ALS and Whole 30?

[Eileen M]

Does anyone have experience using the Whole 30 for someone with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)?  My husband was recently diagnosed.  Our only concern about giving it a try is that he needs to consume a high amount of calories every day in order to maintain his weight because ALS increases your metabolism.  He is 5'10" and weighs 155 pounds, so any weight loss at all would be problematic.  There are some foods he can no longer eat, so coming up with a Whole 30-compliant meal plan would be a challenge.  But if it slows the progression of the disease...  Thanks for any help you can provide.

[SugarcubeOD]

Hey there;

Sorry to hear of your hubby's diagnoses, that's a tough pill to swallow... 

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that kills your nerves... from the small bit of research I've just done, the biggest concern is getting enough calories... in this case, smoothies, straight coconut milk, breakfast smoothie bowls, chia pudding etc... would be okay.  It may be a better idea to remove the big offenders (grain, dairy, soy) and follow the Whole 30 loosely while still maintaining the intake of calories necessary.  There is no research that shows that Whole30 will slow down the progression of the disease as it's not an autoimmune disease...of course it's always healthy to remove major inflammatory foods.

[Eileen M]

Thanks for your kind words, it's definitely been a difficult few months.  You're absolutely right that ALS is not an autoimmune disease, so Whole 30 won't help with that.  However, there is evidence that inflammation plays a role in ALS.  One of my husband's neurologists at Mass General Hospital told us that it is one of the five known pathways to ALS, they just don't know yet exactly how it works or how to determine which pathway affects an individual patient.  My husband is in a clinical trial at MGH now with a drug that targets inflammation.  That's what made me think that perhaps a paleo diet might be helpful in some way, although it could backfire if we aren't careful.  I like your suggestion of a hybrid approach.