The Lyme Diet and more

When I went into my first appointment with my LLMD, I was already in the midst of listening to my body for what it does and does not need.

For instance, I had already stopped eating most dairy and I had also cut back on gluten. I hadn't been eating any refined flours at all. Just whole eating.

I didn't realize then that alot of the sauces and condiments I was using were addled with sugars. From ketchup to spaghetti sauce to soy sauce even. Here I had thought I was doing a deal of good for myself, but I was actually draining "invisible" sugars into myself on a daily.

Apparently it wasn't as much as one of my doctor's average patients.

I went into his office with some symptoms that were aggravating for me, but he was shocked at how well I was doing. He told me, because of my diet, I am doing far better than a person not on it, and therefore will suffer less. He also told me, that because I am already so healthy, he doesn't see why  I should not be able to make complete recovery.

We never went through a specific diet for Lyme for me to be on, but he did have some pointers to aid me. If you are indeed looking for a Lyme diet and/or ideas, there are many books and websites devoted to the subject. I really enjoyed and found helpful and informative the site called "Tired of Lyme", which is written by another fellow Lymie with a more chronic condition. There is TONS of good stuff there.

The one thing he was adamant about was absolutely NO GLUTEN. Gluten and sugars can really speed up the process of Lyme, making us sicker faster. They help feed the spirochetes.

He also suggested no dairy unless raw goat milk or yogurt, which can be an excellent form of probiotic.

 He told me of a story/study called Pottenger's Cats. In this study, there were two sets of cats. Some were fed only raw milk, and they thrived, and the others were given pasteurized. They got very sickly, and I think some of them even died. I suggest reading it. I already knew the dangers of dairy and alot of the other staples of our American diet, and I hadn't been partaking in much if I could avoid it at all.

The freaky part of all of this is, I tried to eat a piece of Mozzerella string cheese before I started my new protocol, (Green Dragon Botanicals, LB Core), and I started to get stomach cramps, like I was starting my period early. Then in the next 45 minutes, I had awful diarrhea. I had developed a food allergy after abstaining. I could really see where my body's sensitivities were. Why am I not allergic to goat milk then? I have no idea. I can only assume that it has something to do with the processing.

For a few days I literally felt like I was dying, and I found out it was because I had eaten a bit of turkey lunch meat on those days. All of the excess sugars and nitrates are horrifyingly strong to me. As soon as I stopped eating it, I felt instantly better. No exaggerations.

Anyone who has Lyme, I would suggest (backed up by my Lyme MD and studies that I had done prior to having Lyme) that no gluten and no dairy are a must. Minimal dairy if you can help it. Dairy was never meant to be a staple. It was always supposed to be used sparingly. The food pyramid is a joke.

Fill your days up with lots of greens and a more Paleo type of diet if you can.

Also, I started putting Garlic in absolutely everything, and also eating some of the bulbs raw with a class of Pink Himalayan Salt Water at night when watching a movie with my boyfriend in place of popcorn.

I had never been a huge sweets or fruits type of person. I indulged in some citrus fruits, like grape fruit and oranges, and sometimes apples from time to time. I always saw sweets as very unnecessary eating. I guess I'm a weird chick, as unnecessary eating seems to be a trend here in the states. Did you know that we are the one of the only countries that eats to feel full, instead of just eat to sustain the self? And it's heralded to be a glutton. I find it gross, when so many others are starving in other countries and even (and  much lesser spoken about) our own country.

Ever get a craving for booze, sweets or carbs? I used to all of the time. Here I am finding out that that symptom, coupled with a few others, are symptoms of Candida Albicans overgrowth. It is a fungus in your body making you crave these things.

Now that I have both Candida and Lyme, I have had to eliminate nearly all sugars from my diet. I am currently going through sugar withdrawal, but I am certain I will make it out just fine, and even better and stronger.

Psych meds, Birth control, Stress, Alcohol, a carby diet and antibiotics can all aid to an overgrowth of this normally beneficial yeast. I've been a hostage of parts of this lifestyle from as early as 14. Possibly even before all of that. You are supposed to be on probiotic through all of these things, and I had never once heard of the necessity of one from doctor nor guardian growing up. Pharma doesn't care about your health, they care about your money.

Currently I am in the process of healing from Lyme, Candida and also a lifetime of damage to my gut.

I believe that the body is very capable of regenerating, granted it isn't being filled with even more toxins. Just like the invisible sugars mentioned earlier, there are also invisible toxins that could be keeping you sick longer in many things, even your water.