Heal: Dr Terry Whals
Wow. How to and where to start writing this post.
Continuing on with my series Heal, may I introduce Dr Terry Whals. 
Dr Terry Whals is phenomenal and a personal hero, instrumental in changing my health and life.
A clinical professor of medicine Dr Terry Whals faced a life bed ridden as her MS deteriorated over many years.
By 2003 conventional medicine was failing her and she was faced with a chronic progressive disease with no cure.
As a medical practitioner she set about finding a way to treat her condition. Initially researching articles and the latest clinical trials on pubmed.gov.
She found one commonality in the animal models of MS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s Motor Neuron Disease (ALS) and Huntingdon’s, the mitochondria, small sub units within cells that manage the energy supply for that cell stop working and shrink the brain. More research un-earthed trials in which the mouse brains had been protected against this using vitamins and supplements.
This struck a particular chord with me as my mother died from MND and her mother had progressive MS.
Dr Terry Whals then combined these findings with work in the field of Functional Medicine, looking at the interaction between genetics, diet, hormone balance, toxin exposure and psychological factors that impact a patients health and vitality.
Through this work she came to understand the significance to the brain of a leaky gut, food allergies, toxins, mitochondria that were not providing enough energy for the cell and impact of having inefficient enzymes for the metabolism of B vitamins and sulfur.
Finally she had an understanding of the science behind her disease and began to implement her findings into her personal health plan and medical trial.
Through her relentless testing and findings the Whals protocol developed, a nutritional plan, based in part on the Paleo diet focussing specifically on foods that provide the nutrients and antioxidants to build and sustain mitochondria, and the mending of an individuals biochemistry at a cellular level.
“Disease begins at a cellular level, when cells are starved of the building blocks they need to conduct the chemistry of life properly and that the root of optimal health begins with taking away the things that harm and confuse our cells while providing the body with the right environment in which to thrive. “Dr Terry Whals, The Whals Protocol, 2014.
In her book The Whals Protocol she specifically details the nutrients your brain needs to repair MS damage to myelin around the nerve cells.
Within a year of undertaking these changes in diet and lifestyle Dr Terry Whals was able to walk unaided and even completed a 18 mile bike tour, astounding her doctors.
“It is about hope. You don’t have go be a victim. The disease of condition you have is already happening, but there are many significant things you can do to slow, reverse or even halt your symptoms. Medication can’t take away your autoimmune disease but your body can heal itself if you give it the tools.” Dr Terry Whals, The Whals Protocol, 2014.
As well as remaining a practising clinician Dr Whals continues to published articles within the medical community and undertake valuable research.
Earlier this year ‘The Whals Protocol, How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine’ was published detailing her work to date and the science behind it.
The reason I started this blog was to promote the amazing power that we have to propel and enhance our own health and lives via the food we eat.
However on a couple of occasions recently I have felt down hearted; when I’ve been in a supermarket surrounded by isles of food I no longer eat and read articles belittling eating gluten-free and Paleo as a fad. But then I remember.
Firstly, that often most of the food I no longer eat has little or no nutritional value for anyone and is processed, and full of hordes of e numbers and/or unpronounceable ‘ingredients’. And more fundamentally than that it makes me (and many of us) ill.
There was a time not too long ago when on a couple of occasions, I couldn’t physically get out of bed. I was unable to look after my children, I would suddenly lose the ability to grip anything in my hands, I had severe tremors in my arms and legs, excruciating pain as if someone was electrocuting my arms and legs, extreme fatigue and a nasty bout of optic neuritis. Things were not looking good.
Not eating certain foods and life style changes I’ve made have given me more than I’ve ever had to go without. I have been extremely fortunate by the people I have encountered on my own road to recovering my health and that journey began with Dr Terry Whal’s ground breaking TEDx talk (here), which has helped millions of people and I would urge you to watch it if you haven’t come across it before.
I will be eternally grateful to Dr Terry Whals for starting me on my path of healing.
If you are suffering from MS or any kind of autoimmune or chronic disease I strongly recommend the work of Dr Terry Whals and reading the Whals Protocol.
If you are well and interested at all in optimising your health, understanding about bio chemistry or just keeping yourself well I would also recommend it as a must read.
“I’ve read a lot of health books all of which leave at least something out or get something wrong. This book however, leaves no stone unturned, covers absolutely everything and gets everything dead on correct. So easy to read and understandable to any academic level, this book should be read by everyone. This is not just for MS sufferers, but anyone with any chronic disease or just with a desire to have access to an evidence based guide on how to eat a diet to promote health. Best health book I’ve ever read! “ John Handley, Amazon.
I watched the success story of V here who reclaimed her lives from progressive MS via The Whals protocol with tears rolling from my eyes. V needed full time care and couldn’t type and now has no in home care help and can drive. Truly life changing.
Thinking about hope and the future I’m really excited to introduce Elsa the newest member of our family. In my darkest days when I was ill it would have seemed impossible that one day I would feel strong and healthy again to not only look after my young children but a puppy too.
I’ll leave you with one final thought from the great Dr herself;
“I challenge you to stop believing everything you read and everything everyone tells you, and to learn something about biology and biochemistry so that you can make your own decisions.”
Tabitha’s Edit 
17 Responses to “Heal: Dr Terry Whals”
LOVE!!!!
Thank you and thank you for the re-blog 🙂
Reblogged this on DetoxMama and commented:
Couldn’t have said this any better.
Very interesting but you nearly spoilt my eating chocolate cake after hard work in the garden!
xoxo
Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Tabitha, thank you for this. I will have to check out Dr. Whals. It is easy still in our culture to get discouraged even when we know we are following a path that makes sense for our health. Continue spreading the word. I started my blog to try to reach restaurant owners and chefs. Hopefully with enough voices out there….
Thank you, you are so right. That reminds me of an image I’m going to add to this post. Thank you again you are right we must use out voices
Great post! One amazing woman! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you. Yes amazing, it’s fantastic someone with her background and still working in a traditional medical environment is taking the mantel.
Thanks, will be having a look at what she has to say and getting the Yak to as well. Have also passed this on to other loved ones who live with autoimmune disorders. Great post.
Thanks for sharing info about Dr. Wahls (www.terrywahls.com)
Thanks for sharing about Dr. Wahls. http://www.terrywahls.com
My pleasure.
Thank you for sharing this! My husband has MS and we are slowly cutting out foods and working to follow Dr. Wahls eating plan.
Thank you for stopping by. I hope your husbands health benefits from the changes. I have recently seen a functional Dr and that too has been an amazing support and experience. I will be blogging about it shortly.
[…] started to look for answers . I found a TED talk by Dr Terry Whals, (see Heal: Dr Terry Whals here). I read about the blood brain barrier, symptoms of Coeliac disease and the association with […]
[…] Tabitha from Tabitha’s Gluten Free Dishes reviewed The Wahls Protocol. Here is the link to the review. […]