47 / How Your Diet Can Help You Conquer Your Chronic Illness w/ Dr. Terry Wahls

Thyroid Strong

Developments in functional medicine are increasingly showing us the importance of diet in supporting your health, and even in combating chronic illness. These discoveries are game changers when it comes to treating these diseases and they’re providing hope and relief for many who had previously thought there was none.

Dr. Terry Wahls is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. In addition, she conducts clinical research and has published over 60 peer-reviewed scientific abstracts, posters, and papers. Besides being a doctor, Dr. Wahls has added insight into her profession as a patient with multiple sclerosis. After discovering the benefits of functional medicine in reducing the painful symptoms of her disease, Dr. Wahls has reclaimed control of her life and continues to study and write about the role that nutrition and lifestyle interventions can play in treating MS.

In this interview, Dr. Wahls shares her amazing story of transformation after her MS diagnosis and how her recovery shattered many of her previous beliefs about medicine. She explains the protocol that she came up with to help other patients with MS regain control of their health through diet and exercise. As the research continues, more and more is being discovered about the role that functional medicine can play in helping people with chronic degenerative diseases and Dr. Wahls shares some of her groundbreaking discoveries with us today.

Have you or someone you know drastically changed their diet to manage symptoms after a diagnosis? Tell me how it went in the comments on the episode page!

In this episode:

• Dr. Wahls’ story of redesigning her life after a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis
• Mitochondria’s function in maintaining the overall health of your organs and how to support its health through diet
• How air travel negatively affects your health by exposing you to more toxins
• The transformations and healing that have been seen with the Wahls Protocol
• When to start taking better care of our mitochondria
• The most important supplements you can take to support your mitochondria

Quotes:

“I had to combine the principles of ancestral health and functional medicine and what I was learning based on my own reviews of the basic science of MS to create this very intentional and intense therapeutic diet and lifestyle program.” [8:18]

“The organs that are most dependant on mitochondria are the ones with the highest energy needs -- so your retina, your heart, and your brain... It’s those three organs where the mitochondrial dysfunction will first show up.” [16:07]

“We had one lady who came to us using a cane for short distances and a walker for long distances. She was jogging by six months!” [21:46]

“We can’t be successful if we have ill mitochondria.” [32:09]

Links:

Find Dr. Terry Wahls online

Follow Dr. Wahls on Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | YouTube

The Wahls Protocol by Terry Wahls, M.D.

Watch Terry Wahls’ Ted Talk

Get the Wahls Protocol Diet Handout

Read Dr. Wahls’ work here

The Women Cards

Check out the full show notes for this episode here

Urban Wellness Clinic

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