Dr. Terry Wahls Protocol

[thleensd]

Are any of you familiar with and/or trying the Wahls protocol? 

 

Dr. Wahls is an MD with MS that is treating herself through diet. Her story is incredible, and I think has great implications for Celiac Disease and other autoimmune disorders. Her TED talk is here: 

 

After limited recovery going gluten free, I went Paleo and started improving. I started the GAPS diet, and got even better, but not yet 100% Maybe 60% (fatigue, pain, brain fog). I started seeing a great D.O. and have added in limited potatoes and raw milk. I'm doing better... but I noticed when I don't eat enough greens, I don't feel as well. My DO has also greatly limited my daily sugars (no sweeteners, and only some fruits - mostly berries)

 

Enter Wahls protocol: Grain free (she's also dairy-free), mostly legume free (very similar to gaps), but her focus is on getting nutrients through diet. Each day, she advocates three cups of leafy greens, three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables, three cups of bright colored foods. In addition to that, grass fed meats, wild fish and healthy fats. She also advocates eating organ meats once per week and seaweed once per week. Of course, probiotics and ferments as well. She's on-board with many of the GAPS/Weston Price ideas. 

 

I'm experimenting with tweaking my diet to bring it to this level. I'm doing pretty well with the veggies and greens (although my low energy days are made worse when I don't have energy to make more!). When I eat this way for a few days in a row, I feel great. 

One thing I'm having trouble with is the organ meats. Grass-fed, organic is pricey and hard to find. Considering mail-order. I'm admittedly a bit scared by organ meats. Simply fear of the unknown, I know. I need to work that out. Also, I have trouble finding good fish that isn't $$$$. Fish in the store is notoriously mislabeled. Not going down that conversational road right now!

 

One thing she doesn't talk about is nuts. I'm currently cooking with (soaked, dehydrated) nuts... and some raw ones too - almonds and walnuts only, as well as sunflower and pumpkin. She also doesn't talk about eggs, but my DO wants me eating plenty of those, which I'm happy to do. 

 

I'll return and report as I can... meanwhile, have any of you tried this? Anyone interested in trying this?

 

For those of you that are super food science nerds like me (like I've become because of Celiac!), here is an expanded lecture by Dr. Wahls (complied on a paleo blog - scroll down) : Open Original Shared Link

 

 

[IrishHeart]

I'll take a look at it, but in the meantime, here is what I DO know: my lifelong friend Suze adopted a grain-free and sugar-free diet right after she was DXed with MS. Eventually, she went paleo, ... then, vegetarian....LONG before these diets were "cool" (I mean 25 years ago)

 

She eats POUNDS of veggies a day, plus soy for her protein (which I have tried to tell her is not necessarily a good idea--hormone

and thyroid disruption and all)..but she has kept her MS at bay, even running the Boston marathon at one point.

She is not in a wheelchair and she takes minimal pharmaceuticals. She is inspiring. and she agrees, she may have been a celiac

but we'll never know.

 

So, for some people, a certain "protocol" may work...and for others, it may be so restrictive and not at all helpful.

 

We all seem to be different when it comes to healing our bodies.

[plumbago]

On 5/27/2013 at 4:46 PM, thleensd said:

Are any of you familiar with and/or trying the Wahls protocol? 

 

Dr. Wahls is an MD with MS that is treating herself through diet. Her story is incredible, and I think has great implications for Celiac Disease and other autoimmune disorders. Her TED talk is here: 

 

After limited recovery going gluten free, I went Paleo and started improving. I started the GAPS diet, and got even better, but not yet 100% Maybe 60% (fatigue, pain, brain fog). I started seeing a great D.O. and have added in limited potatoes and raw milk. I'm doing better... but I noticed when I don't eat enough greens, I don't feel as well. My DO has also greatly limited my daily sugars (no sweeteners, and only some fruits - mostly berries)

 

Enter Wahls protocol: Grain free (she's also dairy-free), mostly legume free (very similar to gaps), but her focus is on getting nutrients through diet. Each day, she advocates three cups of leafy greens, three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables, three cups of bright colored foods. In addition to that, grass fed meats, wild fish and healthy fats. She also advocates eating organ meats once per week and seaweed once per week. Of course, probiotics and ferments as well. She's on-board with many of the GAPS/Weston Price ideas. 

 

I'm experimenting with tweaking my diet to bring it to this level. I'm doing pretty well with the veggies and greens (although my low energy days are made worse when I don't have energy to make more!). When I eat this way for a few days in a row, I feel great. 

One thing I'm having trouble with is the organ meats. Grass-fed, organic is pricey and hard to find. Considering mail-order. I'm admittedly a bit scared by organ meats. Simply fear of the unknown, I know. I need to work that out. Also, I have trouble finding good fish that isn't $$$$. Fish in the store is notoriously mislabeled. Not going down that conversational road right now!

 

One thing she doesn't talk about is nuts. I'm currently cooking with (soaked, dehydrated) nuts... and some raw ones too - almonds and walnuts only, as well as sunflower and pumpkin. She also doesn't talk about eggs, but my DO wants me eating plenty of those, which I'm happy to do. 

 

I'll return and report as I can... meanwhile, have any of you tried this? Anyone interested in trying this?

 

For those of you that are super food science nerds like me (like I've become because of Celiac!), here is an expanded lecture by Dr. Wahls (complied on a paleo blog - scroll down) : Open Original Shared Link

 

 

[First let me preface my comment with: I understand this is an old post!]

I can only surmise from the grand total of 1 response that not many on celiac.com are doing that diet. But I am currently knee deep into the Wahls protocol in terms of reading and learning about it. The last week, due to a painful aphthous ulcer, I went sugar free. Not grain-free, quite, but nearly, and I just ate a buttload more vegetables than I normally do (which is a lot, normally), probably 4-5 cups a day. I feel like I have lost a little weight (my BMI is usually around 22 or 23) but I'm most concerned about the abdomen, of course. I feel like that area is less bloated than normal, is what I can say after a week. To go whole hog into this protocol, as with any diet, requires a huge commitment. I'd like to, but at the same time, I would want the support of other people and so far, that is not happening. I've been sugar free before. What that has taught me is how to drink coffee without sugar,a great thing to learn. This past week, though, I haven't even drunk coffee. Only water and green tea. Not getting empty calories from beverages is by itself huge.

This woman (Terry Wahls) makes so much sense. She is a great writer and communicator to boot. I am youtubing and downloading like crazy and have placed a hold on her book at the library. I am anxious to dialogue with others about it.

Plumbago

On 5/27/2013 at 4:46 PM, thleensd said:

When I eat this way for a few days in a row, I feel great. 

This is very true! In general this week, I can't think of anything that particularly bothered me, and really I wasn't even that hungry. What did concern me (and again, I didn't go whole hog into the protocol) was that I was less kind of interested in food, this has its pluses and minuses. I like to be inspired by food. Perhaps it just requires time to adjust.