173: Dr. Terry Wahls - Improving Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Outcomes Using Nutrition and Lifestyle Changes

Dr. Terry Wahls was diagnosed with secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis in 2007.

She was bedridden and could barely walk and sitting up was a challenge for her.

As a medical doctor, she dove into aggressive treatment options to try to beat her disease and symptoms, but unfortunately, they didn’t find much relief.

She also dealt with debilitating pain that made it hard for her to work and function normally.

Instead of succumbing to MS, Dr. Wahls vowed to do everything she could to alleviate the awful symptoms she was dealing with.

It led her down a path of discovering nutritional and lifestyle therapies that could offer real relief.

They were so effective that she became active again, both walking and cycling, and she returned to living a normal life, free from being wheelchair-bound, with a huge increase in her quality of life.

She went on to develop The Wahls Protocol and led several research studies, including eight clinical trials, that proved just how effective these dietary changes are in treating progressive MS.

In this episode with Dr. Anthony Gustin, you’ll hear about Dr. Wahls’ inspiring and incredible health journey, how nutrition can drastically impact autoimmune conditions, and the diets that can help these conditions.

You’ll also hear her thoughts on using the carnivore diet for autoimmune conditions, the two nutrient-dense foods she recommends eating whether you’re sick or not, and the spiritual component of healing and health.

Dr. Wahl also shares the symptoms and conditions that may be a red flag for future autoimmune issues, what you can do to treat those before they become worse, and the mindset she adopted to help herself and her family get through the most challenging parts of her health journey.

Dr. Terry Wahls is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. She teaches internal medicine residents in their primary care clinics and does clinical research.

Dr. Wahls has been published in over 60 peer-reviewed scientific abstracts, posters, and papers, and her work has been cited thousands of times.

She’s also on her eighth clinic trial, working hard to show that dietary and lifestyle interventions are effective treatment options for people suffering from autoimmune conditions.

In this episode, you’ll learn about the following topics:
Dr. Terry Wahls’ incredible health journey and how she went from barely being able to walk or sit up to being active again and living a high quality of life despite being diagnosed with secondary progressive MS
Dr. Wahls’ aha moment in her healing health journey and how she started researching alternative treatment options
The diets being studied for progressive MS treatments and which ones have shown the most promising results
The nutrients she focused on adding to her diet to start repairing her mitochondrial health
Is the carnivore diet a good option for people with autoimmune conditions like MS?
Is there only one diet or more than one that works at increasing the longevity and quality of life in MS patients?
Two nutrient-dense foods Dr. Wahls included in her diet to improve her MS outcomes
Other conditions that may benefit from The Wahls Protocol
The other lifestyle factors Dr. Wahls addressed aside from nutrition to improve her condition and quality of life
The spiritual component to better health and healing
What keeps Dr. Wahls going now that she’s seen incredible improvements in her condition

Resources mentioned:
Dr. Terry Wahls’ website
Dr. Terry Wahls’ Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channel
Where you can donate to help support Dr. Wahls’ incredible research
Dr. Wahls’ book, The Wahls Protocol