I came across this video of Dr. Terry Wahls successful battle with MS today while reading a post on the same subject from Kristen of Food Renegade. It’s an absolutely amazing tale of doing what you think is right and then learning to think for yourself when all else fails.
I was in tears after watching Dr. Wahls tell of her deteriorating condition after seven years of using every drug and treatment recommended to her by some of the top MS doctors in the country. Totally crippled and unable to sit upright, she took mattes into her own hands and researched as much as she could about the nutrients that affect the brain and how to best get those nutrients delivered. Beyond vitamins and supplements, she realized it was all about Real Food.
To make a long story short, after following a hunter/gatherer diet (pale0 or paleolithic – also gluten/grain-free), within months her condition started to radically improve. This is one story among many that are showcasing how we as a society have it totally wrong in regards to the relationship between food and our health. While her story may be about multiple sclerosis, I’m a huge believer in the fact that if it works here, it can work as a treatment for so many other conditions that wreak havoc on the millions of people suffering from unnecessary diseases and painful conditions. Instead of educating people on good food and nutrition, we pump them full of drugs and hope for the best. All the while, there’s a huge national debate on healthcare legislation in the U.S. and the hundreds of billions of dollars that it would cost to implement, no one is talking about food. Why is this? Is it because of the hundreds of thousands of people who work in “managing” disease that would be put out of work? That sounds more like a conspiracy theory, but I use this as an example to show how outrageous it is that food is totally shunned as a possible cause for so many of our problems.
I’m on board with Kristen of Food Renegade when she says:
She calls herself the canary in the coal mine for the rest of us. Let’s pay attention to her story. Let’s get motivated to remove the last of those convenience foods in favor of radically healthy, nutrient-dense, real food.
While there’s a lot of folks that I think will be moved by this video as well as so many other success stories, there will be a lot of folks who fight viciously to keep their junk food (and yes, that includes so much of the gluten-free packaged food) — for them, it’s their choice to exercise their freedom any way they want.
I’d love to hear more about how you or someone you know has used Real Food to regain control of your health. Leave a comment and let me know.
