How to Eat Healthy On a Budget

I have been asked how I shop, what I eat, and what people can do to eat healthy on a budget. I wrote this blog to address all of these issues.

Here is what I do for my family, three adults who all eat a lot:

In the morning we have a smoothie with strawberries, banana, fresh apple juice, kale and a raw egg. I also put in total nutrition powder, and UDO’s oil with DHA. The smoothie is delicious and will give you all of the nutrition you need for your whole day. Never ever eat raw eggs unless they are organic. I don’t mean free range, or cage free, they must be organic, or they are dangerous. Raw organic eggs are extremely good for you. Raw eggs are a super food, and a great way to get very easily digestible protein. Once you cook them they lose almost all of their value.

For lunch we have a big salad. I found a huge bag of organic spinach for $3.99 at my local farmers market and I get a bunch of other stuff too, like kale, rainbow chard, bok choy, beets (fresh beets are soooo good, but the canned kind, yuk!), carrots, onions, etc. I make my own salad dressing which I found saves me money and I found very cheap all natural sheep feta cheese I put into the salad sometimes, but not always.

Get to know your local farmer’s markets! Click here for a farmer’s market directory.

Read 80% Raw Food Diet for the salad dressing recipe and other information.

For dinner, three times a week, I try to make a new raw foods recipe. Since money is very tight for me I only experiment with one new recipe a week. I always spend more when I try something new, so I don’t do as much experimenting as I’d like. Some things on this week’s menu include raw pesto pasta (zucchini shredded for pasta), coconut curry pasta with Annie’s brown rice pasta, and a veggie stir fry with rice. I also make beens and rice a few times a week.

About 80% of my diet is raw, and about 70% or more (depending on availability) is organic. I snack on fruit and some raw nuts during the day (when you eat nuts and seeds they should be unpasterized and soaked).

As I said, whenever I try a new recipe, or change the menu, I spend more, every time. But then, if I buy the same kind of stuff, it gets cheaper and cheaper (practice). You start noticing what will work for less the more you get used to eating a certain way.

I spend about $160 to $180 a week, sometimes $200. I am lucky to have a local farmers market that has really good deals. I also get small apples instead of big ones, and I look for the sales, but I’ve never once used a coupon (I don’t know why, but . When I can’t make it to the farmers market and I choose Whole foods I can drop $300+ with thesame shopping list that would have cost me $180 or less at the farmers market. When I shop at Kroger the cost may be about $260.

This week I noticed that strawberries where 50% more but grapes were on sale. This week I am making my smoothies with grapes. If you have not been spending the last 6 months paying attention these kind of price fluctuations, it’s difficult to catch this kind of thing and make the adjustments.

With packaged processed foods that most people buy the prices don’t fluctuate. Thanks to subsidies and spoilage, organic fresh raw produce is typically much more expensive then a packaged processed dead food (ironically, it costs more to grow conventional, but subsidies have screwed up prices).

I also suggest you keep your receipts. When you need to go grocery shopping again take a look at the old receipt and figure out what you liked and what you didn’t finish, etc. This will not only save you money buy showing you what not to purchase and how much of certain items to buy, but it will also help to put you remember what the prices were on your last trip.

I hope this helps. It’s a tough issue, and there aren’t too many easy answers.

