Allyson Brown is the Director of Everheal and creator of the 4-Step LIFE Formula Program. She completed her PhD in Analytical Research in 2010, has presented Nationally at the 2020 Virtual Disability Expo and has been featured in TickerNews, TickerInsights, MS InTouch Magazine, and was an acclaimed speaker at the 2022 Symptom Free MS Summit.
After suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) since 2005, Allyson was forced to resign from her corporate job due to debilitating fatigue and brain fog. However, Allyson’s life changed forever when she discovered the healing properties of food, which helped her overcome these symptoms and restore her quality of life.
Allyson then researched recommendations from experts and functional medicine practitioners from across the globe, to discover the critical links between gut health and autoimmunity, and ultimately how to use food as medicine!
Allyson is now dedicated to sharing her research and LIFE Formula Program to help educate, encourage, and empower fellow autoimmune sufferers about how to improve their health naturally, so they can get the most out of life too.
Allyson and I have so much in common, two girls living with MS who have done a lot of research on the mind and body to relieve our own symptoms of brain fog, fatigue, numbness, and in Allyson's case optic neuritis, and paralysis for me. I love what she is doing in her business Everheal, she has created a program that helps people to navigate the transitional changes with the power of healthy eating. From meal plans to chopping lists to cleaning out the pantry with real wholefoods, she has you covered.
When Allyson was diagnosed, it was after she was experiencing a pinched nerve sensation in her upper back, the right-hand side of her body became numb, and her legs just weren’t feeling right. Her doctors ran some tests, and an MRI showed lesions on her brain and spine, Allyson was diagnosed with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. Relapsing-remitting MS is a type of MS where you have relapses (symptoms getting worse) followed by recovery (that's when it's “remitting”). Your disability doesn't get worse between relapses but after each relapse, it can end up worse than before.
Allyson has experienced twenty relapses over the last 15 years that led to symptoms of brain fog, fatigue, and optic neuritis. The optic nerve carries images of what the eye sees to the brain. When this nerve becomes swollen or inflamed, it is called optic neuritis. It may cause sudden, reduced vision in the affected eye. Allyson at times also found it difficult to walk.
In 2020 Allyson had to stop working in her corporate job as an analyst. She experienced anxiety and depression, wondering what had happened to her life. Feeling miserable, she thought - is this it? So she had to find a new way to get motivated to try something new. Allyson discovered that there were diets out there that could help promote repair in the body, she followed
Dr. Terry Wahl’s Paleo diet, a neurologist who also has Multiple Sclerosis. Dr. Wahls is a IFM-trained physician, educator, researcher, and patient.
Within 3 months, her energy returned, she got her brain back and the anxiety and depression began to subside - life-changing. It involved eliminating inflammatory foods such as sugar, dairy, gluten, processed foods, and alcohol, and replacing them with nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, fiber, good fat, and protein. There are many diets out there, so Allyson put her analyst skills to good use and discovered that 70-80% of healthy diets overlap the same foods.
Allyson believes that resilience is our ability to never up on ourselves, and it is our ability to keep learning so that we can persist to get results.
It is now Allyson’s passion to help others on their journey to eat better and feel better.
Allyson’s tips: