid all dairy and gluten
- Exercise daily
One would think from these guidelines that Dr. Wahls would be advocating a vegan diet, however she is a backer of the paleo diet. However, it should be stated that it is totally possible to be go paleo and vegan. Paleo advocates getting rid of junk food, so it goes without saying that this would be a wise move. Throwing out dairy and gluten is a great idea too, so while our Kale U diet differs a bit from paleo and goes further by removing all animal products, I think that a whole foods diet is a heck of a lot better than the Standard American Diet (aka SAD) and when it comes to using food as medicine, everyone needs to do what they feel increases their health, longevity and energy by conducting their own experiments.
You hit the nail on the head. As an RN, I have been frustrated in seeing my health continue to spiral downward, not being able to get a handle on it. I’ve always suspected a gluten intolerance but my allergist kept telling me I was crazy. The “proof?” I have had EVERY one of your listed potential side effects. Eczema, allergies, asthma, (exercise induced, but the lack of 02 is still crippling to my energy levels, just the same), IBS, CFS, fibromyalgia, infertility, (and endometriosis), arthritis, chronic HA’s, a TON of neurological problems, and seemingly ADHD. The last 15-20 yrs of my life can be summed up as simply as this: a STRUGGLE. In 2007, my ophthalmologist diagnosed me with beginning cataracts…at age 44! They’ve steadily worsened to where I can barely see at all. I was wondering what was accelerating the process. Now I know!
You have just singlehandedly made me a believer and a follower. I can’t thank you enough for your diet recommendations. I’ve avoided salt for so long, that it’s no wonder I have so many neuro problems. And it is equally no wonder most of the food listed is food I actually have cravings for. (My IBS has prevented me from indulging, but now, I think over time the inflammation will lessen as my health is slowly restored). I LOVE brussel sprouts, califlower, broccoli, spinach, greens, KALE (lol) turnips, asparagus, peppers, beets, berries, nectarines, (plus parsnips and green beans, which probably have no such related benefits), salmon, chicken livers and onions, and either mushrooms or onions sauteed with garlic (I can make a meal of of that, and have!), and most especially, LEEKS!
It is no accident that growing up Greek in the midwest, where my folks always had a huge garden full of fresh veggies each summer, that none of my problems materialized until 10 yrs after I left home and was in my early 30s…no longer able to afford to purchase fresh fruits and veggies, and no place with which to garden. To compound the situation, I have had pernicious anemia since a child, and can’t absorb B12 d/t my IBS, (can’t afford the shots) and that has only increased my neuro problems. While I was going through the accelerated nursing program at LLU, my brain fog was sooo bad I worked 3-4x harder and longer at studying than anyone else and was so mentally exhausted that it seemed to drain me physically, as well. My grandmother died of ALS and I’ve been fearful with all my increasing neuro symptomology of also having it. I’ve put off getting tested, trying to think positive for a better outcome. Now, I have a weapon in my arsenal, whether I have it or not. That is priceless.
I will take this info and run with it. While I can’t afford to be fired over handing the info out on a regular basis, I can certainly give out this web address to those ESRD on HD, and ESLD pts of mine that are at their wit’s end and looking for help from any direction.
I believe all things happen for a reason. It’s my belief that you went through the scary process of MS in order to find this info, turn your life around, and be a help to hundreds or even thousands of others searching for help and answers.
God bless you and continue to use you for His purposes,
Trish