Wahls Paleo Diet and Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01915433 |
Recruitment Status :
Completed
First Posted : August 2, 2013
Last Update Posted : June 26, 2018
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
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Multiple Sclerosis | Other: Wahls Paleo Plus Other: Wahls Diet | Not Applicable |
Specific Aim 1. To assess changes in fatigue severity (primary outcome measure) and quality of life, motor, cognitive and emotional functions (secondary measures) the intervention groups (wahls paleo plus and wahls diet group)to usual care.
Hypothesis 1a: The Wahls Paleo plus group and the wahls diet group will both demonstrate more improvements in quality of life and fatigue between baseline and 12 weeks than usual care group.
Hypothesis 1b. The wahls paleo plus group will demonstrate more improvement in quality of life and fatigue than the wahls diet group.
Specific Aim 2. To assess changes in the blood biomarkers and endothelial function as the subject progresses through the study interventions.
Hypothesis 2a: The wahls paleo plus and the wahls diet group will demonstrate more favorable changes in blood biomarkers obtained at baseline and week 12 than the usual care group.
Hypothesis 2b: The wahls paleo plus group will demonstrate more favorable changes in blood biomarkers and quality of life than the wahls diet group experiences obtained at baseline and week 12.
Hypothesis 2c: The wahls paleo plus and the wahls diet group will demonstrate more favorable changes in measures of endothelial function between baseline and week 12 than will be observed in the usual care group.
Hypothesis 2d: The wahls paleo plus will demonstrate more favorable changes in measures of endothelial function between baseline and week 12 than the wahls diet group.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Actual Enrollment : | 15 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Masking: | None (Open Label) |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | Wahls Paleo Diet and Progressive Multiple Sclerosis |
Study Start Date : | July 2013 |
Actual Primary Completion Date : | February 2014 |
Actual Study Completion Date : | November 2016 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
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Experimental: Wahls Paleo Plus
Wahls Paleo Plus diet (ketogenic diet)
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Other: Wahls Paleo Plus
The study diet is based upon a Paleolithic Diet, also known as a Hunter Gatherer Diet, which exceeds the recommended daily allowance of water soluble vitamins and minerals 1.5 to 8 fold and improves lipids, inflammatory biomarkers and blood pressure. The study diet is further structured to be a low in carbohydrate and high in fat but still ensure consumption of the specific micronutrients important to optimal brain function. This diet is designed to induce a low level nutritional ketosis.
Other Name: Wahls Paleo Plus (ketogenic diet) |
Experimental: Wahls Diet
Wahls Diet (modified paleolithic diet)
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Other: Wahls Diet
The study diet is based upon a Paleolithic Diet, also known as a Hunter Gatherer Diet, which exceeds the recommended daily allowance of water soluble vitamins and minerals 1.5 to 8 fold and improves lipids, inflammatory biomarkers and blood pressure. The study diet is further structured to be a low glycemic diet and also ensure consumption of the specific micronutrients important to optimal brain function.
Other Name: Wahls Diet (modified paleolithic diet) |
No Intervention: Usual Care
Control - usual care only.
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- Perceived Fatigue [ Time Frame: Baseline, weeks, 4,8 and 12 ]Fatigue as measured by the fatigue severity scale and the modified fatigue impact scale
- Biomarkers [ Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks ]Biomarkers include weight, Body Mass Index,and blood biomarkers of renal and liver function, vitamin levels (A,C,K,D, B vitamins), homocysteine, h.s. c- reactive protein (CRP)
- Biomarkers - glucose and ketones [ Time Frame: Baseline and at 4, 8, 12 weeks ]GLucose, insulin, ketones, hemoglobin a1c to assess insulin sensitivity. Full intervention at baseline, and weeks 4,8,12 Minimal intervention at baseline and week 12.
- 24 hr food recalls. [ Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks ]The 24 hr recalls will be collected at baseline in in the last 4 weeks of study. This will include nutrient analyses as well.
- Daily Food logs [ Time Frame: Baseline through end of study (12 weeks) ]This is a record of daily food and beverage consumption. The two intervention groups will keep the record daily. The usual care group will keep the a food record the initial two weeks and for two weeks between weeks 10 and 12.
- MS functional composite score. [ Time Frame: Baseline and end of study (12 weeks) ]This a composite of tests involving tests of walking, hand coordination and mental addition.
- 6 minute walk test [ Time Frame: Baseline and week 12 ]Subject will walk 6 minutes. They may rest as needed during the 6 minute time period. The total length of time that is walked will be recorded.
- Medical symptoms quest. (MSQ) [ Time Frame: Baseline, weekly through week 12 ]Scored review of systems questionaire
- Life spaces score [ Time Frame: Baseline and week 12 ]Questions about the locations subjects has been in the prior time period of interest.
