My Experience With Diets
I started “loosely” following the Wahl Protocol around four years ago. I say loosely because it’s hard to stick to It religiously all the time.
It’s a paleo diet but comes in three stages so you can start on the easier to follow stage and work your way up to the Paleo plus. The Paleo Plus involves cutting out gluten, dairy and all grains and pulses.
It’s a ketogenic diet that involves low carbohydrate (carbs) and high fat so, unlike the diets above, it recommends you eat lots of red meat and offal and only get your carbs from vegetables. Fruit is restricted to low carb berries only, and you mustn’t eat high carb vegetables such as root vegetables or potatoes. The high fat comes in the form of coconut milk as you must avoid dairy.
The thinking behind the diet makes perfect sense to me and Dr. Terry Wahls, who developed it, has MS and speaks from experience.
She’s interested in healing the body at a cellular level and believes certain foods have an inflammatory effect while others can have anti-inflammatory properties. She believes red meat and offal can heal the cells, but gluten and other grains can have a devastating impact.
Benefits of Diet I Noticed
The state of “Ketosis” in the body created by eating low carbs and high fats means the body is burning fat more efficiently. This results in dramatic weight loss, and I went from a UK size 18 to a size 10 in just a few months.
I’ve never been this thin as an adult, and I must admit I feel so much better. It’s easier to lug myself around now I weigh less, and anyone who is helping me when I fall gets a much easier time.
I also notice my energy levels are improved, and my fatigue virtually disappears.
I thought it would be hard to cut out dairy, but I didn’t find it too difficult. I drink green tea these days or black coffee, and if I eat cheese or cream by accident, it tastes strange to me now. I also couldn’t get my head around cutting out carbs completely. I thought I’d be exhausted and feel starving all the time, but that didn’t happen. As long as I make sure I have enough vegetables on the plate, I feel full.
The Difficulties I Had With Diets
Following a restrictive diet involves a dramatic lifestyle change and I find it hard to stick to all the time. I have gluten binges sometimes where I can’t resist toast and pizza, and family life is hard when I have to eat differently to everyone else.
Perhaps this is why I haven’t had the same dramatic results that Dr. Terry Wahls described. When I'm strict, I start feeling great so need to avoid cheating and giving in to gluten binges.
Eating out or going to friends is difficult too as I don’t feel comfortable with inflicting my long list of dietary requirements on other people. This is when I tend to cheat, but I can still make informed choices. I avoid pasta or potatoes and try and chose rice instead, for example.
The Takeaway
So, my anecdotal evidence is as inconclusive as all the other research carried out into special MS diets. My advice would be to get yourself a copy of the diets above and do some research of your own. It may be that one diet will speak to you more loudly than the others and you can give it a go.
Honestly, it worries me that some MS diets suggest avoiding red meat while the Wahls Protocol recommends the opposite. It would be good if research offered conclusive proof, so I’m not putting my faith in the wrong diet!
What seems to be consistent advice though is to avoid processed foods and eat a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. Naturally, eating like this is expensive, but planning can keep costs down.
Most special MS diets suggest avoiding dairy and gluten so maybe cutting these foods out first will have an impact on your symptoms.
We know that experts still don’t know what causes MS, but one area of research is focussing on why it’s on the rise in parts of the world where it was previously unheard of. One theory is that western diets are spreading to these countries and processed foods are increasing the risk of developing MS.
This is a scary thought, and it gives me hope that changing the way I eat may have an impact on the prognosis of my condition.
