Terry Wahls

Dr. Terry Wahls is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner and conducts clinical research at the University of Iowa using functional medicine principles in the setting of multiple sclerosis.  She has published over a 100-peer reviewed scientific publications, abstracts and posters related to multiple sclerosis, autoimmunity and chronic diseases.  In 2018 she was awarded the Institute for Functional Medicine’s Linus Pauling Award for her contributions in research, clinical care, and patient advocacy.

Dr. Wahls has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, which confined her to a tilt-recline wheelchair for four years. She restored her health using a diet and lifestyle program she designed specifically for her brain and now pedals her bike to work each day.

Dr. Wahls conducts clinical trials testing the efficacy and effectiveness of ketogenic and modified paleolithic diets in the setting of autoimmunity and other chronic disease states. She teaches clinicians and the public the benefits of using paleolithic and ketogenic diets to manage complex chronic disease states.

Dr. Wahls is the author of  multiple consumer books: Minding  My Mitochondria,  The Wahls Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine, The Wahls Protocol: A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles (paperback), and the cookbook The Wahls Protocol Cooking for Life: The Revolutionary Modern Paleo Plan to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions. She has a TEDx talk, Minding Your Mitochondria, with over 4 million views, which details her personal journey from being unable to sit up due to progressive multiple sclerosis to being able to bike 18.5 miles after transforming her diet and self-care routine and then launching her research career. Learn more about her clinical trials that are actively recruiting participants at terrywahls.com/trials/.

Awards

• 2018 – Awarded Linus Pauling Award by the Institute for Functional Medicine for research, clinical care, clinician education, and patient advocacy
• 2019 – Influencer of the Year by Mind Share Collaborative 
• 2023 – Nominated for the John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research  an international award sponsored by NMSS and Academy of Neurology. 
• Nominated for the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award in the  Achievement Category 
• 2024 Nominated for the Giants of MS an award of the Consortium of MS Centers and Neurology Live in the Global Impact Category  

Number of Publications

79

Years of Clinical Experience & Estimated Number of Patients Treated

37 and thousands of patients treated