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What if the conversation around chronic illness, inflammation, and autoimmune disease included more than simply asking, What medication can we use to manage symptoms?

What if we also asked: What environmental and lifestyle factors can we influence to better support the body?

In this powerful episode of The BeingBrigid Show, Brigid sits down with Dr. Terry Wahls to discuss her extraordinary personal health journey, the development of the Wahls Protocol, and why she believes food, lifestyle, and environmental factors deserve a much bigger role in conversations about autoimmune disease and long-term health.

Dr. Wahls is a clinical professor, internal medicine physician, and clinical researcher who was diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. After experiencing a rapid decline that eventually left her using a tilt-recline wheelchair, she began investigating the science of nutrition, mitochondrial health, and lifestyle interventions.

Her experience ultimately transformed the way she viewed medicine—and inspired decades of work researching and teaching people about functional medicine, functional nutrition, and the potential role of food as medicine.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode:

• Dr. Terry Wahls’ personal journey with progressive multiple sclerosis and profound disability
• How her experience changed the way she viewed conventional medicine and functional medicine
• Why environmental and lifestyle factors may play an important role in autoimmune health
• How the Wahls Protocol and the concept of eating more nutrient-dense foods developed
• The reasoning behind eating leafy greens, colorful vegetables, and sulfur-rich vegetables
• How food and lifestyle changes can support overall health, energy, and vitality
• Why Dr. Wahls emphasizes an anti-inflammatory approach for people with autoimmune conditions
• Her perspective on gluten, dairy, eggs, and individualized food sensitivities
• Why functional nutrition does not have to be expensive or complicated
• The role of community, accountability, movement, and consistency in creating lasting change
• How food as medicine can be made more accessible—even with limited time, resources, or access to specialty testing

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introduction to Dr. Terry Wahls and her work
• 02:14 The three steps to autoimmune problems and environmental factors
• 04:07 Dr. Wahls’ personal health journey with MS
• 09:37 The turning point: biking again after severe disability
• 15:25 Understanding the progression of MS and autoimmunity after age 45
• 22:46 Dietary interventions: removing gluten, dairy, and eggs
• 37:07 Community, connection, and practical implementation of lifestyle changes
• 41:23 Resources and where to find more from Dr. Wahls

From Conventional Medicine Physician to Functional Medicine Pioneer

One of the most powerful aspects of Dr. Wahls’ story is that she did not begin her career as someone who was naturally drawn to alternative approaches. She was trained as a conventional academic physician and deeply believed in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled research. When she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she pursued the best medical care available to her.

But despite aggressive treatment, her condition continued to progress. Within just a few years, she went from working as a physician to relying on a tilt-recline wheelchair. Eventually, her ability to sit upright became severely limited.

As her health continued to decline, Dr. Wahls returned to the scientific literature and began exploring a question that would dramatically change the direction of her work: Could nutrition and lifestyle factors influence the biology of her disease? Her search led her toward research involving mitochondrial dysfunction, neurodegenerative conditions, nutrition, and eventually functional medicine.

The Power of Looking at Modifiable Lifestyle Factors

Dr. Wahls explains that autoimmune disease is complex and involves multiple factors, including genetic vulnerability, infections, and environmental influences. Her approach in functional medicine focuses on identifying the factors that can potentially be modified and helping people address them gradually.

Rather than asking someone to overhaul their entire life overnight, she emphasizes working step by step and making changes at a pace that feels manageable for the individual and their family. Improving nutrition and supporting health does not require perfection. Consistency and small, sustainable changes can be more realistic than attempting to change everything at once.

How the Wahls Protocol Developed

As Dr. Wahls researched mitochondrial health, she began experimenting with nutrients and supplements that she believed could support cellular function. She noticed meaningful changes in her ability to function when she stopped and restarted her supplement regimen. But eventually, she began asking another important question: Could she get more of the nutrients she was taking in supplement form from food?

That question led her to redesign her approach to nutrition. Instead of simply following a generalized dietary pattern, she began researching which whole foods contained the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients she was trying to support through supplements. This approach eventually evolved into the foundation of what became known as the Wahls Protocol.

The central concept was not simply about restriction. It was about increasing nutrient density and intentionally eating foods that provided a broad range of compounds needed to support cellular function.

