Determined to get herself out of a wheelchair, Dr. Terry Wahls began searching for her own cure
After being diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in the year 2000, Dr. Terry Wahls immediately began to search for a cure. She spent four years in a wheelchair watching her disease progress while hoping to prevent becoming bedridden altogether. Since she was already a doctor herself, teaching as a clinical professor of medicine at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, she first explored animal disease models she could access, as she knew they were decades ahead of what is normally available in practice. Intensely studying PubMed.gov articles in the evenings after work, she eventually looked to vitamins and supplements to compile a list of beneficial nutrients to aid her condition. In 2007 she found the Functional Medicine department at the Cleveland Clinic, which further assisted research and list-making.
From there she created a diet high in nutrients important for the brain (since her condition boiled down to a decline due to brain deficiencies) using her medical knowledge and the Hunter-Gatherer diet. This, in combination with neuromuscular electrical stimulation, resulted in Wahls’ renewed ability to walk without a cane and even bike for 18 miles. The final result was the Wahls Protocol, which details her nutritional approach to nurturing the brain and its mitochondria in order to live in full health.
After creating a list of nutrients essential to brain function, she sought out the necessary supplements
As mentioned in her TedTalk, there are numerous nutrients upon which the brain relies in order to survive and thrive. Without them, according to Wahls, it begins to shut down. Some of the brain healthy nutrients she names include fish oil, creatine, and coQ10 (or co-enzyme Q-10). Additionally, the myelin that protects our brains needs nutrition too, and relies upon several B vitamins, Omega 3 fatty acids, and iodine. Neurotransmitters need sulphur and B-6, while the brain’s mitochondrial health relies upon sulphur and anti-oxidants.
From the supplements, she later went straight to the source and sought out the foods high in the nutrients themselves to start “eating for your mitochondria”
More specifically, Wahls names examples of foods and the amounts needed daily from her research. This diet regimen she calls “eating for your mitochondria.” She suggests, for example, 9 cups of vegetables and berries daily, first and foremost, before consuming any grain, potatoes, or dairy. Within these 9 cups, she suggests first 3 cups of green leaves, then 3 cups of sulphur-rich vegetables, and finally 3 cups brightly colored vegetables and/or fruit. After these as the highest priority of the diet, she then recommends integrating high quality proteins into the diet, like grass-fed meat, organ meat, and seaweed.
First and foremost, we need 9 cups of fruits and veggies daily, followed by proteins and iodine
Elaborating further, she explains that the 3 cups of greens equals a “dinner plate, heaped high” and should include kale if possible, as it has “the most nutrition per calorie of any plant.” She also recommends parsley, cilantro and basically any dark leafy greens. The sulphur-rich vegetables (also 3 cups) should include anything from the “cabbage family” like cabbage, turnips, rutabaga, radishes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale or collard greens, as well as from the “onion family” like onions, leeks, chives, garlic, and shallots. On top of this, she suggests 3 cups of brightly colored (preferably different colors every day) fruits or vegetables like red peppers, beets, carrots, blueberries, peaches, oranges, blackberries, and strawberries.
The proteins must be high quality and seaweed is optimal for iodine and selenium
High quality proteins rich in Omega 3 fatty acids are essential to the diet as well, according to Wahls. Here she names specifically wild fish like salmon and herring, any type of grass fed meat, and organ meat, preferably at least once daily. Once per week she recommends having organ meat, such as liver, heart, gizzards, and tongue. Seaweed, a rich source of iodine and selenium, is needed for the brain’s health, and should be consumed at least once weekly.
Pay now or pay later
According to Dr. Wahls, sticking to this diet, primarily the 9 cups of veggies and fruits, will “dramatically increase the vitamin and mineral content of the diet, as well as dramatically lowering the risk of food allergies” many people have which result in other numerous ailments. And although it may be expensive to eat these foods, says Wahls, we can ultimately choose to either “pay now or pay later.” By this, she means we can spend a little extra money now to restore our health and vitality or we can spend it later on more expensive health care, doctor’s visits, and medicines.
What do you choose?
