Could Diet Reverse the Course of MS? Dr. Terry Wahls' Remarkable Recovery

Mark Hyman

Jun 17, 2026

Episode description

We’ve been taught to treat chronic diseases as isolated problems to be diagnosed and managed. But these conditions may have more in common than conventional medicine has traditionally recognized.

On this episode of The Dr. Hyman Show, I’m joined by physician and researcher Dr. Terry Wahls, who transformed her understanding of disease after developing progressive multiple sclerosis. We discuss the emerging science behind mitochondria, inflammation, nutrition, the microbiome, and why creating health may be just as important as treating disease itself.

We explore:

What Dr. Wahls discovered about cellular health while searching for answers beyond conventional treatment
Why mitochondria may play a central role in conditions like MS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, and chronic fatigue
How food, sleep, movement, and stress directly influence inflammation, energy production, and brain health
Why focusing only on symptom suppression may overlook the deeper biological dysfunction driving chronic disease
What “creating health” actually looks like in practice—and how small daily habits can influence how you feel and function over time

What makes this conversation so compelling is that Dr. Wahls’ story challenges many of the assumptions we have about chronic disease and recovery. For me, it really highlights how profoundly nutrition, sleep, movement, and stress can shape the body’s ability to adapt and recover over time.

View Show Notes From This Episode

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Mindsip insights from this episode:

Create health to eliminate chronic illness

The most effective way to treat chronic illness is not to focus on the disease itself, but to create health, which causes the disease to go away as a side effect.

#chronic-disease

#wellness

Leverage C15 fatty acid to strengthen cells and reverse aging

C15, available in a supplement called Fatty 15, is an emerging fatty acid backed by over 100 studies that strengthens cells and may reverse aging at the cellular level.

#C15

#supplement

Redesign diet to maximize key nutrient intake

Dr. Wahls initiated her recovery by identifying 20 key nutrients her body needed and then redesigning her diet to maximize their intake from specific food sources.

#nutrition

Secure government funding for functional medicine research

A new US government program called Maha Elevate is dedicating $100 million to fund research into functional and lifestyle medicine approaches for chronic disease.

#functional-medicine

#research

Shift focus from single-drug trials to multimodal interventions for chronic disease recovery

Medical research often fails to find cures for chronic disease because it focuses on single-drug trials, whereas recovery requires multimodal interventions that improve many body systems at once.

#chronic-disease

#research

Utilize gut microbiome to tailor your diet

Emerging research shows that your baseline gut microbiome can predict whether you will respond better to a low-saturated-fat diet or a modified paleo diet.

#microbiome

#nutrition

Enhance genetic health through targeted nutrition and lifestyle

Even serious genetic disorders can be dramatically improved by using targeted nutrition and lifestyle to change the expression of genes, thereby regressing the severity of the illness.