Treating MS Symptoms with Food and Functional Medicine.

The National MS Society has just given Dr. Terry Wahls a 1 million grant to study diet against MS.  As a parent of a child with MS this is extremely exciting.  

Back in 2013 while dealing with my own health issues I traveled 28 hours in a car one way from a small town two hours north of Toronto Ontario down to Austin Tx to attend a Paleo Conference.  I had changed my diet from a traditional Canadian Diet (just like Standard American Diet) and saw my life change in just a couple of week going Paleo.

Here is a picture of me and my girls at the beginning of my Paleo Journey.

After 5 months of following a Paleo framework and not exercising I dropped 50lbs

While in Austin Tx I had the honor of hearing Dr. Terry Wahls talk about her healing journey and share her protocol.  Her story was simply just amazing and several time over my visit there I had run into Terry and we would chat.

Here is the only picture of me with Terry...not a great shot...but none the less. 

So when September 11, 2015 while sitting at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto with my, at the time, 14 year old daughter and the team came in to tell us that she had MS I knew right away that we would be starting with the Wahls Protocol, and getting her to a healthcare practitioner in our area that was familiar with Paleo, Wahls, and Functional Medicine.  Lucky for us we had such a person in our area, who studied under Dr. Thom of The American Center for Biological Medicine out of Scottsdale AZ.  

My daughter's neurologist has not been very happy with us as we denied her recommendations and instead of going the recommended every 3 months for an MRI with contrast, we are going every 6 months without contrast.  

My daughter has not had an MS episode in over a year since starting her healing journey.  Her marks are all A's and she is part of the High School improv team (have to be fast on your toes and with your comebacks)   Yet I still struggle with other people's opinions of our choice.  I have been told I am putting my daughter's life at risk, I have been told I am being neglectful.  These comments hurt and are scary.  

Here is my daughter with her bouquet of kale and spinach!!

So I am thrilled that the MS Society is now looking at the effects of diet with MS and not that I need this study to believe diet helps MS...but I need this study to become more mainstream so I won't be looked at like a neglectful mother...which I am not.