Much has been made the past several years about the gut-brain connection, with the enteric nervous system that regulates the gut often referred to as “the body’s second brain.” While searching for answers to help Alaina recover, I often encountered advice about changing her diet. Avoid oxalates, eliminate gluten, eat keto, go low FODMAP, do Whole30, take superfood supplements and powders, etc. But the more I researched, the more I became convinced that the gut-brain connection is a chicken-and-egg proposition. 

From my observations, people with NICS often have IBS/food sensitivities as a result of this impairment: A brain in subconscious “fight or flight” leads to a downstream response in the digestive system, which can then lead the brain to stay on alert around food, resulting in everything from mild IBS to full blown Crohn’s disease and allergic/histamine reactions. That is why when we embraced the neuroplastic approach for Alaina, we quit demonizing any food – including sugar, gluten, dairy, etc. – in order to minimize the subconscious “danger” response. In the absence of anaphylaxis, we chose to reinforce the notion that once Alaina healed the lingering NICS, she would eventually be able to eat a variety of foods with no problem. We reintroduced foods gradually, and while it took time, she got back to eating whatever she wants whenever she wants. That being said, it is a delicate dance: Working not to demonize foods, even while common sense indicates that nutrition does play a role in our health. 

What I picked up along the way

While taking this deep dive into the brain•mind•body connection, I encountered a few truly remarkable stories about how specific diet changes amazingly improved, or even reversed, severe autoimmune conditions like MS and Lupus. As much as I wanted to dismiss them – because I like the way I eat, thank you very much – a few were hard to ignore.

One of these remarkable stories is that of Brooke Goldner, MD, who unexpectedly reversed her 12-year battle with life-threatening Lupus by changing to a plant-based diet high in raw cruciferous vegetables, Omega 3 fatty acids from flax and chia seeds, and water intake. She originally made these changes in order to quickly lose weight before her wedding (she happened to be marrying nutrition and fitness expert, Thomas Tadlock) … but she was shocked to learn a few months later that her Lupus symptoms and lab markers had disappeared. The diet she had followed to “get buff” unexpectedly reversed her seemingly incurable life-threatening disease. Nearly twenty years later she is still healthy and completely Lupus-free, even after two pregnancies. 

Why Dr. Goldner’s story caught my attention

I was raised by the best mom in the world, but bless her heart, when I was a child, she thought a butter-and-sugar sandwich on squishy white bread was a decent lunch. No kidding. My diet has greatly improved since then, but I have known intuitively that there is more room for improvement. And I am especially curious because I worry that my strong family history of autoimmune diseases – Parkinson’s, Lupus, and Arthritis, not to mention Alzheimer’s – may come calling for me one day. Thankfully, the science of epigenetics indicates that genetic predisposition does not necessarily equate to genetic destiny. Phew. 

Dr. Goldner’s story was so compelling that it made me take a hard look at what she has to say about the power of food to literally reverse – and prevent – seemingly insurmountable health challenges like Lupus, MS, Hashimoto’s, organ failure, joint failure, eye diseases, blood clots, diabetes, scleroderma, etc. I appreciated that her protocol is based on reproducible results, not theories, having now helped thousands of patients to reverse disease, most often in a matter of weeks. [Published case studies: Case Series: raw, whole, plant-based nutritional protocol rapidly reverses symptoms in three women with systemic lupus erythematous and Sjogren’s Syndrome, Frontiers, February 2024 (“Frontiers” is the third most-cited and 6th largest research publisher and open science platform); Six Week Raw Vegan Nutrition Protocol Rapidly Reverses Lupus Nephritis: A Case Series, International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, March 2019; NOTE – in both case studies, participants reversed their conditions in 8 weeks or less and have maintained their health years later.]  

That being said …

I have also come across amazing recovery stories from other nutrition camps such as keto and carnivore — recoveries that are hard to ignore. All of this has led me to dig deeper and attend to information from both the plant and animal side of things. What I noticed is that both sides share many commonalities … the most important being elimination of all processed foods, all dairy (except butter for some keto and carnivore), and all alcohol … plus emphasis on high water consumption, good sleep, regular exercise, and self care. And it is important to note that all nutrition experts I have come across – Dr. Goldner included – appear to have one or more blind spots when it comes to assessing their plan versus other approaches. From what I can tell, definitive nutrition research is still lacking. Ultimately for me, Dr. Goldner’s approach made great sense, is relatively easy to follow even when traveling, and has no discernible down side other than needing to supplement with vitamin B12 (as with any plant-based plan). I have had nothing but positive results from following it. 

THE BOTTOM LINE: I wonder … Can I prevent possible genetic predispositions by teaching my brain to super evolve how it responds to emotional, biological, physical and environmental threats? OR, is it really all about the diet? Do my best chances lie in the BRAIN … or in the FOOD?

Having researched the brain•mind•body connection for years now, my intuition leads me to believe that it’s likely a combination of both. What I appreciate about Dr. Goldner’s approach is that she recognizes that healing is not only about nutrition: her book Goodbye Autoimmune Disease shines a light on how things like emotional health, past traumas and amount of sleep also play important roles in the disease-health cycle. She often notes that patients who get “stuck” even when adhering perfectly to her eating plan, generally have lifestyle or emotional factors that also need to be addressed (hello, NICS?). But her one-two punch of nutrition + lifestyle/emotional health gets reproducible results that are rapid … most often within weeks. Hard to ignore.

If you are battling autoimmune conditions like Lupus, MS, Hashimotos … chronic conditions like diabetes … facing catastrophic diagnoses like joint replacement, organ failure or heart failure … or you just want to be super healthy and feel great … I encourage you to check out the latest success stories from the frontiers of nutrition and assess whether one of these approaches makes sense for you.

However … I believe it’s also worth understanding the role that the brain and lingering NICS may be playing in any condition that has moved from being acute to chronic. Thousands of people have reversed all manner of debilitating conditions like POTS, IBS, MCS, Chronic Fatigue/ME, and Long Covid through a neuroplastic approach alone – Alaina being one of them. A well functioning brain is good for anyone embarking on any treatment. If, like us, you choose the neuroplastic approach first and it works to overcome your debilitating conditions, then later you may choose to change your diet in order to supercharge your health even further. And it will be from a place of strength, not fear.

Sending positive thoughts wherever your healing journey takes you.