Natural Awakenings Twin Cities March 2023

wise words
TERRY WAHLS
ON MANAGING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE
WITH LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS
by Noelle Citarella, MS, RDN, CDN, IFNCP
Terry Wahls, M.D., is a certified practitioner at the
Institute for Functional Medicine, as well as clinical
professor of medicine at the University of Iowa,
where she conducts clinical trials testing the effect of
therapeutic diet and lifestyle to treat multiple sclerosis
(MS) symptoms. She is the author of The Wahls Protocol:
A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune
Conditions Using Paleo Principles, as well as an
accompanying cookbook, The Wahls Protocol Cooking
for Life.
When Wahls was diagnosed with MS and later
relegated to a tilt-recline wheelchair in the early 2000s,
she decided to fight back. Drawing upon her medical
background, she identified certain nutrients that were
critical for brain health and started taking supplements.
The disease’s progression slowed as a result, spurring her
to dig deeper. Since then, through rigorous scientific study
and numerous clinical trials, Wahls has developed
groundbreaking
dietary and lifestyle
recommendations
that alleviate autoimmune disease symptoms.
No longer bound to a wheelchair,
she bikes to work every day and stands as
a living testament to the power of tenacity
and strenuous scientific inquiry.
What are the key components
of the Wahls Protocol?
The protocol is a lifestyle that supports
the steadily improving health of everyone,
not just MS patients. It focuses on eating
more vegetables and fruits, and ensuring
sufficient protein. It reduces or eliminates
added sugars, ultra-processed foods, dairy
and gluten-containing grains. While the
diet may get more complex, a great place
for anyone to start is including more
non-starchy vegetables, less
processed food and more
meals cooked at home.
The protocol also includes
lifestyle interventions,
such
as time in
nature,
meditation,
mindfulness and physical
activity. Even for patients who
are wheelchair-bound, going from
chair to bed, exercise will improve
their quality of life. It is a way of approaching
living that creates a more
healthy, nurturing environment.
What excites you most about
your current MS study?
Seeing what happens with brain volume
and quality of life. We hypothesize that
lifestyle changes will get the rate of brain
volume loss to match that of healthy aging.
Jonathan D. Sabin/TerryWahls.com
20 Twin Cities Edition NAtwincities.com