Dr. Terry Wahls - MS recovery plan

[Dreambirdie]

Thanks Sasha. And Sally. It's best to listen to our bodies. Maybe we all don't need to be exactly 100% on this diet.

 

[justy]

Hi everyone, ive been following this thread with interest. There has been a lot of discussion about diet, but not much about the other things she did at the same time. I wonder if the diet itself is the thing that it helping her the most or the electrical stimulation (dont know what that is) or the exercise or all 3. Just a thought.
Another thought is that lots of cruciferpous veg is not supposed to be good for those with thyroid issues.
Im going to watch the vid tommorrow - thanks for posting. Im currently trying to clean my diet up after a few months of terrible eating. Im coming back of grains dairy and sugar and increasing prtein( im a vegetarian but ive been eating some fish) i do eat rice and potatoes as otherwise its too hard. So far all that has happened is that my nausea has come back and i feel terrible ( still on a bit of sugar though)

I have two varieties of kale growing in the garden - no snow so far this year so its still ok. Im trying to eat a bit more green veg and have been having an enormous salad with protein and small carb protion (tiny amount of rice or sweet pot baked) i had hoped to loose some weight but so far as ususal have gained a few pounds.
Take care all, Justy.

 

[xchocoholic]

There's no way I could eat all this food either. I made a veggie smoothie this morning and that
helped but that was filling too.

Great point about eating clean veggies so we don't get sick. I usually let mine soak in the sink but
never considered washing them. I have a freind who adds salt in her veggie wash.

I read an article recently that said researchers had found a peptide in fermented foods that killed
food borne bacteria. So maybe eating more fermented veggies would help.

Good tip on not eating too many veggies with goitrogens too.

I consider supine resting an important part of my regime too. My blood isn't getting to my upper body unless I'm supine.

I'm not sure if we need the electric stem. I used to have a tens unit for muscle spasms but I don't have that anymore. Kow .. Dr wahls said she was
using it for exercise tho. I seem to need to let my muscles totally relax more than I need them to be stimulated. anyone, else ? I'm prone
to seizures too tho ..

I eat potatoes occasionaly too. I was actually craving them when taking
antibiotics. They soothed my stomach.

Just wanted to mention that taking 1/4 - 1/2 tsp natural calm in hot water before bed is helping
my digestion and inflamation. I add a pinch of himalayan sea salt to it because
it pulls sodium.

Tc .. X

 

[xchocoholic]

I'm usually starving first thing in the morning and discovered an almond milk yogurt
that seems to help. It's amande and comes in a variety of flavors. I don't like that
they add fruit juice or rice protein, but I seem to need the sugars in the am.

I'm adding fresh blueberries and ground flax to the blueberry and coconut ones. Yum..

Anyone else ? This is the only almond milk yogurt I've found. So delicious
makes a coconut yogurt too tho. For those who aren't eating casein or soy.

Oh, I also have a flax seed muffin recipe if you all are interested. It's a good quick filling food.

does anyone have a good salad dressing recipe ? Does dr wahls have any ? I've been on a balsamic vinegar, evoo, honey, salt, pepper and garlic powder kick. I switched to lemon instead of vinegar.
Ground pumpkin seeds with raw garlic, lemon, evoo and salt is good.

Thanks .. X

Justy,

Fresh kale sounds terrific. Sorry to hear you're gaining weight on this diet. At this point, fats are putting weight on me. I didn't realize
how much fat flax had until it turned into belly fat.

 

[Chris]

Hi; I think one does have to watch those sulfur bearing cruciferous vegetables for their thyroid depressing potential--taking some seaweed or kelp tablets plus Tyrosine may help overcome that partially. I am also experimenting with variations of the gazpacchio idea--put dark green leaves, tomatoes, peppers of various colours, onion, etc etc. into a food processor and see what results--adding herbs, garlic, a bit of fruit juice, whatever, to achieve a kind of soup --intermediate between a smoothie and a salad. I have a good juicer, but do not have a good blender, and this may get me through without that purchase. So far the results seem promising--still can't walk very far, but slept 11-6 last night!
Chris

 

[Sallysblooms]

How nice Chris! I hope you sleep more and more! Do you have POTS? I have to have 9 hours sleep. Thankfully, I get them. With sleep we feel SO much better!