- Medication audit [ Time Frame: Baseline ]List of currently used medications, vitamins, supplements and over the counter medications.
- Physical examination [ Time Frame: baseline and 12 weeks ]Summary of physical findings from physical examination.
- Health questions [ Time Frame: baseline ]A list of questions to identify common medical comorbid conditions and their severity if present.
- MS Quality of Life (MSQoli 54) [ Time Frame: Baseline, week 12 ]MS Qoli 54 is a series of questions about physical function, role limitations-physical, role limitations-emotional, pain, emotional well-being, energy, health perceptions, social function, cognitive function, health distress, overall quality of life.
- MS Quality of life inventory (MSQLI) [ Time Frame: Baseline and week 12 ]MSQLI is a series of questions asking about daily life. Includes physical function, role limitations-physical, role limitations-emotional, pain, emotional well-being, energy, health perceptions, social function, cognitive function, health distress, overall quality of life.
- Demographic data [ Time Frame: Baseline and week 12 ]Questions about demographic attributes such as race, education, handedness.
- Functional Medicine assessment summary [ Time Frame: Baseline or 12 weeks ]A series of questions about a number of environmental risk factors for development of neurological and medical symptoms. Completed prior to orientation to study intervention diet after randomization (intervention groups) or at 12 weeks for usual care group.
- Veteran Specific Activity Quest. [ Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks. ]Series of questions about the tasks of daily life to identify how much activity the individual can safely do.
- MS Function Scale [ Time Frame: baseline and week 12 ]A series of questions about the tasks of daily life.
- Satiety scale [ Time Frame: Baseline and weeks 10 and 11 ]A series of questions about the sense of satiety or sense of fullness.
- Harvard Food Frequency Quest. [ Time Frame: Baseline ]A series of questions about the frequency of a variety of foodstuffs to estimate nutrient intake.
- Brachial artery dilation (FMD)and endothelium-dependent dilation, EDD) and endothelium-independent dilation [ Time Frame: Baseline and week 12 ]Brachial artery FMD and endothelium-independent dilation will be determined non-invasively using high-resolution ultrasonography.
- Expanded disability status score [ Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks ]Assessment of disability status

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 30 Years to 65 Years (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria - to complete 2 week RUN IN to determine eligibility for Main Study:
Inclusion Criteria -
- Secondary or Primary Progressive MS, relapsing progressive MS, relapsing- remitting MS
- Generally able to walk 25 feet in less than 60 seconds;
- significant fatigue as documented by a fatigue severity scale score of 4 or more OR a modified fatigue impact scale score of 38 or higher.
- age between 30 and including 65 at entry into the RUN IN study,
- non smoker,
- willingness to be randomized
- Mild gait disability as shown by an EDSS score of 4.5 or higher
- Confirmed MS diagnosis using McDonald criteria
- Eating standard American diet.
Exclusion Criteria for RUN IN to determine eligibility:
- change in medication in the prior 90 days, taking anti-platelet or anticoagulant therapy therapy, or having a major psychiatric disorder making compliance difficult,
- SELF REPORTED history of current diagnosis of diabetes, or active liver, kidney or clinically significant heart disease,
- unable to record daily weight at home,
- eating a vegetarian diet or chronic diarrhea, have already adopted a Paleo Diet (as defined by a complete elimination of grain, dairy, and legumes)
- unable to cope with 30% in grocery bill,
- Alanine aminotransferase value > 2X normal, or elevated creatinine value, (main study only)
- incompetence.
- Too low or too high BMI.
- Inability to follow study diet, which requires shopping carefully and food preparation, by either the study subject or with the help of an adult companion to do the shopping and food preparation.
- aversion to coconut milk
Main Study Inclusion Criteria
1) Successful completion of RUN IN Study - which means, the subject completed the various quest. and survey documents that are part of the RUN-IN study, completed the food diary for each day they participated in the RUN-IN, the subject is eating the standard American Diet as documented by the daily food logs and the 24 hour dietary recalls.

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01915433
United States, Iowa | |
Univeristy of Iowa | |
Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52240 | |
Univeristy of Iowa | |
Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52246 |
Study Director: | Terry L Wahls, MD | University of Iowa |
Responsible Party: | Terry L. Wahls, Study Director, University of Iowa |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT01915433 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
201302829 |
First Posted: | August 2, 2013 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | June 26, 2018 |
Last Verified: | June 2018 |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
Plan to Share IPD: | No |
Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Relapsing progressive multiple sclerosis relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis Fatigue |
Quality of life Paleo Nutrition Ketogenic |
Multiple Sclerosis Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive Sclerosis Pathologic Processes Demyelinating Autoimmune Diseases, CNS |
Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Demyelinating Diseases Autoimmune Diseases Immune System Diseases |