Changing My Diet Changed My Life

[Diana Belland]

I found this video on Youtube the week following my diagnosis on March 4, 2019.  I was, of course, very impressed by Coelho’s tenacity and attitude.   What stood out for me, in particular, was his exercise routine.  I was amazed that five years after his diagnosis,  he was still walking and moving around so well.

What do I think of the video?  It’s beautifully shot and edited, and Coelho is a very appealing young man.  It gave me hope during that first bleak week of struggling to accept my diagnosis.  Mind over matter!  Positive attitude makes anything possible!  Exercise is good and you can do four hours of it a day!  I balked at the Paoleo diet, though, and wondered why he didn’t share a list of his supplements.    I searched the internet for updates about Coelho to try to find out how he is doing, whether he is still alive.   I found an article in Portuguese from 2018 that seemed to mention him but nothing in English.

I can relate to Bernardo’s experience with exercise because I love the way I feel when I am doing it.  I am trying to find a good daily routine that works for me.  I do leg machines and light free weights with my arms, treadmill, recumbent bike and Dagmar’s chair exercises.  I don’t care for the Paleo diet but I eat the way I always have—lots of fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, legumes, fish, yogurt, olive oil—I ate all the “right” food yet my diet didn’t protect me from ALS.  I was given a list of supplements by my neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic but I take far fewer than Bernardo does.

Videos like these would be more helpful in a practical way if they could be backed up by some research or statistics to show that certain diets, certain kinds of exercise, and certain particular supplements actually do slow disease progression.   I don’t know if any studies have been done which show that a positive mindset can slow progression, but it certainly makes each day you have more pleasant for yourself and those around you.

 

[Jean-Pierre Le Rouzic]

Dear moderator,

1. Did you check if this is not another scam (it seems there are many scammers in healthcare). I can find two links, one to a clinic claiming to apply Bernardo Pinto Coelho diet, and the other to a clinic with roughly the same name (http://www.doutorpintocoelho.pt/a-clinica/).

2. Are there any other credible sources (doctors) that tell that his symptoms improved?

Many thanks