We made Kale chips again last night. MMMMM good! Hubby snuck hot sauce on them, ha.

Xchoco, my hubby makes balsamic vinegar dressing all the time. YUMMY!

 

[Dreambirdie]

Terry Wahls on FB today:

"Three cups of vegetables, berries = one dinner plate fully covered. Three dinner plates filled with non starchy vegetables, berries each day is the goal. Be sure to have some high quality protein also with each meal.

If you can't get all nine cups in - that is ok. Simply do not eat any of the wrong foods (esp. gluten/ dairy) and eat proportionately what you can. Juicing to get more vegetables/ berries in is fine. I use a vitamix and love it because it retains all of the fiber."

 

[Dreambirdie]

Here's another FB message from Terry Wahls about an upcoming FORUM about her Wahls Diet. Though I have to say I find that TM a bit annoying... Hunter gatherers existed longgggg before Trademarks.

"I will soon have a forum and blog pages on www.terrywahls.com that will include a place for community conversation about the challenges and succeses with adopting the Wahls Diet and Wahls Protocol. I will let people know when it is live."

 

[Sasha]

Thanks for this stuff from Dr Wahls's FB, Dreambirdie - it will be good to have access to a forum and blog. I can't understand FB at all.

My new blender has arrived today and the glass jug weighs a ton! I'm going to try to make a green smoothie in it tomorrow. It will certainly be easier to clean than the juicer.

 

[Sasha]

Just did my first green smoothie this morning - made a pint with 1/4 pint water, a slice of lemon, some root ginger, and about 2:1 veggies (spinach, celery, cucumber) and fruit (apple, banana).

Not bad! You're recommended to "chew" each mouthful to stimulate saliva which is necessary to start the digestion process, so you don't just chug it. I don't think I could anyway; I always find smoothies quite hard work to get through.

However, it's tons easier than doing normal food prep or having to clean out a juicer - you just rinse this one out when you're finished. You're supposed to disassemble it and wash it up but that looks like overkill to me, if you rinse straight away.

I bought a Kenwood kmix BLX52. Some reviewers (on UK Amazon, I think) found that theirs leaked and sent them straight back but everyone else seemed pretty happy. Mine doesn't leak! The only real downside is the weight of the glass jug - it really is very heavy. I got mine in the UK from John Lewis (free delivery online) for 80.

 

[Chris]

Hi, Sasha--glad your blender is doing good work. My juicer is an Omega 8004, and cleans in a jiffy--under 2 mins. Does anyone know anything about this bone broth thing? I have been off all meat for so long that I feel totally at sea on this. But I have had two small grass-fed bison steaks recently, and have survived that, so plan on incorporating some version of that broth if I can. Chris

 

[Valentijn]

I bought a Kenwood kmix BLX52. Some reviewers (on UK Amazon, I think) found that theirs leaked and sent them straight back but everyone else seemed pretty happy. Mine doesn't leak!

Yeah, there's a lot of people that just don't know that putting hot things in a blender will be a complete disaster ... my favorite review was "But I thought they just say that so people won't get burned if the hot liquid comes out the top!" At least when I make it leak, it's because I forgot to put the sealing ring back in it after it's been washed!

My last food processor/blender/citrus press/grinder/spaceship combo was a Kenwood. It worked quite well in general, but replacement parts are only available in the UK, and they won't ship elsewhere. So when my fiance melted the food processor bowl in the dishwasher, we got a Philips combo.

It's basically the same but has bigger capacities, no spice/nut grinder (I can do that with the old one still), and it has a proper juicer. Replacement parts are easy to get Plus the veggie slicer blade is adjustable, so I can do fairly thick slices instead of choosing between "thin" and "very thin". Oh, and 10 or so speed settings, plus an ice setting, instead of just 2 speeds.

 

[Sallysblooms]

Does anyone know anything about this bone broth thing?

Chris, did you get the Mitochondria book? There are recipes and both broth is talked about.

Some of the recipes look good.

 

[Sasha]

Yeah, there's a lot of people that just don't know that putting hot things in a blender will be a complete disaster ... my favorite review was "But I thought they just say that so people won't get burned if the hot liquid comes out the top!"

