How to Heal Yourself From MS

Last Updated on November 29, 2023 by Cathy

Getting a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is scary but you’re not alone. There are nearly one million people in the U.S. with MS, the majority being women. 

MS is an autoimmune disease, it is also considered a neurodegenerative disease. Other neurodegenerative diseases include ALS, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Today, there are many pharmaceutical medications for MS. But they don’t heal your body or stop the progression. They only slow the progression – if they work. 

Something Has To Change 

I was fifteen years old when I went totally blind in my left eye. My ophthalmologist told me I might have MS someday. For the next several years it was always in the back of my mind. But, I always knew I had MS from the weird sensations I’d occasionally experience. Unfortunately, he turned out to be right.

I was actually pretty lucky. First, I had relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). I would have long periods of remission and my symptoms would completely heal. Eventually, my RRMS turned into secondary progressive MS (SPMS) with permanent damage.

I didn’t start one of the MS drugs right away. Every time I saw my neurologist he would push them on me. After a flare that left me unable to walk, I started one of the interferons. It came with horrible side effects and I felt it was making me worse.

Then I had the worse flare I’d ever experienced, I looked like I had a stroke. I had double vision, couldn’t walk, could talk, and the left side of my face was paralyzed. That’s when I realized that something needed to change.

Food As Medicine

I started searching the internet (with one eye closed due to double vision) for some kind of hope. Then I discovered I could use food as my medicine. I was so excited and desperate I started the diet immediately. My neurologist wasn’t as enthusiastic and told me “diet doesn’t work” but I didn’t let his words stop me.

After one year I was feeling really good. I decided to stop all MS medications against my neurologist’s advice. I didn’t care, it was MY body and I knew that I felt better not being on any drugs. That was in 2004, I’ve been on many different diets since hoping to find that one perfect diet to reverse my symptoms.

Avoiding gluten, dairy, processed foods, and sugar stopped the progression of my MS. But, it didn’t reverse my symptoms. When the book The Wahls Protocol was coming out I couldn’t wait to get started. The Wahls Protocol has three levels. I started on level three since I was already eating a strict Paleo diet.

1. For people coming from the standard American diet
2. A little stricter and follows the paleo diet
3. A ketogenic diet

I figured if Dr. Wahls can get out of her wheelchair then I can start walking better. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. After being on her diet for nine months I lost too much weight and had to back off. I didn’t stop altogether I had to start eating more carbohydrates to stop losing weight. I call it level 2.5 (level three but not being in ketosis).

The only improvement I noticed was that I started sweating again. I had heat intolerance and couldn’t be outdoors for too long. Even when the temperature reached mid 70° F. I thought by sweating it would help my body to cool down but it didn’t.

Look At Your Whole Body

I figured it had to be more than diet alone. By looking into my past, before my first symptom, I finally realized what my triggers were. I grew up eating processed sugary foods. I was on many rounds of antibiotics starting when I was a baby and I had a lot of stress even as a child.

Possible triggers to MS:

• Diet (processed foods, refined sugar, refined carbs, food allergies, etc.)
• Infections (bacterial overgrowth, parasites, viruses, and yeast overgrowth )
• Environmental Toxins (heavy metals, mold, pesticides, plastics, etc.)
• Chronic Stress (especially emotional stress)
• Hormones (vitamin D, insulin, cortisol)
• Genetics (you can’t change your genes but you can change your gene expression by living a healthy lifestyle)

The antibiotics killed the good bacteria in my gut. Which allowed the bad bacteria and yeast to overgrow. By tweaking The Wahls Protocol and following the book Healing Multiple Sclerosis, which is a candida diet, my symptoms finally started to reverse.

The first thing I noticed was my heat intolerance was gone! That was amazing, I had it for about twenty years and couldn’t believe it was gone. Over the next several months many more symptoms started to disappear.

Eat a Nutrient-Dense Diet

Following a diet to the letter doesn’t work for everyone. I wish I had figured that out a long time ago. But it’s important to eat a nutrient-dense diet to include many vitamins and minerals. 

That’s why I recommend reading and following The Wahls Protocol. She also has a TED Talk that’s very motivating, you can watch it below:

Fix Your Leaky Gut

Researchers discovered people with MS are lacking good bacteria. Having MS also means you have a leaky gut. A leaky gut happens when the tight junctions in the lining begin to separate. Which allows food particles and toxins to pass through.

To heal your gut, you need to stop eating processed foods and start eating foods that heal the gut. You also need to stop eating foods that you’re sensitive too, even if it’s a healthy food item. 

I always knew I was sensitive to eggs, even as a small child. Then I tried an elimination diet and realized I’m also sensitive to tomatoes, and sweet peppers. So I stopped eating all nightshades.

Unfortunately, my face kept breaking out in a rash and I couldn’t figure out why. I finally decided to get tested, I discovered I was also sensitive to coconut, avocado, and arugula. I would have never figured out the arugula without being tested.

Bone broth is an excellent source for healing your gut. It contains collagen and amino acids which helps to repair tissue. Bone broth is easy to make, just a little time-consuming. My functional medicine doctor said beef is more healing. 

Fermented foods are a great way to add good bacteria to your gut. You should avoid fermented foods for the first several months if you have:

• Histamine intolerance
• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
• Yeast overgrowth (Candida)

Afterward, start adding fermented foods back into your diet by eating a small amount. If you don’t notice any reactions then it’s okay to start adding more. When I decided to add kombucha back into my diet it caused me to burp so I stopped drinking it again.

More Than Diet Alone

For most people with MS, it’s more than diet alone. You need to remove any infections, get quality sleep, exercise, and manage stress. Stress plays a huge role and it can hold you back from healing.

• Eat a nutrient-dense diet
• Check for hidden food sensitivities
• Fix your gut
• Reduce toxins
• Heal your infections such as bacteria, Lyme, mycotoxins, viruses, yeast
• Get tested for heavy metal toxicity
• Use supplements such as vitamin C, vitamin D, omega-3, and probiotics
• Exercise
• Use deep relaxation such as deep breathing, massage, and yoga
• Learn to manage stress

I had to learn the hard way how stress can set you back, don’t let that happen to you. Don’t let the small stuff stress you out. Take time each day to relax your body and your mind. Most of all – stay positive and believe that you will heal.

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