Lyme disease and diet, just the facts please

As in anything there are many theories about what is the best diet for lyme disease. However I am trying to nail down what truly works. My doc says I should avoid sugar and simple carbs like pasta and potatoes. He also mentioned night shades, but honestly I am not sure why? Yes nightshades can cause problems for some people but I have lyme disease not a food allergy. I am also not interested in treating symptoms, I want to get to the root and deal with that.  So lets have it what can we agree on are foods that should be avoided . Sugar is a biggy that everyone seems to say is a no no because lyme spirochets feed on it. So what say you?  

High fiber, high protein, low GI, tons of fresh vegetables, plus foods that help fight the infection...garlic, lemon, cruciferous vegetables help to detox...I think also a diet that's high in the good fats, but I'm not sure, all I know is I eat A LOT of nuts...and very little of the other kinds of fat because my body says a big fat no to them every time...

I'm not sure about dairy. I don't really have much of it but I think I've heard about avoiding that.

Plus keep it simple...avoid processed foods, even the healthy ones. That's my biggest weakness. But I feel the best when I eat meals that I know exactly what's in them, simple ingredients. Meat, vegetables, etc. Good luck!

PS what are nightshades?

Truth be told, there are many "Lyme Diets" out there! I would suggest that you first and foremost eat healthy! Of course organic would be best, but (as in my situation) they just aren't available where I live - it's too rural.

There are certain foods said to increase inflammation, and others that increase mucous in the body and so on. Each person's situation and symptoms with their TBI's is highly individualized, and so then is the diet that's right for them. I have chosen to eat as healthy as I can and listen to my Acu doc (as I like to call her) as to what to avoid as things "crop up".

I also believe that we need to find a diet that we can maintain for a lifetime. From what I have been reading, there is no evidence that a person can actually completely rid their body of all the spirochetes, so keeping your body in the best condition as possible will help keep any relapses from occurring.

As for treating your symptoms - you really do need to support your body as it's fighting this fight. I can't remember right now (forgive me) but unless you have a very recent infection, your body will need the support so that it can turn it's energies to fighting the infections that you have - not trying to keep things working.

One more thing, Inhim. I see your signature that you don't want to broadcast your email address - if you activate your email through this site, only the members have access to it. You can also create a free email acct (through yahoo or gmail or any other free site) that is solely dedicated for you to remain anonymous and yet communicate with those on this forum. Of course there is no requirement to have an email address in order to be a member either!

Inhimwelive said...
Borderlyme, nightshades are a common family of vegetables that includes potatoes, tomatoes and peppers.. Some people have a reaction that either causes or worsens arthritis...

Of course....my doctor just told me to eat more tomatoes and tomato juice to support my liver...

Lyme is so full of contradictions!

well i eat whatever i know i can keep down...one day it might be grapes and chicken broth and one day it might be mcdonalds and kit kats...*shrug*...i would love to keep my lyme doc happy because she too told me i needed to cut out anything white...*pastas sugar bread any dairy*....and i would love to oblige her....but i cant cut out ALL MY JOYS....lol

Jess, I love your diet. I wish I could be that disciplined with my diet; slowly I am getting there. I'm realizing it's not something I should be doing, it's something I HAVE to be doing to get better. But it still is not easy. Giving up so many favorite foods and changing your whole lifestyle is a difficult thing to do.

And I had a question for everyone about fruit - what about the sugars in that? I know some fruit are higher in sugars than others; and Jess you mention berries, apples, and pears, which I think are lower in sugar. Of course, my favorites are pineapple and oranges, which are probably the worst!

Inhim,
No problem with the email address. Just thought I'd make it clear, as so many that come here are dealing with at least some brain fog!! It's up to the site Administrator about having a pm option, sorry!

As for the the treating of symptoms (and I promise - I'm not 'arguing' with you, just discussing), I believe that it needs to be determined just how much those symptoms are disrupting things, don't you? I was living with some pretty serious symptoms that my doc believed would compromise the effectiveness of treatment.

The other thing is that I see a Holistic doc and my understanding is that they build the body up so that it can tackle these infections much better - as healthy bodies regularly do. I do have to say that I have made some pretty impressive improvements by doing things her way!

I'm really curious about what you were saying about this, as in many instances I agree, but you have made kind of a blanket statement about all treatments -except ones that strengthen the immune system of course.

Please remember, I am not acting as a Mod here!! I really am curious about your thoughts here! BTW - I have a very busy weekend starting today, so pardon me for not being able to post on this until after the weekend. Now, on to our discussion!!

I understand what you are saying, but from what I understand if the body is working way too hard at just functioning it can't also fight off infections. I do believe that is why I 'lost' my appendix and my gall bladder. My body was so busy just trying to function (even though it wasn't doing a very good job of it) there was no 'energy' left for it to be able to fight off the infections once they started.

I don't mean to downplay anyone's situation, as these infections can reek such havoc on anyone's life - although, there are those who are more ill than others even though we may have the exact same infections. With that being said, maybe those who have a less serious situation could get by without some of the support that we are talking about, but I really don't see how someone who's body is struggling to function could benefit from that kind of approach. I do believe what you are saying and incorporate that into my life as much as I can - but not in my treatments.

Well, I just re-read your opening statement - "when you add chemicals to your body that it doesn't need..." - what I am talking about is when the body needs help in functioning. Hmmm. Well, if that's the case, then thank you Inhim! I enjoyed our conversation!! I think with me being a Mod, not many feel very comfortable with actually 'discussing' things with me some times.

Have a great weekend All!!!