A conversation with Melissa Kiraly and David O’Brien.
Melissa Kiraly is a 5EW Member. She lives with a condition called multiple sclerosis (MS). This is an interview with Mel and her coach/assessor David O’Brien from July 2019. A month prior to this interview Mel received the remarkable – and almost unprecedented – news that her condition was improving.
Q: SO, LET’S BEGIN WITH: WHAT EXACTLY IS MS?
Mel: MS is a neurological disease where the body’s own immune system attacks the covering around the nerves. This cover is called myelin. Myelin insulates and protects the nerves so messages from the brain can get to the body smoothly. When myelin gets attacked or breaks down, the nerves are exposed, making it very difficult for the brain to communicate with the rest of the body.
Dave: MS is a protein misfolding issue. When proteins spontaneously misfold in the body, chaperone proteins help the mutated proteins to reform their original structure. Autoimmune conditions, like MS, are linked to a reduction in T cells. T cells allow our body to recognise its own immune system. Butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, helps to reduce inflammation in the body, allowing us to produce more T cells. So if we’ve got a problem with short-chain fatty acid production, then we’ve got a problem with T cell production, and then potentially the body starts attacking the immune system.
There’s also a link between negative gram bacteria and neurodegenerative disease. Mel had Klebsiella, a type of negative gram bacteria. When you have too much negative gram bacteria, you produce a by-product called lipopolysaccharides. LPS gets released into your bloodstream and your body is forced to clear the excess amount. To clear it, the body needs compounds like glutathione. But an excess amount of LPS diminishes glutathione. So plastics and heavy metals begin to accumulate, of which Mel had an extremely high lead and mercury in her blood.
When Mel came to see me, I said, ‘We’re going to address what really caused this. Detoxification starts in the gut and finishes in the gut.’
Q) HOW HAS YOUR APPROACH TO NUTRITION CHANGED?
Mel: I’m all organic now! Eliminating all toxins has been a big priority. It’s quite encouraging when I find a little bug on my leaf, I think: yum, this is organic. I was never exactly munching down pies before, I just didn’t eat enough, skipped meals, and avoided all dietary fat. There was a time I would’ve taken the fat off the duck, but now I think, ‘Hey, if you don’t want your duck fat… I’ll take it!’
Dave: Saturated fat plays the biggest role in myelin production. It’s true, not all fats are created equal, but the right types from good quality sources, are essential. Butter and ghee both contain butyrate (mentioned above as playing a role in promoting T cell production).
Q) WHAT ABOUT TRAINING; SHOULD SOMEONE WITH MS REALLY LIFT WEIGHT?
Mel: I’m in the gym Monday to Friday, and I follow a daily undulating program, which means diversity: bit of strongman training, body strength stuff, weight training. My first goal was to get through a session and not go home and cry. It was painful and I felt ashamed. Everything was difficult for me.
I remember the first time I squatted the bar. I thought I was going to die. It was the heaviest thing in the world. A few weeks ago, after Dave put the big 10kg plates on there, I also went home and cried, but it was a different sort of cry.
Dave: Initially the focus was to develop enough lean muscle to help protect the body and improve biochemical signalling around the body, by promoting testosterone, a protective hormone. We work on slow tempo lifting to help forge good neurological patterning in the body, and we start each session with something that encourages neuroplasticity. This includes skill-based work, ball games, and spinal articulation to help with the nervous system.
Q) WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE FOR PEOPLE IN YOUR POSITION?
Mel: Don’t spend your time thinking. Go be proactive! Be consistent with teeny tiny weekly goals. Surround yourself with a good team. Eat to nourish. Be disciplined. It’s like being in a bad relationship you can’t get out of, all you can do is set the tone and play it by your rules.
WORDS FROM MEL AND DAVE
Mel: Dave is my Seeing Eye of Mordor. He sees what I can’t. I don’t always know where we’re headed or what we’re doing, but I have a lot of trust in him.
Dave: I admire people when they’re willing to take a leap of faith. Most people just stay in their comfort zone and then wonder why nothing’s changing. Mel adopted everything I put forward and changed her life for it. She’s a great messenger for people in similar situations.
