11 Nov Food for A Healthy Brain
Last weekend, I was at a conference hosted by the Institute of Functional Medicine and was fascinated by the thoughts of Dr. Terry Wahls, an extraordinary woman who overcame her multiple sclerosis by eating more healthful foods. She wrote a book on the topic, “Minding My Mitochondria,” which educates us all on how best to take care of our brains and bodies by getting the right nutrients.
In a post about food being the original medicine on the blog Creative Corridor, we learn that “in 2000, she was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, which eventually transitioned to secondary progressive MS. In both diseases, immune cells damage the wiring that connects brain cells and its insulation, myelin. Nerves have trouble transmitting information, and the lost signals can lead to vision and hearing loss, weakness, numbness, and poor balance.”
She gradually became weaker over the next 3 years but her drive to become healthier despite the sclerosis never faltered. 7 years later, after the disease had put her in a wheelchair, “Wahls began eating greater amounts of foods known to support mitochondria. Her energy increased, and the progression of the disease slowed.” She researched electrical stimulation effects on her disease and added e-stim as well as exercise to her diet of “nine cups of fruits and veggies per day: three of green leaves, three of sulfur-containing food, and three of bright colors” – called the “Wahls Diet”. Just a few months after she started her new regimen, she was up and out of her wheelchair. She has since stopped taking her disease modifying medications and is still improving.
If you want to learn more from Dr. Wahls, consider reading her new book. Here is an except from the summary on Amazon.com: “Dr. Terry Wahls links micronutrient starvation to the epidemics of chronic disease that are overtaking modern society. She explains the key roles mitochondria play in maintaining a healthy brain and body. Americans are eating so poorly, something we all know to be true, that the majority of Americans are missing key building blocks that are needed for brain cells to be healthy. The result is an epidemic of depression, aggression, multiple sclerosis and early dementia. She then teaches you how to eat for healthy mitochondria, a healthy brain and a healthy body in language…” (read more on Amazon.com)
Here, Dr. Wahls speaks at TEDX about her experience.
What are your thoughts? Would you change your diet if you knew it would lead to healthier brain, a healthier body, a healthier you? Have you read Dr. Wahl’s book yet? Let us know!
Written by Mary Caire MD
“Learn the Science. Heal Yourself”
Mary Caire MD empowers the world to create a culture of optimized health guided by DNA and epigenetics.