Terry Wahls

Wahls was born in McGregor, Iowa to Lois Koopman and John Charles Wahls. She was raised on a small family farm in northeastern Iowa near Elkader.

Following graduation from Central Community High School in 1972, Wahls attended Drake University. After receiving a bachelor's degree of fine arts in studio art in 1976, Wahls was accepted into the pre-med program at Iowa State University. After completion of her science studies there, Wahls was accepted into medical school at the University of Iowa in 1978.

Wahls received her M.D. degree from the University of Iowa in 1982 and accepted a residency in obstetrics and gynecology from Barnes Hospital, Washington University in St. Louis. After a year of residency there, Wahls transferred to internal medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in 1983. Wahls became certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1986. In 1987 she moved to Marshfield, Wisconsin and became a physician member at Marshfield Clinic. In addition, Wahls was an adjunct clinical assistant professor with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.

In 2000 Wahls moved to Iowa City, Iowa to become the associate chief of staff for ambulatory care at the Veterans Administration (VA) Iowa City Medical Center and associate professor of medicine in the college of medicine at the University of Iowa. In that same year, Wahls was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.[4] that progressed to a stage where she was confined to a wheelchair and on the verge of being unable to continue practicing medicine. She adopted a functional medicine approach and developed a diet which she believes contributed to a reversal of symptoms. She now is concentrating her practice on that approach.[5]

Terry and her partner, Jackie Reger, have two children, Zach and Zebby.[6]

The curative diet promoted by Wahls to treat MS is a modified paleo diet, relying primarily on grass-fed meat, fish, leafy vegetables, roots, nuts, and fruit and restricting dairy products, eggs, grains, legumes, nightshade (solanaceous) vegetables, starches and sugar.[7]

Wahls and colleagues have completed the first clinical trial of a modified paleo diet for treatment of MS[8] The study, based on 19 of 81 enrolled participants who completed the study procedures has been published to date only as a clinical trial report in an open access journal.[9]The study results suggest a modified paleo diet intervention was associated with reduction in perceived fatigue, increased mental and physical quality of life, increased exercise capacity, and improved hand and leg function.

Wahls' promotion of her diet and lifestyle regimen as an important strategy for managing MS-related symptoms as well as other disorders has been criticized for relying too much on anecdotal evidence, for failing to initiate adequate research to verify the claims, and for Wahls' perceived conflicts of interest (selling numerous products and educational materials related to her protocol).[10] Few studies have evaluated the role of diet as a risk factor or a treatment for MS.[11] A 2012 Cochrane review found no research supporting efficacy or effectiveness of diet or vitamin supplementation for treatment of MS and noted that more research would be required to determine if either intervention might be effective in the management or treatment of MS.[12]