Healing

Healing is the process of the restoration of health. How do we do that? I am not the best one to ask that question, but I am often very good at saying what is wrong. When discussing Lyme, we know that acute Lyme is different that persistent or Chronic Lyme. I will discuss Chronic Lyme as it is the most difficult to correct.

Chronic Lyme patients deal with many problems. They include nutrient deficiency, epigenetic shifts, down regulation of immune response, detoxification issues, advanced microbiome problems, and translocation of GI bacteria. It would take a lot of writing to discuss all of these, so I'll just touch on the advanced microbiome problems and the translocation of GI bacteria.

Advanced microbiome problems are both skewed bacterial phylum ratios as well as having pathogens that shouldn't be there. Science has shown the bacterial ratios of most conditions but has yet to show the pathogens that shouldn't be there. An example of a condition where the bacterial ratios have been examined is depression. In depression, the patient is always low in Lactobacillus helvectcus, and Bifidobacterium longum and high in Ruminococcus flavefaciens. Antidepressants decrease Ruminococcus. We see microbiome alteration in many pharmaceuticals and it is believed that many of their actions are due to microbiome alterations. Metformin lowers blood sugars by increasing Bifidobacterium. So in every condition, there are associations between bacterial profiles and conditions. That is the scientific literature saying that, not me. Chronic Lyme is no different. Borrelia and increased yeasts are an issue but the synergistic effects of these pathogens increases other pathogen's survival. Increases are seen in Proteobacteria, Firmicutes increase (Enterococcus), and Actinobacteria (Streptomyces). Decreases are seen in Bacterioidetes and Verruconmicrobia. A major issue is the bad Firmicutes and Actinobacteria increase and the good ones decrease. Their ratio gets skewed. The good ones are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and since they make GABA, metabolic problems begin when they decrease. Many of the good bacteria that are decreased produce short chain fatty acids. This is huge! Short chain fatty acids are exchanged for bicarbonate in the GI tract to regulate pH. We know that the pH of the GI tract is the most important factor in determining which bacteria are present. We also know that food is the most important factor in determining the pH of the GI tract. We could use the transitive property right here and say that food determines bacteria in the GI tract. That is only to an extent because there are other factors. For Lyme patients to get better, they must raise their GI pH. Alkaline foods help this. Raw plants are alkaline but they have another added benefit. They contain anti-pathogenic chemicals that reduce unwanted pathogens in the GI tract. Eating a large, high fiber meal is like taking an antibiotic. Chemicals like lactacystin, cathespin, epoximycin, lactocidin, and streptocin are just a few of these anti-pathogenic agents we get from plants. Another benefit to eating raw plants is they don't have increased levels of nitrogen and sulfur to increase the "Bad" bacteria that we have too much of. They also contain more of the "Good" Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. Eating a salad at SubWay isn't the same as eating fresh greens from your garden. The amount of bacteria difference is huge and that is why fresh vegetables will always be better than processed vegetables from a restaurant.

There are problems for many who try to eat a high fiber diet. It needs to gradually be implemented because of detox issues. It takes 3 to 4 days to turnover the bacteria in our GI tract so every 3 to 4 days, the level of fiber should be increased. It should take several weeks to get up to the 50 grams per day of fiber that we should strive for but some may not tolerate that much. Use sustained gas production as an indicator where your GI tract is at. Doing this may not get you well, but you will be much better off provided your oxidative stress levels are reduced.

The increased fiber should help, but there are other problems for chronic lyme patients. Translocation, or the movement of bacteria from one area to another, occurs in chronic lyme. GI bacteria make it through the tight junctions of the GI tract and into the blood stream. They won't survive long in the bloodstream so they quickly find safe harbor where ever they can, most notably in the extracellular matrix in our joints, ligaments, and tendons. These bacteria are constantly under attack from our immune response and the popping and creaking of joints is an example of the excess NO gas being reabsorbed. The down regulation of our immune response helps decrease this as fighting bacteria creates oxidative stress. Chronic Lyme patients must fight Borrelia, Staph, Strep, Enterococcus, yeasts, and all of the other bacteria that make it through our GI barriers. Fighting these bacteria peripherally requires more immune response which requires increased nutrients and often reversal of the epigenetic shifts that have occurred. This won't occur without first correcting the balance of bacteria in the GI tract. This is why it takes such a long time to correct our problems. We don't eat what we need to eat to give us the nutrients to correct our issues. We don't eat what we need to give us the bacteria we need to correct our issues. And we don't eat what we need to detoxify from all of the junk (PCB's, dioxins, chemicals, plastics, heavy metals) just to name a few.

FYI, a bacteria with a flagella embedded in the extracellular matrix can be detected by our immune system and will be attacked. Is that an autoimmune reaction? I just see it as our body doing what it can to get rid of a bacteria being where it shouldn't be.

Thank you for posting this.

Funny you say about raw foods and alkaline foods.
This is THE most common 'therapy' for naturopaths and holistic doctors in the German speaking world.
Specially for joint problems, but also any major inflammation.

It became a sort of common sense here.
People still eat too acid, too many animal proteins and too many cooked foods, junk food, but they know they aren't doing well because of that.

In times of trouble, they shift back to more alkaline foods, and their problems sort of get under control.
I'm talking about really, the general population.
It became common knowledge here (if you're not yet brain washed by doctors trying to push pills on you)...

I never stopped fruits and raw food, even during lyme.
People kept saying: stop fruits. I never did.
I do think fruits help the good probiotic in the gut, plus all the vitamins and antioxidants they have...