That would have been me! I didn't know that. Thanks! You've probably just saved my blender in advance.

 

[Glynis Steele]

Hi, Sasha--glad your blender is doing good work. My juicer is an Omega 8004, and cleans in a jiffy--under 2 mins. Does anyone know anything about this bone broth thing? I have been off all meat for so long that I feel totally at sea on this. But I have had two small grass-fed bison steaks recently, and have survived that, so plan on incorporating some version of that broth if I can. Chris

Hi Chris,

Here is a link to a paleo site explaining how to make a good bone broth. The link states stock, but it is a broth.


http://paleodietlifestyle.com/making-fresh-bone-stock/

 

[Chris]

Glynis, thanks--I actually bought some frozen beef bones today, and will take a shot at putting those suggestions to work tomorrow. Thanks!

Sally, thanks also--I don't have the Mitos book, but see that I will have to try to get a copy. I am doing better already after following pretty much the veg and fruit parts, so will put a bit more into becoming a serious follower, though still balk at the notion of meat every day. Maybe.... Chris

 

[anne_likes_red]

Re Broth.
I follow a Weston Price method detailed here http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/broth-is-beautiful
It's similar to the one linked to except that it includes a skimming step as the broth heats.

Heat the broth slowly and once the boil begins, reduce heat to its lowest point, so the broth just barely simmers. Scum will rise to the surface. This is a different kind of colloid, one in which larger molecules--impurities, alkaloids, large proteins called lectins--are distributed through a liquid. One of the basic principles of the culinary art is that this effluvium should be carefully removed with a spoon....

I'd recommend including that part of the process if possible. It is a bit more work, but worth it I think.
Anne.

 

[Chris]

Anne, thanks for the link; I am going to skim, and guess I will buy Fallon's book too--have Minding my Mitochondria on order. Since this stuff added to the previous heavy veg and fruit diet seems to be having some good effects, I shall try to do it seriously for a while at least.
Chris

 

[Sasha]

Just wanted to summarise the key points in the Green Smoothies Diet which I've been using to guide me. These are just the major points but I hope they're helpful.

Rationale
Basically, the point of it is to smash the fruit & veg up in a blender to break down the plant cell walls and get the goodies out. This would normally involve hours of chewing and that chewing would be fairly ineffective. Gorillas and whatnot still have large teeth that can grind greens to a cream so that the nutrients are available; we don't. The author recommends you chew a piece of spinach until you're ready to swallow it and then take it out and see how unlike a cream it is (TMI! TMI! But convincing).

A daily quart of this stuff is about 15 of your standard servings of fruit/veg a day (the RDA is a mere 5). You get shedloads of phytonutrients.

Being raw, all this blended stuff still has its enzymes intact. Enzymes are proteins (molecular machines) that do all sorts of stuff in the body and are very important.

Because the blender is doing some of the work of digestion for you, the nutrients are easier to digest.

Unlike juicing, the smoothie has fibre which helps your digestive system, keeps you feeling full and helps keep your blood sugar steady.

Food prep is loads easier than juicing - you don't have to stand for ages at the counter feeding the stuff in (particularly time-consuming with spinach, etc.) or for ages at the sink cleaning the thing. Just chuck the ingredients in, blend for a minute, stick in a jug and rinse the blender jug out.

Method
She recommends a quart (= 2 pints = 1 litre) of green smoothie a day, using a basic template of 1 part water : 1 part fruit : 2 part veg, mainly leafy greens.

You can work up slowly (I'm starting off with a pint a day). You can also start with a higher proportion of fruit at first while your tastes are adjusting.

She favours Vita-Mix and Blendtek blenders (v. expensive) but I'm doing fine with my 70 kmix.

She recommends putting the water and veg in first, blending those, then adding the other stuff and blending that.

Putting some lemon in helps prevent oxidation.

Putting ginger or stevia helps sweeten the smoothie.

You can make the full quantity in one go and put it in the fridge, drinking it throughout the day.

 

[xchocoholic]

Thanks for the info on how to make meat broth. I was bringing mine to a rolling boil and then cutting it
back. But I've had food poisoning three times in the last tear, so I'm being extra careful.

Tc .. X