Terry Wahls, M.D.

Autoimmunity, which is when our white blood cells treat parts of our bodies as foreign invaders and attack and destroy those necessary structures, is a big problem in America. Roughly 25 million Americans have an autoimmune diagnosis and another 50 million have auto-antibodies in their bloodstream but no clear diagnosis. The symptoms of autoimmunity often occur years or decades before a diagnosis is made. Meanwhile, our own bodies are eating away at themselves, damaging our brain, our joints, our skin, and even our blood vessels.

Most doctors focus on which drug to prescribe to weaken the attacking immune cells. They rarely talk about lifestyle and behaviors as part of a treatment plan. This is despite that fact that genetics, meaning DNA, contributes only 5 to 30% at most to of one’s risk for developing an autoimmune problem.

One of the factors increasingly recognized as an early trigger for autoimmunity is a problem called ‘leaky gut.’ That occurs when the wrong bacteria species take up residence in the bowels.  These troublemakers can dissolve the cement that holds the cells of the small bowel together, leading food particles to be absorbed into the bloodstream before they’ve been fully digested.  That causes white blood cells to think that the proteins associated with some of the consumed food are invading germs. Immune cells then attack the food proteins, increasing the number of inflammation molecules in your bloodstream. 

Two ways to remove the bad sugar-loving bacteria and help recover the cells that line your bowels are to eat more bone broths and fewer carbohydrates. Bone broth soup is filled with glutamine, the preferred fuel for the cells that line the bowels. To fully heal the gut, a comprehensive approach that removes foods that trigger allergies is necessary, sometimes including a detoxification.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can optimize your diet and health behaviors to reduce the severity of your autoimmune diseases, check out my autoimmunity and food allergy DVD lectures or the audio CD. Also, Dr. Fasano has also recently published a paper about the connection between leaky gut and autoimmunity.

One hundred years ago, most people were very lean. A few had obesity, diabetes, heart disease or other chronic health problems. Most deaths were due to infections and trauma. A lot has changed since those times. We are experiencing an explosion of obesity and diabetes. In this month’s newsletter I am going to focus on health problems related to weight.  We have observed in our trial, and I have observed in my clinical practice, that the best way to address obesity is to address the starvation. When people begin the Wahls Diet™, feeding their bodies the vitamins, minerals, essential fats, and antioxidants needed by their cells, they often begin to lose weight with minimal hunger. Furthermore they tend to experience more energy, mental clarity and vitality. Eliminating potatoes, white flour, and sugar and eating more green, sulfur-rich, and colorful foods as well as grass-fed meat is a great place to start if you want the lean hunter-gatherer to emerge from your current self.

One way to adopt the Wahls Diet™ is to use a phased approach:

Phase 1 = Eating 9 cups of non-starchy vegetables and berries each day (greens, sulfur, color).

Phase 2 = Going gluten free, dairy free and soy free to reduce the risk of food allergies.

Phase 3 = Going Paleo by reducing/eliminating grains, legumes and potatoes.

Phase 4 = Getting evaluated for potential food allergies, toxic load issues and more personalized nutritional needs by a practitioner of functional medicine. The Institute for Functional Medicine can help you find a provider in your area. 

Many ask if a vegetarian diet that stresses grain and legumes, such as what is advocated in the China Study, is healthy or harmful. Certainly, a plant-based diet that is low in saturated fat is superior to the standard American diet. But my interpretation of the science is that a Paleo diet is likely superior. There are no head-to-head studies comparing the Wahls Diet and a vegetarian diet (grains and legumes), although I am working on a grant proposal for such a study. The risk of grains and legumes is the high level of carbohydrates and insulin needed to handle those carbohydrates. The high insulin levels lead to worsening inflammation. And too many carbohydrates leads to a greater risk of the wrong bacteria in the bowels, further increasing the inflammation and risk of autoimmune problems. For those who are vegetarians for deep reasons, I would recommend at least switching to gluten-free grains and soaking or sprouting the grains and legumes for 24 hours prior to eating them.

The problem with gluten (wheat, rye and barley) and casein (dairy) is that, in the genetically at-risk person (estimated to be 1 in 8), those proteins can sometimes be recognized as foreign invaders (bacteria) by our immune cells. Too much inflammation happens, leading to many kinds of health problems and symptoms including asthma, skin rashes, arthritis, mood problems and multiple sclerosis. 

If you develop sensitivity to gluten or dairy, you are more likely to have autoimmune types of problems. If an individual has trouble with gluten sensitivity, that person is nearly always sensitive to casein as well. If you are going gluten-free, I urge you to also go casein-free (dairy-free). But don’t make the mistake of eating a lot of gluten-free pancakes, pastries and other such treats, or you will still have the sugar-loving trouble-making bacteria and yeasts in your bowels. When people eliminate sugar and white flour, they often find many symptoms reduce.

If you would like to learn more about how to design a diet that will ensure you have more of what your cells need to thrive, check out my book.

 It includes recipes and sample menus to help you get started. Note that I donate half of all profits from the sales of my books and lectures to supporting my clinical research, which tests the benefits of intensive nutrition and lifestyle changes for those with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. These funds have allowed us to gather the pilot data, which will enable us to get funding for larger studies. The ultimate goal of all my research is to bring health and vitality to as many people as possible.

Giving up food you love to eat the Wahls Diet™ to improve your health is usually a journey. Many people make the transition gradually. Take your first step. Learn how to cook for your mitochondria. 

Please feel free to comment below. 

Coconut Milk Oyster Stew Ingredients:  

1 lb of shucked oysters

¼ lb bacon

1 onion, chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 basil leaves

½ bunch of cilantro, minced

1 small yam

1 cup mushrooms

3-inch piece lemongrass

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

2-3 cups fish broth, clam juice or chicken broth

1 can coconut milk

Cooking Instructions:  

Let onion and garlic sit for 15 minutes to stabilize. Fry bacon. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, broth, yam, lemongrass and coconut milk. Simmer 10 minutes. Add oysters and lemon juice and simmer 2 minutes. Turn off heat. Add minced cilantro  and basil and serve. You can add other fish and shellfish as another variant. 

Eating for our cells and our mitochondria can be delicious and restorative.