{"id":460,"date":"2019-09-02T19:56:14","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T19:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mindyourown.life\/?p=460"},"modified":"2021-03-05T04:21:54","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T04:21:54","slug":"the-5-biggest-changes-i-made-after-being-diagnosed-with-ms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindyourown.life\/website_dfde362d\/the-5-biggest-changes-i-made-after-being-diagnosed-with-ms\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Biggest Changes I Made After Being Diagnosed with MS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tReady to activate your innate healing powers?\n\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Establishing\n\t

I was absolutely devastated when I was told I had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I was only 27 years old and felt like I was given a life sentence. Initially, I thought my life as I knew it was over, forever. I went through a myriad of emotions – grief, despair, and fear – before I came to the sharp realization that my body was trying to tell me something, and it was time to actually listen.<\/p>\n\t

Yes, being told you have a chronic illness of any kind can elicit a deep fear. At its most basic level, it’s a fear of the unknown. No matter how many statistics you read about the progression of your disease, there is nothing definitive that can predict exactly how your disease will show up for you- and that can be scary. But, if you can find the strength to flip the fear to optimism, you can change everything<\/em>. If you’re dealing will difficult symptoms, it can be hard to be positive, but if you can make small incremental mindset shifts each day, it will transform your life and health.<\/p>\n

Worrying about the future will do nothing productive for your health, but by empowering yourself, educating yourself and taking action, I believe you can vastly improve the outcome of an autoimmune disease, or, really, anything in life! Your mindset is the key.<\/p>\n

This article outlines everything I did when I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been four years since my diagnosis, and I continue to live medication-free and symptom-free. While my methods and chosen modalities have evolved over the years, my core practices remain the same.<\/p>\n

Important Disclaimer<\/strong>: I am not<\/strong> a medical professional. I am only sharing my personal experience. Please consult your health care provider before making any diet or lifestyle changes.<\/p>\n

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Having an Autoimmune Disease Means Your Body is Attacking Itself<\/h4>\n

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All autoimmune diseases share the same core issue; our bodies mistake our own healthy cells for foreign ‘intruders’ and, in an evolutionary attempt to protect us, actually end up damaging vital cells. The collateral damage of this can impact regular function.<\/p>\n\n

In addition to this, it has been proven that a Vitamin D deficiency can actually\u00a0cause<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>autoimmune diseases. Due to the lives many of us lead, we spend most of our time indoors and, due to a deep-seated societal fear of skin cancer, we slather on high SPF sunscreen when we do spend time outdoors. In Canada, we have very limited access to sun exposure for a large part of the year and, consequently, are naturally at a higher risk for developing such diseases. (Source: WEB MD<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Multiple Sclerosis, for one, has actually been labelled ‘Canada’s Disease’ because Canada has the highest incidence of the disease per capita. There is also a slight genetic factor for developing autoimmune issues if you have a familial history of such diseases.<\/p>\n

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Regardless of the source, it can be traumatic when patients are told they are ill and may never get better. Worse yet, that they will be expected to take medication for the rest of their lives. But rather than seeing it a ‘life sentence’, it’s important to remember that in the most basic way, our bodies are using these outlets to signal to us that something isn’t right. And while our symptoms can be treated with Western medicine, it’s important to also investigate, to the best of our abilities, the source of the issue and attempt to resolve that issue at the source.<\/p>\n

In my experience, the most effective ways to do this is was to limit toxic load, as well as addressing diet and lifestyle factors that ‘feed’ the disease. I’ve outlined some of the ways I’ve done this below.<\/p>\n\n

1. I Overhauled my Diet<\/h4>\n\n

The day I was diagnosed with MS, I laid in my hospital bed searching for a lifeline and that’s exactly what I found. It came in the form of a Ted Talk on YouTube by Dr. Terry Wahls. This was a game-changer for me. Terry Wahls is doctor and professor of Internal Medicine who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at age 45. \u00a0The disease progressed quickly, leading her be unable to walk or sit up and she was soon confined to a tilt-recline wheelchair. She almost had to give up her job before decided to develop and implement a functional medical approach to managing her symptoms, focussing largely on diet changes. Miraculously, she was able to completely reverse her symptoms! Terry Walhs is an inspiration to all of us who are dealing with autoimmune conditions. She is actively researching the connection between diet and disease at the University of Iowa and is committed to producing evidence-based research to change the management of autoimmune disease.<\/p>\n

Terry Wahls also wrote a book called the Walhs Protocol, overviewing her approaches. The most basic principles of the Walhs Protocol are to remove gluten and dairy from your diet, while adding nine cups of fruits & vegetables\/day to your diet (three cups of leafy greens, three cups of colourful fruits\/veg + three cups of sulphur-rich veg), as well as eating high quality grass-fed meat and wild caught fish. The book has a ton of great tips outside of just diet. A great way to get in around 1\/2 of your daily fruit\/veg intake, is to make a healthy smoothie in the morning.<\/p>\n

Here’s my favourite take on a Wahls smoothie:<\/p>\n

Green Smoothie Recipe\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n