No matter what people said, I never stopped raw veggies and fruits.
The moment I feel bad, or when nothing else works, I go back to raw foods and the body heals itself.
Even from bad lyme relapses.
And it's amazingly fast. In a matter of days, I feel the effect clearly.

But I know people who are not used to eat raw, and when they do, they get wild reactions.
It might be because their flora is not aimed to digest raw foods anymore.
They got to build this flora back, slowly, but steadily, I think.

And also the way people mix foods in the same meal, it also causes bloating, pains.
Like fats / proteins with sugar /carbs.
These follow 2 opposite digestion paths, and eating them together is bad idea...

Anyway, I fully agree that for keeping long term health, watching carefully every bite you take is essential.
Diet and a few supplements is basically the main things I did /do, after lyme went dormant.

I wonder how peoples health was affected in the distant past areas (before..1900 or so) with winter- without modern transportation for fresh / near fresh fruits and veggies.?

Potatoes, onions kept in a cool cellar were pretty much it, and rest was canned or fermented to last..

There were "ice boxes" (hay/ice, w/ wood cover) before refrigeration, but anything "green" still doesn't last long in refrigeration today. Its flown in.

So probably had seasonal gut flora changes per seasonal food. (?)

I was wondering if drinking alkaline water is of more benefit to body ph. Not suggesting it is the only answer, but , possibly, assists in attaining a better ph.

Dude - looks interesting.

I was on a low / no oxalate diet for three months once.

I didn't know that, Dude. Thanks for that information. I do get a good amount of acidic foods, maybe more than I should be getting.

I appreciate the articles. Will go back now and read them. And your ideas/thoughts are always welcome. The more we see and hear, the more it helps. Thanks, again.

Georgia Hunter,

You said - Eating a salad at SubWay isn't the same as eating fresh greens from your garden. The amount of bacteria difference is huge and that is why fresh vegetables will always be better than processed vegetables from a restaurant.

I don’t think many of us have an organic garden in our backyard. Some of us probably don’t even have access to a farmer’s market. I buy packaged organic greens at the grocery store. They have greens at the farmers market (an hour drive away), but they are way more expensive than the packaged greens at the grocery store.

What you said is very discouraging, even if it is accurate. Sounds like it’s not even worth it to try to eat produce if you can’t do it perfectly.

In the produce section yesterday of a smaller market. I grabbed an apple and some pre-packaged green leafy veggies got my attention because of large print on the flimsy container which read "Locally Farmed". LOL, It first snowed Oct 2 nd. Anything leafy and green around here was last picked in late august to early sept.

The only way green leafy veggies could be grown and picked locally is if this was from some fancy organic indoor "farm" or the indoor aqua grown (whatever that's called). If that were the case, I'm betting this would have said so on the container to justify a higher price. The price was low.

Food marketing is sneaky with the FDA label laws, they go right up to it, but not over if they can get away with it

Post Edited (astroman) : 12/16/2019 8:39:52 AM (GMT-7)

I thought everyone bought fresh stuff 2, 3x a week or is it then only me?
It's been such a deep carved habit that I wonder how people do, if they want to have fresh stuff home?

Lettuce start to go bad after day 2, so if you want fresh lettuce daily, you need to go shopping at least 2, but more often, it's 3 times a week the 'norm'.

I suppose our fresh produce is far from perfect, but it's still MUCH better than eating processed foods, flour (pasta), bread, cookies, sausages, candies, lasagnas, pizzas etc, stuff that you are SURE is dead, totally deprived of nutrients.

90% literally of what people eat, I don't even touch.

It makes life a bit harder, as you can't just go out and eat out 'normally' like others, but as I consider I have no choice - or I may fall ill again with whatever chronic disease - I usually opt for bringing my food out, most of the time.

It's a huge difference to eat bread and butter/ jam/ nutella with a cup of coffee for breakfast, than drink fresh veggie juices with loads of fruits, or eat carrot/ cucumber / veggie sticks with apples, pears, persimons, mango, avoiding animal protein and fats. Digestion goes so much smooth, specially if you can avoid grains / or diminish the amount of grains....

I even take veggie soups for breakfast many times, instead of eating anything people consider as 'breakfast'.
It's my understanding that the more you fill yourself with dead foods, the less place / hunger / will you have to take carrot or fennel sticks during the day. The problem is basically that, I think.

As for alkaline water, they are bad for us, long term. Foods are the only perfect stuff to alkalinize (my opinion).
Alkaline water and products have been here in Europe for so long, they never really got into 'fashion', because everyone will notice their digestion is fully messed after a while. People give a try for a while, and stop.

We were not programmed to drink very alkaline water, so I guess, the body needs extra work to de-alkalinize it... Much better is to alkalinize the gut with natural foods. It's just my experience.

There are however some homeopathic products that can help a bit boost alkalinity, like Sanuvis from Sanum, used by Dr Rau and loads of natural practitioners. But if a guy is on loads of animal proteins + junk food, no Sanuvis in the world will change his gut alkalinity..., so first, they all recommend a change in diet to more fruits and veggies.

Another point raised by German holistic medicine is that eating foods that MAY cause inflammation (eggs, milk products, gluten, nuts etc) will make your body go acidic, because inflammation causes acidity in the body.
Therefore, it's not only eating fresh, fruits and veggies, but also take off all foods that have potential to become allergenic / inflammatory.

There starts the discussions/ arguments, here and there...
Some stuff are known to increase inflammation for the majority of people (like gluten and milk products) but other things are quite personal (like tomatoes, citrus fruits, etc)...