More than 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported each year, according to the CDC. However, this number may be even higher due to a few reasons including:
1. Lyme disease can go undiagnosed for a long time. Many individuals do not get a bulls eye rash and don’t have strong enough symptoms that would warrant a doctor or hospital visit.
2. Lyme disease can mask itself as many other conditions and autoimmune disorders, making it difficult to diagnose. Because of this, misdiagnosis is common.
Lyme disease is a systemic illness that affects the whole body. It impacts the nervous system, intestinal tract, heart, immune system, and connective tissue like joints and muscles. Basically, inflammation occurs at the cellular level within the entire body. Just like any other condition, if you don’t take care of yourself, symptoms can worsen.
With Lyme disease, a proper diet can make a tremendous difference in your quality of life. Western diets typically leave our bodies very acidic. It is overloaded in poor fats, over consumption of protein, not enough fiber and too much sugar and caffeine. When the body becomes too acidic, it leads to inflammation and an increased risk for other diseases and disorders.
An alkalizing diet helps to balance your pH level, ultimately reducing acidity. The pH level at which your body works best is around 7.4. (This can be measured with pH strips purchased at most health food stores). When you have a more alkaline environment your body is able to function at optimal levels. Alkalinity can aid in the reduction of inflammation and also mitigate chronic conditions like Lyme disease.
Alkaline foods to include in your diet:
Leafy green vegetables
Most fresh fruit
Fermented foods such as kimchi & sauerkraut
Plant based protein sources
Cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts
Raw nuts and seeds
Herbs
Lemons
Beans
Peas
Spinach
Tomatoes
Radishes
Beets
Cucumbers
Garlic
Avocados
Olive oil
Alkaline water
Carrots
Celery
Green tea
In addition to alleviating inflammation, an alkalizing diet also inhibits the growth of yeast and bad bacteria which can coincide with Lyme disease. This also allows for better detoxification in general.
I have found many of my patients flourish when following the proper alkalizing diet and detoxification protocol. This reflects a lifestyle change that can make life significantly better, especially when dealing with Lyme. It is also important to identify specific food allergies or sensitivities that may also trigger symptoms.
Chronic Lyme disease can be a serious challenge and I have experienced it firsthand. With proper treatment, you can still lead a very rich life. While there is no single treatment that helps everyone with Lyme disease, following a healthy, alkalinizing diet helps the majority of patients I treat. It’s not a difficult diet to follow and may be the next step for you in getting your health back!
Darin,
How to order your alkaline recipe book?
Hi Kelly,
The full recipe book is slated to be released when the Lyme book is released, which is tentatively Spring 2018. However, I am looking to see if we can release it as an eBook sooner than later. If so, I am hoping to have it completed by the end of the year. If you sign up for our email list, I will notify you when it is available!
Doctor I have just listened to you speak on the summit. My husband had been experiencing the symptoms both you and Dr Shoemaker listed. We were exposed to an extremely damp home for several years in the mid seventies and was very ill but was treated as if he had glandular fever then around 2010 was bitten by a strange insect and within a couple of months was seeing a series of spevialists but none could diagnose the issue. I did ask if they would screen for lymes at the time and although they eventually agreed to do so lost the results. I was assured it could not possibly be lymes as it doesn’t occur here in yorkshire England. When I heard both of you two doctors discuss CIRS and Lymes they fitted so closely to my husbands symptoms. Are you aware of any doctors who practice in UK that we could go to got a diagnoses. I hear the term Functional Doctor used frequently but don’t know what the equivalent title would be in UK. Please help as my husband is so ill and yet all his bloodwork comes back as ok. He has recently been diagnosed with a tiny oesophagal hernia and bery slight Barrats oespphagus and an erratic and fast heartbeat and is 69 but has gone from a very active man to being so fatigued he can hardly walk round the garden and is in constant discomfort from a wide range of alternating symptoms.
Thank you so much for speaking on the summit and shining a light into our darkness
God Bless. Dorothy Thompson
Hi Dorothy,
Lyme disease is quite prominent in the UK as is out of Europe. There is a great environmental medicine clinic in London and they have experience with Lyme disease. Your husband should be tested with a good lab (although Lyme disease is technically a clinical diagnosis) and the doctors over at Breakspear can help. Here is the link to their website: https://breakspearmedical.com/about-us/our-people/the-directors/. They can also help if there are mold issues as well.
I heard you on the thyroid summit. Just recently diagnosed with Chronic Lyme, and seeing a Lyme literate ND and D.O. Just started on herbs. Giving me bad herx’s, anything you suggest for head pain and dizziness?? Nothing the docs have prescribed has helped thus far. Know I’m NOT alone in this, but it sure feels like it sometimes.
Thank you for your great talk, this great website and any detox help !!
Dawn in CO
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for tuning in the Summit! Without knowing what herbs you are taking, you can take Burbur from Nutramedix to help offset the reaction.I find sometimes you have to take it every hour to keep the reaction under control. I also use Chinese herbs if that doesn’t do the trick. You might talk with your ND about other herbal options to help keep the Herx reaction at bay until you push through it. Make sure to keep your electrolyte levels up and follow the alkaline diet. It really does help.
Thank you for your response. I know you said we consume too much protein, but how much is too much ?? I lost a ton of weight and muscle when my symptoms cascaded in 2012 (before diagnosis) and I’ve not been able to put it back on. Just did a Genova food sensitivity test with my DO and results should be back any day.
Right now am on Mimosa pudica for the air hunger Babesia is causing, Oregano oil, and just getting ready to add stevia, samento, and banderol into the mix. Having to go very slow because I’m so sensitive and don’t want the herx reactions again. She said we might have to do antibiotics, but I am so opposed to the use of any – my gut has been so messed up for 5 years – at the start of this I had a root canal done improperly, it got infected, went systematic, and was on antibiotics before I knew anything about probiotics! I believe they (antibiotics) along with triggering the Lyme and mold caused all my gastro problems – amount them gastritis, IBS, and SIBO.
I will ask my ND Lyme doc about the Burbur when I see her next week.
Any other suggestions ?? I follow pretty much a Paleo diet, but wondering if I’m eating too much protein ? Just don’t want to lose any more weight, and I’m going to address this with her as well, but would like/respect your opinion.
Thank you !
Dawn
“Too much protein” is usually more than 75g a day for as non active person and more than 90g a day for an active person. There are obviously individual variations on what is optimal for each person, but this is a guideline. For people who have had muscle wasting, you have to look into why it occurs. In many cases it is a function of poor nutrient digestion or malabsorption, so looking at gut function is important. Any type of inflammation in the gut can cause malabsorption, including SIBO, IBS, IBD, etc. I recommend to use one of the great apps out there to calculate your nutrient intake and you can measure how much protein you are consuming along with other nutrients.
My new Lyme doc, Denise Clark, ND suggests trying MC BAB 1 for Babesia air hunger. I’ve been on Mimosa Pudica. Your thoughts on the product MC BAB 1 would be appreciated, I keep reading about bad herding from it, and I’m very sensitive.
Thank you !
Hi Dawn,
MC BAB-1 is potent and can cause herx reactions more than other herbs I use. Every doctor has his/her favorites, so there is no right or wrong answer with herbal therapy. I find Artemisiae Caps from Dr. Zhang work well against babesia with less Herxing. Talk with Dr. Clark and see what she thinks.