Why the “Nine Cups of Vegetables” Became a Simple Functional Nutrition Tool

One of the most recognizable components of Dr. Wahls’ approach is the recommendation to prioritize three categories of vegetables. The concept was originally developed as a practical teaching tool.

Dr. Wahls was working with patients in settings where she had very limited time. She needed a way to communicate complex nutrition principles quickly and memorably. The three categories included:

• Leafy Green Vegetables: Leafy greens provide nutrients such as carotenoids, vitamin K, folate, calcium, and magnesium. Dr. Wahls discusses the importance of compounds such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which are found in leafy greens and are associated with the health of the eyes and other tissues.
• Sulfur-Rich Vegetables: This category includes foods such as vegetables from the cabbage family, onions, and mushrooms. Dr. Wahls discusses these foods in relation to detoxification pathways, antioxidant systems, neurotransmitter production, and other cellular processes.
• Deeply Colored Vegetables and Fruits: Brightly colored foods provide a variety of phytonutrients and polyphenols. Dr. Wahls specifically discusses deeply pigmented foods, including purple, blue, and black foods, as well as red, orange, and yellow vegetables and fruits.

The larger lesson is that variety and color can be a practical way to increase nutritional diversity.

Food as Medicine Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

Dr. Wahls spent years working with veterans, including individuals with significant health challenges and limited financial resources. She describes teaching people how to make meaningful changes even when they were:

• Living in rural communities with limited access to grocery stores
• Using food assistance programs
• Shopping primarily at convenience stores
• Working with limited budgets
• Managing significant health challenges

Instead of relying exclusively on expensive interventions, her approach focused on practical foundations. Food. Movement. Social connection. Simple lifestyle changes.

She also describes teaching patients how to make nutrient-dense foods taste enjoyable—because knowing what to eat is only part of the equation. People also need strategies that help them actually want to eat those foods consistently.

The Role of Community and Accountability in Health

Dr. Wahls describes how group visits and classes became an important part of her work. People who were further along in making lifestyle changes could support and encourage those who were just beginning. This created a sense of community and accountability.

For many people, personalized nutrition is not only about knowing what foods to eat. It is also about having the support, encouragement, and consistency needed to make those changes part of everyday life. This is especially important when someone is trying to improve energy, change eating habits, or build a more sustainable approach to health.

An Anti-Inflammatory Approach to Functional Nutrition

Nutrition can influence multiple systems at the same time. Food choices can affect metabolic health, gut health, inflammation, energy, and other aspects of physiology. This is one reason the concept of an anti-inflammatory diet has become an important area of conversation within functional nutrition.

Dr. Wahls’ approach emphasizes nutrient density and increasing the intake of foods that provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. She also discusses removing certain foods within the context of her protocol, including gluten, dairy, and—in some cases—eggs.

Nutrition is not one-size-fits-all, and what works for one person may not be appropriate for everyone.

Why Changing the Standard of Care Takes Time

Dr. Wahls also offers an important perspective on why new ideas in medicine can take decades to become part of standard practice. She explains that the process often involves years of research, beginning with early observations and case reports and progressing through larger clinical trials and continued scientific discussion.

Her own work has included clinical research and peer-reviewed publications examining dietary and lifestyle interventions. She also emphasizes compassion for conventional healthcare providers. Changing deeply held beliefs requires evidence, time, and repeated exposure to new information.

For patients, this can be frustrating. But Dr. Wahls encourages people to continue learning, asking questions, and taking ownership of the lifestyle factors that are within their control while continuing to work appropriately with their healthcare providers.

Taking Back Your Health, One Step at a Time

Perhaps the most powerful message from this episode is that creating health does not have to begin with a perfect protocol. It can begin with one meal. One walk. One additional serving of vegetables. One conversation. One consistent habit repeated over time. Dr. Wahls’ own story is deeply personal, but her broader message is one of possibility and empowerment.

Health journeys are rarely linear. And while no single food, supplement, or lifestyle change can promise a specific outcome, there is value in understanding the factors we can influence.

For anyone interested in women’s health, functional medicine, functional nutrition, reducing inflammation, improving energy, or exploring the concept of food as medicine, this episode offers an inspiring reminder that small changes can add up.

Resources & Links:

+ Watch the full episode on YouTube

+ Dr. Wahls’ Website

+ Dr. Wahls’ Instagram

+ Join The Being Collective

+ Brigid’s Website

+ Brigid’s Instagram