4 ms·

And what's the theory for why supposedly successful treatment is not embraced by the medical community? Is it not more likely that her diagnosis was incorrect,

by _qua 5y ago

And what's the theory for why supposedly successful treatment is not embraced by the medical community? Is it not more likely that her diagnosis was incorrect, or her course was atypical than that she independently discovered a cure which is rejected by the medical community at large?

Broken_Hippo 5y ago
In many circles, the Wahl's protocol (basically diet) is considered a scam. Diet does not cure MS. Governments and health insurances surely would rather pay for food every month than pay the costs of current medications. On the other hand, medications have greatly improved quality of life for MS patients over the last 20 years or so. Folks diagnosed today aren't in the same dire boat as someone 30 years ago.
- gregwebs 5y ago
  As a counterpoint example someone close to me was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and told by doctors that there was no treatment and that diet did not help. When she adopted a paleo like diet with no other changes the IBD symptoms went away permanently almost immediately. Another counterpoint is that I was told by doctors when I was younger that diet was not a treatment for acne. This advice being based entirely on a single study with a single dietary intervention. I think you have a mistaken understanding of what it takes to change one’s diet. A government handout wouldn’t help in the slightest. It also doesn’t help for a doctor to give someone a list of foods to eat or not eat.
  - Broken_Hippo 5y ago
    Diet is not a cure for MS. Period. A single diet might not be a cure for IBS, but IBS affects a digestive organ. Obviously, what you eat is going to affect a digestive organ, regardless of disease, and it seems obvious that a few folks have trigger foods. And honestly, if diet were an easy way to cure acne, it'd be prescribed more. Just because you got one thing as a youth doesn't make the opposite true.
gregwebs 5y ago
I don’t think our medical system has any mechanism to achieve high compliance for major dietary changes, so it’s very difficult to study. Drugs are very easy to study. It’s still an N of 1 case report from a medical evidence point of view so not likely to be widely applicable.

by _qua 5y ago

Broken_Hippo 5y ago

In many circles, the Wahl's protocol (basically diet) is considered a scam. Diet does not cure MS. Governments and health insurances surely would rather pay for food every month than pay the costs of current medications. On the other hand, medications have greatly improved quality of life for MS patients over the last 20 years or so. Folks diagnosed today aren't in the same dire boat as someone 30 years ago.

gregwebs 5y ago
As a counterpoint example someone close to me was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and told by doctors that there was no treatment and that diet did not help. When she adopted a paleo like diet with no other changes the IBD symptoms went away permanently almost immediately. Another counterpoint is that I was told by doctors when I was younger that diet was not a treatment for acne. This advice being based entirely on a single study with a single dietary intervention. I think you have a mistaken understanding of what it takes to change one’s diet. A government handout wouldn’t help in the slightest. It also doesn’t help for a doctor to give someone a list of foods to eat or not eat.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  Diet is not a cure for MS. Period. A single diet might not be a cure for IBS, but IBS affects a digestive organ. Obviously, what you eat is going to affect a digestive organ, regardless of disease, and it seems obvious that a few folks have trigger foods. And honestly, if diet were an easy way to cure acne, it'd be prescribed more. Just because you got one thing as a youth doesn't make the opposite true.

gregwebs 5y ago

I don’t think our medical system has any mechanism to achieve high compliance for major dietary changes, so it’s very difficult to study. Drugs are very easy to study. It’s still an N of 1 case report from a medical evidence point of view so not likely to be widely applicable.