It’s ironic to think that when conventional drug therapy fails (as many of them do) even a doctor has to turn elsewhere (ie. the world wide interweb) to get information in order to find other (natural) treatment methods.

The part that struck me the most after watching her video was the fact that after all of the lastest drugs had failed to help improve her condition, she turned to food. And ultimately it was proper nutrition that saved her life.  It’s true…you are what you eat.

If food has the power to reverse a debilitating neurological disease that conventional medicine and drugs could not…don’t you think you should pay a little attention to what you put into your mouth?

In Dr. Terry Wahl’s case she wanted to specifically tailor her diet to combat the disease and after much research she concluded that she needed the following vitamins and minerals.

• Vitamin B’s (B1, B9, B12), Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Iodine - improves the function of your nervous system

• Sulfur - improves brain and mitochondria function as well as helping your liver and kidney remove toxins

• Anti-oxidants - reduces mitochondrial decay

And although she initially used supplements, she eventually decided to get all of the essential vitamins and minerals from whole foods.  Real foods are better than supplements since it’s better assimilated and it also provides many other (beneficial) nutrient factors and interactions that’s missing when taking isolated supplements.

It’s a like doing isolated exercises instead of full body functional exercises.  With isolated movements you’re only working a specific muscle group thereby limiting your outcome to that one muscle group, whereas with full body functional movements you’re activating multiple muscle groups which enables you to get an even better outcome more efficiently.

If you didn’t get a chance to watch the entire video, I’ve listed the foods she includes in her diet, that’s responsible for reversing her MS disease:

• Dark green vegetables (ie. Kale - most nutrient rich plant) rich in vitamin B, A, C, K and minerals

• Cabbage family is rich in sulfur (ie. cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, turnip, radishes, collards and kale

• Onion, leeks, chives, shallots and garlic are also rich in sulfur as well as mushrooms and asparagus

• Bright colored foods such as beets, carrots, peppers, red cabbage OR berries such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, provide flavonoids and polyphenols which are antioxidants that help support your retina, mitochondria, brain cells and helps remove toxins

• High quality proteins rich in omega 3 fatty acids such as cold water fish (herring, salmon), grass fed beef and organ meat such as liver, heart, tongue and gizzards which are also high in vitamins, minerals and Coenzyme Q10 which is particularly important in protecting your mitochondria.  (Note: It’s difficult to obtain enough high quality omega 3 fatty acids in your diet alone, so supplementation is most likely necessary.  Just make sure that you get high quality omega 3 fatty acid supplements.  Many of the fish oils have high levels of toxins, and for this reason I prefer Krill oil.)

• Seaweeds are rich in iodine and selenium which your brain needs to produce myelin (a protective sheath that protects your nerves) and helps remove toxins, especially heavy metals like mercury and lead.

• Avoid gluten and dairy (casein protein in dairy) which have high incidences of food intolerance and sensitivities - particularly gluten (wheat protein) and dairy (casein protein) which increase inflammation and can cause infertility, eczema, asthma, IBS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, arthritis, chronic headache just to name a few

Her diet very closely resembles what I recommend in my Lean Body Diet.  BTW, it’s not a coincidence that a diet Dr. Terry Wahl customized for herself to heal her neurologically debilitating disease is also very similar to a diet that promotes an overall lean, fit and healthy body.  It’s not surprising at all, that when you eat a healthy diet based on real whole foods (that your body was meant to consume) you optimize your metabolic functions which leads to a healthy body.

Your body has an awesome capability to adapt, survive, heal and thrive.  As long as you provide your body with proper nutrients (diet) and the right stimulus (exercise) and by avoiding unnecessary toxic exposure (processed foods, harmful chemicals, stressful environments) you’ll naturally maximize your body’s own health potential and get lean, fit & strong…and more importantly protect you from diseases that can be prevented in the first place.