Anecdotally I’m aware of someone who was able to reverse a lot of their symptoms with high doses of Vitamin D.
There’s a biochemist here giving advice about being cautious. That goes without saying, but it always strikes me as disingenuous careerism to recommend people with terrible illnesses to not experiment. That’s the bedrock of scientific inquiry.
It may be the case there’s nothing out there that can help alleviate MS even a little, but it’s worth trying, especially if the cost is low and the burden of the disease is high.
There’s a biochemist here giving advice about being cautious. That goes without saying, but it always strikes me as disingenuous careerism to recommend people with terrible illnesses to not experiment. That’s the bedrock of scientific inquiry.
It isn't a bedrock of scientific inquiry if you aren't actually studying things. In fact, with MS it can make you so much worse off than you would be. People start the diets as a substitute for proven medicine. No diet has been proven to prevent a relapse, lessen their impact, nor cause you to have fewer relapse. With MS, every relapse you have increases your chances of disability and most relapses leaves effects. I lost hand strength and my fingertips have different feeling, for example, even though most of the numbness went away. Proven medicine has lessened the number of relapses folks have and often makes them milder: With the best medicine, we haven't prevented relapses entirely - though a lot of neurologists treat a single relapse as a sign to switch medications to something that'll work better for you.
I'll add that it isn't always worth trying. You aren't doing science unless you are part of a trial. Eating a strict diet isn't generally cheaper and takes time that you might not even have the energy for - all for something science hasn't been able to prove works. Just ancedotal stuff from random people without anything to back it up. I suspect the diet might just have a similar effect that weed does with spasticity: It doesn't medically cure some it, but people report being less bothered by them. And if that's the case, any dietary change would work and you probably shouldn't give money to the ones claiming miracles.
I confirm the effects of vitamin D3 with my own observations.
Vitamin D3 is an adaptogen for the immune system, it is an antioxidant in mitochondria, it plays so many different roles.
No wonder it has such a beneficial effect on MS and CFS/ME patients who suffer from autoimmunity and mitochondrial manifestations. Vitamin D3 alone is not the ultimate cure per se, but it is a part of a possible cure for sure.
Note of caution to those who supplement vitamin D3 for more than 2 months: always add vitamin K2 MK-7 to the mix to avoid the possible development of arterial calcification.
The biochemist isn’t a doctor, but there’s a reason the old hippocratic oath begins with “First, do no harm. Then, do good.”
When you’re talking about your own health, you’re an adult and you’re free to do what you want. When you’re talking about other people’s health, a more cautious approach is appropriate.
Biochemist here: I would advise to exercise strong caution when looking at dietary changes in the context of MS.
A lot of advice gives people the illusion that they have more control over their illness than they actually do, and a lot of the diets cause unnecessary harm (as a heuristic: the more things you cut out, the higher the potential for harm).
That said, healthy eating and regular physical exercise is always a good idea, and even more so if you have any existing illness.
A lot of scam diets promise to cure MS. Books are sold. But the only real way to lessen the harm of the disease is through a combination of a modern medicine and luck (I've had both).
Agree on the general healthy eating and activity, though.
The Wahls protocol is a scam. It is not a cure for MS.
Most folks with MS have RRMS - RR stands for relapsing remitting. Basically, you have a "flare" - when your body attacks your nerves. You have symptoms for a while, and then they start to go away. For context: I woke up one morning half blind. I could tell if there was a red object, but I couldn't make out what it was. Everything I could see out of my left eye was fuzzy. I couldn't make out the big "E" on the eye chart.
But then, the lesion heals. You might be left with some damage, but a lot of it goes away. My vision returned and the optic nerve healed well. My vision is actually better in that eye than the other one. I have lingering numbness in my hands from time to time, but nothing like the fingertip-to-elbow pins and needles from a flare (I barely notice).
All this means that a change in diet might seem to make your MS better. It definitely makes folks feel like they have control. But clinically, it does nothing. You are taking a big risk by doing this. What does work are modern DMTs - disease modifying treatments.
It is not a scam. As you said, it is just not the ultimate treatment for MS. But it is a tool for MS management.
Protocols like this are important parts of treatment for many people with similar conditions: T2DM, neuropathy, CFS/ME, Alzheimer, Parkinson, POTS.
I want to stress that many people with conditions adjacent to MS do not experience that relapsing-remitting nature of a disease. And they confirm an immediate improvement when they swap junk processed foods with more natural choices.
I skimmed through the presentation and I'm not sure how you arrived at that as your takeaway. The dietary advice given in there is much more complex than that.
