Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Using a hunter gatherer diet to overcome MS

This is a fascinating and very inspiring TED talk. Dr. Wahls was once confined to a zero gravity chair, because of the effects of her progressively worsening multiple sclerosis. Then she started researching diet and developed a hunter-gatherer style meal plan for herself that got her back on her feet.

3 comments:

  1. I loved this talk! This video brought a friend of mine I'd been wishing would eat better -- a die-hard SAD junkie -- into the Paleo fold. He was one of the many who would sternly tell me that not eating wheat products would lead to dire health consequences. Dr. Wahls' video struck the right chord, though, and now he's eating well AND losing weight. And some nagging health problems (joint pain, jaw pain) cleared up within *days* of dropping bread. Hooray for Dr. Wahls!

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  2. So many of my friends are experiencing fabulous results with their new way of eating - in ways none of us ever imagined to be possible. I find it very perplexing whenever I see articles that say this "diet" has a low compliance rate - that's the exact opposite of my experience. However, what I believe is one of the crucial differences between this and a "balanced" weightloss diet is that once you understand why grains and sugars do you more harm than good, there's little reason to go back to eating them.

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  3. And it takes so little time to discover positive effects; days, as I mentioned, in many cases. I see it over and over. I would never, ever go back, and most I know that have switched say the same.

    I do have one in my group of Paleo converts who cannot (will not, really) comply; in spite of GERD severe enough to warrant daily PPI's and sleeping sitting up, he eats bread daily, because it's his "only comfort." Then he spends the rest of the day in flaming pain. I think that's a lot of physical discomfort to pay for a brief emotional comfort (though I definitely understand and sympathize with emotional eating). And I fear that eventually, the constant discomfort will escalate to a serious illness down the road.

    I do think there are people who will always prefer to live inside the familiar, no matter how painful.

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