Why are eggs restricted on the Wahls protocol? They're such a great and easy protein, and they're so versatile. You can have hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, an omelet, or even egg muffins, and you don't seem to have an obvious reaction to them. So why is such a seemingly healthy food restricted on the Wahls protocol? And does this rule really apply to you? Let's find out. And my friend, if you want a more personalized approach

one in a million, and you have a special purpose in this world that no diagnosis can take away from you. So if you are ready to reclaim your body, mind, and life from multiple sclerosis, welcome to my MS podcast. I'm your host, Alene Brennan. Hello, my friend. This is probably one of the top five questions that I get asked as a nutrition coach certified in the Wahl's Protocol. Why, why are eggs restricted on the Wahl's Protocol? What exactly is inflammatory about them? And does this rule really apply to you? Most people are asking for two main reasons. They want to make sure that they're following the protocol properly because they're worried if they do something wrong, they won't get results. And secondly, they feel like they're already restricting enough foods. They don't want to add another thing to the list unless they absolutely have to. So let's get to the bottom of this. First, let's get an understanding of exactly why Dr. Wahls decided to omit them from the protocol. Then let's take a look at why eggs could be considered inflammatory

because she is allergic to them. That's the bottom line. She is allergic to eggs. She has a known allergy and she didn't have them as part of her diet when she got her big health transformation of going from a wheelchair to a bike ride in one year. And when she wanted to get approval to run the protocol through a clinical trial, the only way they would approve the trial was if she replicated exactly to a T.

Lot easier, especially if you've already eliminated gluten and dairy, two of the most common breakfast ingredients. And then on top of that, you're having to omit eggs too. That gets really challenging at breakfast, but don't worry, we got you covered for that. Breakfast starts to look really non-traditional in the Wahls Protocol world. So don't worry if that is the case, but let's start to understand. Okay. So they're omitted from the Wahls Protocol because Dr. Wahls has this allergy and she wanted to run the protocol through a clinical trial and she had to replicate it to a T. She could not make any changes, not a single change. So that explains the Wahls Protocol. But was there any other evidence to support

Yes, the truth is eggs can be inflammatory. And the truth may surprise you because it's actually the egg whites that are most inflammatory. We have been trained to think that the yolks are the problem when it comes to eggs. And that's primarily been because of cholesterol, which isn't 100% true, but that's another topic for another day. Today, we are talking about the connection of eggs and inflammation in the body specifically related to autoimmune disease,

regulate the immune system. And in many cases, eggs can do the opposite. This protein in them, again, can stimulate the immune system, leading to inflammation and potential flares or symptoms. So by eliminating them, you in theory can help to reduce potential symptoms and flares. Now, does this apply to everybody across the board? No, but it is something to consider, I look at it as something that is a positive then because if you're doing everything perfectly and you don't have the outcome that you want, that's really frustrating because it feels like there's no more tools in your tool belt to help address the issue. But if eggs are in your diet and you don't have the outcome, this can be good news because then it could help to lead you to the outcome that you want. And we're going to talk about how you can specifically better identify if you have a

something like bread. If you can't have eggs as an ingredient, that knocks off your gluten-free bread. And that's a real bummer because to find a bread that doesn't have gluten or eggs, that is a needle in a haystack. It's not impossible, but it's a little tricky. So let's go back to the Wahls protocol. What does it say? You want to completely eliminate eggs from your diet. And yes, that includes avoiding foods that include eggs as an ingredient. So you want to read the nutrition labels well. Flip to the back of the package where all the nutrition information is. You will likely see three sections. First are the nutrition facts, the numbers. That's where you'll see the calories, grams of fat, protein, carbs, fiber, sugar, all of that. Typically below that are the ingredients. This is the list of ingredients in order of quantity.

Eggs. That is where my eye immediately goes when I'm looking at any type of a food label. Because if gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, or eggs are in that food, it is a hard no for me. Those are the foods that I personally avoid. So whenever I'm looking at something, if it's a packaged food, I flip to the back. I don't care what the front of it says. That is all marketing.

Anything that says 'contains eggs.' But what about cross-contamination? Sometimes they list something that says 'manufactured in a facility that contains eggs' or processes eggs, or they'll say something about it being in a shared facility with that. Quite honestly, that's more appropriate or relevant to somebody who has an anaphylaxis response.

I will share my personal experience with eggs in hopes that it may help you. Again, what I share is never to suggest that what I'm doing is right or wrong or the best way or the only way. It's just because I know that we learn best through stories. And it also feels really nice to talk to somebody else who is going through this and can share their experience so that we can all learn from one another. So, I'll share my story here as always, take what's relevant, leave what isn't.

