Diet & Autoimmunity: The Wahls Protocol

Dr. Terry Wahls is the creator and author of the Wahls Protocol. After a personal health battle, she discovered and realized how closely autoimmune diseases were related to diet and controlling inflammatory factors. Over time, Dr. Terry Wahls has cured herself of ms and is no longer stuck in a chair, but enjoying a healthy active lifestyle. Dr. Wahls now helps others and has been apart of many research articles and findings. To read more about her research, click here. 

History 

It is no surprise that we are less active, suffer from more headaches, and are sicker than generations before us. The first major change in health started back in the 1800s. Women used to walk 2-3 miles a day carrying children and men were out hunting collecting for their family, putting their average activity at 6-9 miles a day. Back then, we ate off the land sticking to organ meats, many fresh fruits, and frequent vegetables. In the 1800s, things started to change and daily lifestyle was adjusted. 

The second and possibly the largest change that impacted the health of the world was in the 1950s. During this time frame, the intake of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and gluten dramatically increased. Along with this, work became more sedentary and the rise of heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune disease skyrocketed. 

This represents how closely lifestyle and diet are related to disease. In addition to the adjustments in lifestyle, the way our food is created is different than the foods our ancestors ate. Most foods now are full of toxins that genetically alter our DNA by turning on and off genes. This leads to inflammation, increased food sensitivities, brain fog, and autoimmune diseases. 

Wahls Protocol

After a few years of treatment and her symptoms progressively getting worse, Dr. Wahls created the Wahls protocol. She followed it and had tremendous success! For a copy of a one-page handout overviewing the Wahls diet click here. 

Essentially, the Wahls protocol was created to reduce inflammation, increase nutrients, and reduce toxins. The micronutrients found in today’s apples, chicken, and beef are significantly lower than the micronutrients gained from eating the exact same foods 20 years ago. Micronutrients are heavily important as they fuel the cells to complete biochemical processes in the body (example: the krebs cycle and others). A study revealed that Americans over the age of 2 are below the recommended percentage in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, zinc, iodine, and omegas.  Being deficient in these essential nutrients puts you at an increased risk of developing an autoimmune disease. 

The Wahls protocol includes 3 cups of leafy greens, 3 cups of colored fruits and vegetables, and 3 cups of sulfur-rich vegetables per day. Additionally, the consumption of organ meats is also approved. 

The foods that are not approved are anything with gluten, white flour, dairy, and sugar. Secondly, removing toxins from your environment. Toxins are hidden all around us. Laundry detergents, soap, shampoo, household cleaning products, and more! Checking your products and transitioning to organic all-natural products will vastly improve gut health and aid in the reduction of inflammation.  

Food Sensitivity

Although the Wahls protocol eliminates a majority of food, we couple the diet along with a food sensitivity test from Vibrant Wellness. This gives us a better understanding of what foods you are reactive food and there may be foods that are approved on the Wahls protocol but causing added inflammation to you. 

Micronutrients

As mentioned above, micronutrients are key factors in helping the body perform optimally. The Micronutrient test we perform on patients by SpectraCell evaluates the micronutrients in your body over the past six months! This guides us in a better direction with what foods you should eat to better target the micronutrients you are lacking. 

Living with an autoimmune condition myself (type 1 diabetes) I fully understand and support the Wahls protocol. When consuming the amount and type of foods recommended, I see substantial differences in my health. Not only that, but I feed my children these foods as well and notice a better attitude, more adventurous playing, and focus. -Kenna Vaughn, Senior Health Coach 

References:

Wahls, Terry. “Creating Health- The Most Effective Treatment for Chronic Disease.” Functional Medicine University. 2020, www .functionalmedicineuniversity. com/members/1051.cfm.

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, and nervous health issues or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health protocols to treat injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. To further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.