The Truth About Stopping and Reversing MS

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Last Updated on November 30, 2023 by Cathy

The Truth About Stopping and Reversing MS

There are many stories about people curing themselves of multiple sclerosis (MS). It’s very uplifting and gives you hope that you can do the same so you can go back to the life you had before being diagnosed. Dr. Terry Wahls is probably the most well-known for reversing MS. From being wheelchair dependent to riding her bicycle by changing her diet.

She now promotes a diet, The Wahls Protocol, which is a modified paleo diet to help others do the same. When people say “cure” they really mean all symptoms have disappeared, but they still have MS. If they were to go back to their old habits of eating processed foods MS would flare back up.

Dr. Terry Wahls still has MS, it never goes away it just stays in remission. To reach your goal you need to stay compliant and put every effort into getting better. Cheating is only cheating yourself and YOU deserve to be healthy.

Diet for MS

My last MS flare was in October of 2004, it was the worst one I’d ever experienced. I had double vision, the left side of my face was paralyzed, I couldn’t walk, my mouth was numb, and I had slurred speech. It looked like I had a stroke, it was terrifying.

At the time, I was on one of the MS drug treatments which I believe was making me worse. I knew there had to be something better and that’s when I discovered I could use food as my medicine. I stopped eating gluten, dairy, legumes, and processed foods – I was feeling really good.

Then the company I worked for was changing insurance companies. I had to stop my interferon for a couple of months until my new insurance kicked in. I felt great thinking it was all diet related but when I went back on the interferon I wasn’t feeling as good.

Fourteen months after changing my diet, I stopped taking any medications. My neurologist wasn’t happy and lectured me but I stuck with my gut instincts. The truth is, my goal at that time wasn’t reversing my symptoms. It was stopping the progression of MS – which I did! It wasn’t until years later that I started working on reversing my symptoms.

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Staying Positive to Reversing MS

There are many MS diets to choose from, making it hard to know which one is the right choice. I’ve been on many different diets including the Wahls Protocol. Unfortunately, not one diet reversed my symptoms!

I was discouraged but I stayed positive that I would reverse all my symptoms. Then I started paying attention to my body and what could have triggered my MS in the first place. That’s when I realized I probably had a severe yeast overgrowth called Candida.

Throughout my life, I’ve been on multiple antibiotics which wiped out the good bacteria in my gut. That gives candida the chance to grow out of control causing all kinds of health issues including MS. I also suspected Lyme disease, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and mold exposure (mycotoxins). There are other possible triggers including environmental exposures like vitamin D deficiency.

You need to become a detective to figure out your triggers. It’s more than likely there is more than one trigger. Researchers in France discovered after pushing the hepatitis B vaccine there was a sharp increase in MS. Although authorities say there isn’t enough information to confirm it.

Triggers to MS:

Diet (processed foods, refined sugar, refined carbs, food allergies, etc.)
Infections (Candida, viruses, bacteria, and parasites)
Environmental Toxins (heavy metals, mold, pesticides, plastics, etc.)
Chronic Stress
Genetics

Genetic Markers

Researchers have identified 12 genes they believe to be responsible for MS. MS does not run in my family so when I had my DNA tested through 23andMe several years ago, I wasn’t expecting to see anything. I was surprised to learn I had a genetic ‘3 times higher risk of MS’ on my results.

The HLA puts you at a higher risk for autoimmune diseases | Genetics | Reversing MS

I also have a half-mutated MTHFR gene. This affects how little or how much we methylate. Without methylation, we miss out on a molecule called glutathione (GSH). GSH is naturally in the body and is a powerful antioxidant to flush out toxins. Without it, our body has a hard time detoxing.

The color yellow indicates a (+/-) heterozygous mutation (half) and the color green (-/-) indicates no specific mutation.

You can’t do anything about your genetics but you can work around it by taking certain supplements. For example, for my mutated MTHFR gene, I take a methylation support supplement.

Environmental Toxins

Researchers believe there is a genetic risk to MS but it’s the environment that triggers the disease. We eat processed junk food, we’re exposed to thousands of chemicals, and we are highly stressed. It’s impossible to avoid all toxins, they are in the food you eat, the water you drink, and in the air you breathe. Plus, if your body has a hard time detoxing it’s no wonder it’s overwhelmed!

Ways to clean up everyday toxins:

Air filters
Buy grass-fed and finished meat, pasture-raised poultry, and wild-caught fish
Eat organic as much as possible mostly vegetables
Use natural body care products (deodorant, makeup, shampoo, soap, etc.)
Use natural cleaning products (baking soda, Castile soap, hydrogen peroxide, lemon, vinegar)
Water filters

Candida Diet

Many people with MS also have candida overgrowth. Unfortunately, conventional doctors don’t recognize this as a possible trigger. If you have taken many rounds of antibiotics, ate a poor diet, and have sugar cravings you may have candida.

I decided to combine the Wahls Protocol and a candida diet. I followed the book Healing Multiple Sclerosis by Ann Boroch. Several weeks later I visited a functional medicine provider. He suggested certain supplements so I chose to use those instead.

Three months after I started my new protocol my heat intolerance disappeared! I suffered from heat intolerance for about twenty years and couldn’t believe it was gone. After about nine months many more symptoms had disappeared. Including the numbness in the back of my mouth and the heavy boot sensation on my feet.

Unfortunately, not all of my symptoms reversed. I’m not disappointed, I’m very happy and feel very fortunate. But, I started going through a lot of stress again. Until you can get the stress under control you can’t get your body to fully heal.