2016, when we were doing a 30-day vegan diet. Now, quite honestly, I didn't want to do this. I wasn't excited about it, but I was really resistant to it because I enjoy fish and eggs and meat, and I didn't want to have to eliminate them. But it was something we were doing as a community. And I'm like, okay, it's not going to harm me for 30 days. I'll do it. Let's go and get this over with. Well, I did it. And I couldn't deny how much better I felt,

because from my thinking, I was like, well, that feels like maybe those would be like the healthier of the two options to add back in. So a couple of weeks go by and I realized I wasn’t feeling good again. And I say that in the sense that like, it wasn't anything that was severe or quite honestly, anything that was really obvious, but it was one of those moments where it's like, you're just kind of like laying down in the end of the day or you're waking up in the morning. Like, when there are less things that are distracting you and you actually get a moment to like,

and I even then, I didn't put the connection together because unless it's something that you eat and then have an immediate reaction to, it is really hard to make the connections on, quote unquote, on food sensitivities. So, needless to say, it took me a while to figure it out. But what I did, I flipped it then. I brought the meat back in and I eliminated the eggs. And that's when I felt my best. And I eventually did confirm it through testing that I do have an allergy.

It includes eggs, dairy, and gluten, and all of the things. But that is something that I would love to wake up to on a Saturday morning, which is funny because that's like relatively healthy according to American standards. But again, let's stay focused here. So I completely omitted them from my diet. And honestly, over the years, I've actually thought about trying to reintroduce them. But I was doing so well, I don't want to rock the boat.

I don't want to mess with the stability that I have maintained for eight years now. So I haven't reintroduced them until a couple of weeks ago when I accidentally had a food that contained eggs. And let me tell you how humbling this was because I've gotten these like gluten-free, they're like a cinnamon dessert thing from a local grocery store. And I've had them a couple of times before. It's not something I have on a regular basis, but they were allergy-friendly.

I was shocked. First of all, that I hadn't seen it before because I had gotten one before from the same package. So one, I was really annoyed that like, how can somebody change a recipe and specifically add an allergen in and not blast that across the box? Like, it really wasn't that prominent. I mean, if you look at it, obviously like you're like, 'oh yeah, of course it's right there.' So when somebody is in the marketing industry and they're like, 'Yep,

I just chalked up the fatigue to MS.' All right, I guess, I don't know, I'm just experiencing some MS fatigue here. The bloating, I don't know. I was trying to figure out, am I just gaining weight? I don't really feel like I'm doing anything differently. I'm definitely not at the same level of exercise that I want to be at. However, it's not awful. I'm not sitting here eating a box of cookies or eating a bag of chips at a time. My diet isn't that awful. So why do I feel so just bloated and inflamed?

I don't know about you, but that is the one that just is like a sucker punch to me because I want to feel strong. I want to have energy. Like we all do, right? Like I'm preaching to the choir here. Anyway, I just chalked everything up to MS. And I wonder how many of us often do that. How many of us experience some type of a symptom and just assume like, oh, that's because I have MS or that's MS rearing its ugly head again. And maybe it is. But what if it's not?

A food potentially being the irritant that is turning some of these symptoms either on or turning the volume of them or the intensity of them up. And here's the deal. We can assume that eliminating a food such as eggs is gonna be like really painful and I'm not gonna lie, it's not easy, but it is 100% worth it. Being reminded of how I feel when I eat eggs and when I don't eat eggs is night and different. So even having this recent experience, I'm grateful for it because it completely shut down the question of whether or not I still have an allergy.

So how can you tell if you have a sensitivity to eggs? The easiest approach is to eliminate them. Try eliminating them for like one to three months. So like 30 to 90 days. Remove them from everything that you eat. Read the labels, avoid any foods that contain eggs. This allows your body to start healing from the damage that it could be causing. And pay attention to the results. If you don't have a copy already, definitely download a copy of My Wellness Tracker at Alenebrennan. com/ tracker so that you can track your progress throughout. It's completely free. So, Alenebrennan. com/ tracker. You enter your information and I send a copy directly to your email. You print it out and you get to track all of these amazing things throughout your week. They're the habits that I have found to be most impactful

detective to see if any symptoms arise and what your tolerance for each food is. This gives you the confidence and confirmation of really knowing what affects you. So you're not constantly guessing. That is something that is so, so important. Okay, my friends, I'm going to wrap it here, but let's do a quick recap. So bottom line, Dr. Wahls eliminated eggs from the Wahls protocol from her own personal allergy. Number two, we know from science that the protein in the egg whites can stimulate the immune system and create inflammation in the body and therefore may contribute to some of your symptoms or flares. It's going to be different for each person, but it's something to consider. So if you are thinking about doing this, try eliminating them from your diet for one to three months out of everything, eggs themselves, ingredients in there, read the back of the labels, check that allergen note at the bottom of the ingredient list, and make sure that you have them completely out of your diet. Pay attention to how you feel during this time. And then if you want to reintroduce them, you certainly can. And again, that's something that I really guide my clients through.

To connect with you next week. Well, my friend, we've reached the end of this episode. Pick one lesson from today's discussion and put it into action now. It's time to reclaim your body, mind, and life from multiple sclerosis. And for more resources, events, and programs, head over to AleneBrennan. com. See you on the next episode of my MS podcast.