This is something I’ve encountered a lot over the years, and today I’m going to explore some of the reasons for that resistance—as well as what you can do in the face of skepticism, judgement, or confrontation regarding the choices you make on your healing journey.
I’m often asked why there is so much pushback to the possibility that better nutrition and self-care can improve quality of life for people with chronic disease. In this blog I’ll be focusing mainly on multiple sclerosis (MS)—but much of this will apply to other chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism and other neurological diseases.
Resistance, and the beliefs behind that resistance, can run very deep. People are often deeply committed to the idea that diet has no role for improving quality of life in people with MS. We saw this in a study of the mentions of multiple sclerosis and diet on Reddit and Facebook. My team noted that the first mentions of diet and multiple sclerosis on Reddit came from me in 2014, when I offered an AMA (ask me anything) about diet and multiple sclerosis. The conversation at that time was deeply skeptical of diet having any impact on multiple sclerosis symptoms.
Over a decade later, in early 2025, we discovered that a few people had enrolled in our clinical trials with the explicit intention of proving that diet has zero impact MS symptoms. In their social media posts, these folks were intensely critical of me, my credentials, and the trials I conduct. But I don’t doubt that they were polite and friendly with my research team during their study visits.
Most people, when speaking face to face with another person, will moderate their behavior and speak to each other with respect and even kindness. It’s only when we’re alone, sending an angry email to customer service or posting and commenting on social media, that we become so abrupt, abrasive, and one-sided in our views. We forget that the object of that vitriol is another human being.
Why, in 2025, do some people still call me a pseudoscientist, despite my having 52 scientific articles listed on pubmed.gov?
These are the facts: First, the processed food industry has leveraged our biology to make us dependent on their products, the same way social media platforms have hijacked our brain chemistry to keep us scrolling. Second, our brains are hardwired to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Processed foods that are rich in added sugars and white flour create a dopamine spike that feels good—maximizing pleasure—and a craving that is incredibly hard to resist (avoiding pain). If someone is addicted to these kinds of foods, they may be afraid of the pain and discomfort involved in changing their diets. So, it’s easier to try to debunk the idea that better nutrition and other lifestyle changes could actually make a difference.
Humans are naturally excellent at pattern recognition, but this strength can also make us resistant to change. We often reject new ideas that don’t align with our existing understanding of the world. Think about the adoption of smartphones, for example. How long did it take you to start using one? Personally, it took me years—I was a late adopter. The truth is, we’re all late adopters for some advancements and early adopters for others. This tendency to cling to what’s familiar can make it difficult to embrace the idea that better nutrition and lifestyle changes could transform our health.
Sadly, there are still people who insist that better nutrition and self-care cannot improve the quality of life for people with MS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, autism, mental health issues, and other chronic diseases. Your family and friends may not understand. Your social media feed might include some deeply skeptical posts. Even your medical team may resist. This opposition can make an already challenging situation that much harder for you—so here is what I recommend.
Rather than argue with others, I encourage you to put that energy into your own health and well-being, and lead by example. Let others observe how well you’re doing and ask what your secret is. And remember that opinions of a stranger on the internet are not something you can control.
As for me, my response to the harsh criticism about my story and the work I do is to develop a thick hide and keep doing my research. I will keep writing up our results and presenting them at international scientific meetings and in peer-reviewed scientific journals. I often tell the medical students, PhD students, and post-doctoral scholars in the Wahls lab that it takes 30 years to change the standard of care. My first paper, on neuromuscular electrical stimulation for progressive MS, came out in 2010.(1) I am just halfway there.
In the next fifteen years, the importance of nutrition, including the benefits of Mediterranean, Paleolithic, and ketogenic eating, will become the standard of care for people with MS.
We are still recruiting people for clinical trials! Learn more about our various studies and sign up for being part of our registry for future studies here.
Citations
- Wahls TL, Reese D, Kaplan D, Darling WG. Rehabilitation with neuromuscular electrical stimulation leads to functional gains in ambulation in patients with secondary progressive and primary progressive multiple sclerosis: a case series report. J Altern Complement Med. 2010;16(12):1343-9.
