Nine Cups of Vegetables and the Wahls Protocol: Young Health and Fitness

Do you think you eat enough vegetables?

I thought I did. Maybe I'd even venture to say, I thought I ate a lot of vegetables.

Assuming you don't keep a strict food journal, how many cups of vegetables do you think you eat every day?

According to MyPlate, women should eat about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of vegetables a day, depending on age and activity. Men should be eating 2 1/2 to 3 cups a day. Not unreasonable, right? I was fairly certain I exceeded this recommendation on a regular basis.

Enter Dr. Terry Wahls. She's a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa, and she's the bestselling author of the Wahls Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine. In 2014, Dr. Wahls gave a Ted Talk in Iowa City about how she effectively "cured" her secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, in part by eating a ton of vegetables. Watch the viral video below. It's fascinating and has become quite controversial.

In the video, Dr. Wahls described her food plan to optimize the function of your mitochondria, which became the Wahls Protocol. It included eating a whopping NINE cups of vegetables every single day. The cups are broken down as follows:

Leafy greens: 3 cups

Provides Vitamins A, B, C, K, and minerals. Examples include spinach, kale and lettuce.

Sulfur-rich Veggies: 3 cups

Supports the mitochondria, removes toxins. Examples include onions, garlic, and broccoli.

Colorful Veggies: 3 cups

Flavonoids/polyphenols provide antioxidants. Examples include beets, carrots, peppers, and dark berries.

I heard a podcast interview with Dr. Wahls and that sealed it for me. Okay, I thought. Challenge accepted. I decided to make a dedicated effort to eat nine cups of vegetables according to the Wahls Protocol, for two weeks. It couldn't be that hard. I like vegetables, and anyone can do anything for two weeks.

Day One. I admit I didn't plan this experiment out very well. The day I listened to the Wahls interview was the same day I decided to try this, because I got a little too excited. However, I had also decided that morning that I was going to fast most of the day, so I didn't have any vegetables on hand at work. That meant I had to stuff down that day's servings once I got home in the evening. Okay, no problem.

I pulled out almost every vegetable we had in the fridge and laid them out on the kitchen counter. Our grocer had given us an abundance of kale, so there was my leafy vegetable intake - check. Next, I pulled out garlic, broccoli, onions, and mushrooms for my sulfur-rich vegetables. Check. I had one red bell pepper which equated to about 2 cups, but no other colorful veggies, so I substituted those with green beans. Check. I chopped up and measured out three cups of each and poured them all into a bowl.

My husband came home and raised an eyebrow. When I told him about the experiment, he muttered something about how we were going to have to spend a lot more on groceries. Perhaps, but it was vegetables...if I had to eat this many, I wouldn't have much room left over for meat, which was much more expensive anyway. And being healthy is all about reaping the long-term benefits, right? Think of the future medical bills I was saving by doing this!

I proceeded to stir-fry everything in avocado oil. I had to do it in batches, even with our largest skillet, because, well - it was a lot. *Note that I didn't just steam them; you need to eat your veggies with some fat for maximum bioavailability of their nutrients.* Fifteen minutes later, it was ready.

"Are you really going to eat all of that?" Will asked.

It did look like the amount you might make for a Thanksgiving side dish for six people. But I was determined. I got a fork and dug in.

At first, it was perfectly fine. I was hungry, and I had been thinking about vegetables all day during my fast. The flavor was great, too. I rarely ever went out of my way to cook more than one or two types of vegetables in a dish, and this was like a farmer's market on a plate.

Once I got about halfway through, however, I ran into a problem I didn't quite anticipate: I was tired of chewing. Chewing, chewing, chewing. I've been chewing for hours, or something. My jaw hurt.

Almost...finished...just keep chewing...

It was too late, though. I had started this thing, and I had to finish it. Taking a break was not an option, for fear I wouldn't be able to go back later. So I chewed my way, slowly, through the whole bowl. When I was done, I felt accomplished, strong, healthier already. You can do this every day, I told myself. Look how healthy you are.

On Day Two, I got sick.

It started with a sore throat in the afternoon. I had already planned out my nine cups of veggies for the day, spread out in increments to avoid the dreaded chewing fatigue I experienced the day before. For dinner, I made a lovely creamy leek and mushroom soup, which once blended practically eliminated chewing altogether. I say practically, because I also blended up a couple of cups of kale to add into the soup, which required a little bit more jaw work.

On Day Three, I was in full-blown sick mode: sore throat, cough, headache, and chills. My husband decided that it must have been the vegetables, because it's relatively unusual for me to get colds and it was the only thing I had changed in the last 48 hours. I must have overdosed on vitamins.

I refused to believe it. The Wahls Protocol reversed MS, for goodness sake, a disease with no cure! I was going to soldier on.

Day Four was better, and over the week I learned how to incorporate more vegetables into every meal - a tad more kale in my scrambled eggs, extra servings of veggies at lunch, and soups helped a lot. I was getting the hang of it.

On Day 7, my husband came home with a Vitamix blender for my birthday.

It was beautiful.

The Vitamix actually deserves its own post, so I'll skip over the first time I used it and just tell you what many people already know - it's amazing. It made my veggie intake infinitely more convenient. I threw all kinds of stuff in there for soups and smoothies, and everything came out silky smooth. See my go-to recipe for a green smoothie below.

Conclusion: I have to admit - I probably didn't meet my veggie intake every day of the two weeks. Some number fudging happened (this garnish next to my steak is like a 1/2 cup, right?), and I went out of town for a few days, which made it more difficult.

The thing was, because I had to think about eating so many vegetables, I had to think of them first. I didn't realize how big of a difference this made. My whole life, I thought of meat first. Protein was the main course, and veggies were a side dish. But since I needed to eat 9 cups a day, my diet naturally became mostly plants. There was less room for meat, but also less room for junk.

Another interesting side effect occurred. I found myself craving vegetables. I had a late-night snack attack one day and satisfied it with a couple cups of raw veggies. Scientifically, this made sense. Cravings are controlled by your brain. They can serve as our body's way to communicate with us. For example, I watched a documentary about a man who was stranded at sea in a lifeboat. He was able to survive for an astonishing amount of time simply by living off fish. At first, he ate only the meaty fish filets. However, as time passed, he found himself craving other parts, like the eyes and organs. His brain was telling him that he needed the vitamins and minerals in those body parts, and it communicated that through his cravings. Take a look at this article about food cravings and their possible meanings.

Perhaps my body was telling me something as well. More of this, it seemed to whisper. More vegetables.

I won't obsess over getting in my nine cups every day from now on, but I am more aware of my eating habits through this short experiment. I'll be much more intentional about my veggie intake now, perhaps thinking of them first. Even if I wanted to, it's possible my body won't let me back off anymore either - it's gotten used to a certain standard of living.

I challenge anyone reading to try this out too, just for a few weeks. Report back with your experience! If you already eat nine or more cups a day, tell me why and how you do it. I want to learn.