Wahls Diet, does anyone follow?

[RTR1]

I have been reading about Terry Wahls and her diet. Does anyone follow and have feedback to share?

[mrsmike]

I tried Wahl's for a little more than 6 months. Followed it religiously. I only lost 10 lbs. but didn't feel any better or see any improvement. Give it a try though it may work for you .

[MarkUpnorth in reply to mrsmike]

It's not a weight loss thing. And like my one neuro used to always say (refering to all the meds he had me on for years), the only thing that works quick are antacids. Well apply to food as well! But I cheated and went on a juicing only diet, which was still in accordance with the whal's diet, and it kept me from going into cognitive fog extreme daily. Skip a day, stay in the fog. Back to it the next, clear skies!

[mrsmike in reply to MarkUpnorth]

The weight loss was something I didn't need. It's really the only thing that came of the dirt.

[Fancy59 CommunityAmbassador]

RTR1, There are so many diets out there on the market today just simply try some and see which works best for you. In my general opinion however I believe any diet that makes you change the way you're you eat completely or eliminates a food group totally that you have used for a long time will be doomed to fail. Modify your diet and make it healthier by adding more fruits and vegetables and I think in the long run you'll be much better off. But that's simply my opinion. I hope this helps. Make sure you let us know what you decide and what results you get from your decision. Take care and remember together we are stronger. Fancy59.

[Frances_B]

Despite the claims made for them by their promoters, there is little to no solid scientific evidence to back up ANY of the "MS diets". The common theme with all of them is to get rid of junk foods and drinks and cut back sugar intake and eat more fresh vegies and fruit, and you don't need to adopt a special "MS diet" to do that. It is highly likely that any improvements people get are due to eating better and getting rid of the junk foods and if you are healthier overall then most people's MS will also be more settled. If you really want to take up a diet to improve your health (and possibly your MS) then adopt a Mediterranean style diet - it is the diet with the strongest legitimate scientific evidence for improved health.

Here's the best and most sensible article ever written about "MS diets".

msbites.com/multiple-sclero...

Here's a couple of very informative webinars which help to explain how so many people get sucked into believing the diet myths - not just about MS but about a whole lot of diet stuff. The sad truth is the influence of social media and the internet is so strong that people get led into believing that there is a "special diet" for every ailment or disease.

cando-ms.org/multiple-scler...

msplus.org.au/resources/nut...

Unless someone has a medically diagnosed problem (such as coeliac disease, lactose intolerance etc etc) there is no need to cut out grains or sat fats or dairy or meat etc etc (although the rider on that is that the diet of many Americans really is overloaded with sat fat and sugar so keeping an eye on that is not a bad idea!). There is no benefit in taking up any diet which restricts or eliminates whole food groups and running risks of developing deficiencies from doing so. For some vulnerable people there is also a risk of developing a fairly newly identified eating disorder called orthorexia - which is an obsession with healthy eating that actually goes way too far. While the two video links are not specifically about MS the key messages about the persuasiveness of social media etc are entirely relevant (and remember that this forum is also a form of "social media!).

self.com/story/orthorexia-w...

self.com/story/orthorexia-h...

youtube.com/watch?v=-trBjMS...(Not working as expected?)

youtube.com/watch?v=uotg530...(Not working as expected?)

Note that Terry Wahls makes money from her diet stuff - it is not promoted from purely altruistic motives. Also, if you look in the "right" places you will find that she does actually attribute quite a lot of her mobility improvement to the FES she used, and buried deep in hidden corners of the internet she also admits to have had treatments such as Tysabri and mitoxantrone. What you see on the surface of ALL of the nice shiny MS diet promotion websites is virtually without exception not the whole story.

[Xvettech in reply to Frances_B]

very true! I have tried many things eat what you like! And definitely more fruits and vegetables

[LHermitte in reply to Frances_B]

Frances, thank you so much for a real wealth of excellent information here! You are a powerhouse of good - and well-selected - media. I lost 110 lbs. about 10 years ago, prompted by sky-high triglycerides and high cholesterol. I followed the recommendations of my internist and a registered dietician, and these abnormal lab values normalized. At this point (I'm 71 now), I do a series of exercises per several physical therapists' advice, and I'm doing pretty well. But I've also been on Copaxone for 22 years, and was on Avonex before that. Thanks for your contributions.

sun with thumbs-up sign

[RTR1 in reply to Frances_B]

Thank you, your feedback is very much appreciated and reminds me to use a more common sense approach😊

[Peruzzot]

I have a few of the Wahls books. She has a few good recipes to try. She pushes a lot of kale though. I loath kale. Other than that I can't think of anything to add that others haven't already said.

[palomino27]

In my opinion, it's better to work with a dietitian and come up with a diet that addresses your own food sensitivities and is doable for you. This is basically what Wahl's did for herself and why her diet doesn't work universally for everyone. This is what she should be promoting.

It's very easy to test for food sensitivities nowadays. Can be done with one of those at home blood tests.

[Weaver9]

The wall stats is walls. Diet is nothing more than bullshit. Sorry. Recent research found that the common part of two opposite diets walls and high fat diet low fat diet had a common in common fruits and vegetables, and both had positive things because of the fruits and vegetables,. Fruits and vegetables is the thing, is the thing, not the diet per se. Anything else we are trying to sell it to you.

[Weaver9 in reply to Weaver9]

sorry this is. Dictated so limited value.

[MarkUpnorth]

I took what I learned from the Whal's and lots of other research, and came up with eating lots of fruits and veggies with small portions of lean meats, fish, and seafood. The only thing I eliminate completely are processed foods with added food processing chemicals. I don't skimp on dairy,.. just processed everything. Been relapse free for 6+ years now. On zero meds. Healthy as a horse. Not free of lots of battle wounds from decades of M.S., nearly all of it on DMT's. Had optic neuritis 7x. Had the walk into walls relapse, the scrolling world relapse, on and on and on. Life is better without all the relapses which I attribute to avoiding processed foods. Yes it is time consuming to make from scratch. But even junk food made healthy is better than "healthy food" made from chemicals and junk. I had many years of chemistry. A carrot stick, celery, all food is chemicals, but not the kinds man came up with to do things food shouldn't be able to do. Research where autoimmune diseases don't exist. Not many left. No processed foods there. If you can't find it in nature there, it doesn't exist.

[RTR1 in reply to MarkUpnorth]

Thank you for the no nonsense advice!!

[kdali]

I do not, but don't think there's any harm if you're interested in trying it 🤷‍♀️ She endorses the vibration plate I love! 🤣

[Tazmanian]

No diet is approved by the FDA for MS

[Mollyabigail]

I wanted to follow the Wahl's diet after buying her book. But I realized it's basically a healthy diet. Plus, she pushes kale and a lot of foods that are not available in my little corner of the world. In fact, about 70% of the stuff she recommends are not available in my tiny hamlet. So I am just trying to eat healthy the best I can (most of the time). Good luck with it, though!

[BlanketTime1]

i would take diets with a grain of salt. someone posted about it a while back. i got super excited, started reading about it and got my feelings hurt. good luck!🤗