Be sure to check out Organic on a Budget




Doc Shillington’s 18 Ways to Live a Healthier Life

  1. Have your Total Nutrition (click here for recipe to make your own), Udo’s Oil, and one or two raw, organic eggs every day (I call this the Green Dragon Recipe). This “highest grade fuel” gives your body the necessary building blocks so that it will start correcting itself. It will help you create and maintain excellent health.
  2. Keep your intestines cleansed and purified. Intestinal cleansing will not only detoxify your body, it will also ensure there are no stoppages in the surrounding organs.  It is important to keep your body’s flows moving efficiently, and the place to start is the bowel. This is vital.
  3. Eat only organic foods, especially when it comes to meats. Commercial meats are loaded full of hormones, antibiotics, and steroids. Commercial vegetables are saturated with pesticides and due to modern day fertilizing and growing practices have very little nutrition in them. Use only organic body care products on your skin and hair.
  4. When it comes to grains, seeds, nuts, and beans, eat only those products that have been sprouted!  All other methods of preparation leave you with enzyme inhibitors that will make you fat and unhealthy. Stay away from all soy. Until this industry cleans up its act, it is best to drop it from your diet altogether.
  5. If you don’t own a juicer, buy one and use it daily. Juicing is an excellent tool to aid in detoxing and for putting concentrated nutrition into your body. Get a slow juicer.
  6. While keeping all the above in, and until you reach a state of excellent health, you should do my entire Total Body Cleanse Program at least twice a year. Three times is best if you can manage it.
  7. Exercise every day! The best exercise I know of is running (Running Without Knee Pain). The next best is rebounding on a mini trampoline. Both of these workouts will exercise every cell in your body. This is absolutely essential to keeping the flows going. Start off with walking if that’s all you can handle, but eventually work up to a minimum of forty-five minutes of hard exercise each day. Work up a real sweat.
  8. Stop watching television and reading newspapers. You don’t eat garbage. Why allow it into your  mind? TV is one of the main causes of juvenile delinquency and low personal production.
  9. Wear cotton, silk, hemp, and other all-natural fibers. Synthetic clothes can prevent your skin from breathing properly and can toxify your body.
  10. Cook your food only in stainless steel, cast iron, or glass. Never cook in aluminum!
  11. Drink only distilled water or purified water from a top notch purifier.
  12. Start each day by acknowledging to yourself what a great person you are.
  13. Help someone else every day. Help a child.
  14. Do your part. Take responsibility for the earth by helping to keep it clean and toxin free. Recycle!
  15. Create a garden and grow some flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Plant a tree once a month.
  16. Put all your possessions in order and permanently get rid of those things you don’t need or want. Do a complete cleaning and reorganization of your living space so that it is neat and orderly.
  17. Connect with your favorite groups and get involved. Continue learning new things and expanding your horizons. Make some new friends.
  18. Laugh and have fun.
  19. And last, but not least, LOVE!
Recommended Reading:



Oxitec Plans To Release Millions of Gene Hacked Mosquitoes In Texas and Florida

Oxitec, a biotech company, has made plans to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in both Florida and Texas in an attempt to stop the spread of diseases like Zika and dengue. This has already been approved by the EPA, but a group of biologists, ecologists, bioethicists, and sustainability researchers has concerns about the effect these mosquitos could have on the surrounding ecosystems.

In theory, releasing gene-hacked mosquitoes into the wild is a valid way to kill off or reduce local populations: by engineering sterile breeds of the insect, scientists can drastically reduce the number of bugs born in the next generation. The concept has worked in a laboratory setting. But when officials in Brazil tried it for real, the plan reportedly backfired spectacularly — giving rise to super-resilient genetic hybrids.

SCIENTISTS FIGHT PLAN TO RELEASE GENE-HACKED MOSQUITOES IN TX, FL

Scientists who have raised concerns are worried the EPA has not imposed strong enough measures to monitor the experiment and prevent damage to the ecosystem. Scientists wrote “Genetic engineering offers an unprecedented opportunity for humans to reshape the fundamental structure of the biological world,” However, they pointed out than much of our ecosystems remain understudied and extremely complex.

Recommended: Total Nutrition – Make your own Homemade Multivitamin and Mineral Formula



Sold Out – How To Get Vitamin C (Recipe/DIY)

Vitamin C is needed for the immune system, but that is not it’s only claim to fame. Vitamin C is needed for many physiological functions. It is an anti-oxidant. It is a co-factor for eight enzymes, thereby aiding in developing and maintaining scar tissue, blood vessels, cartilage, hormonal stability, biosynthesis of neurotransmitters, and transport of fatty acids into mitochondria.

It’s no surprise that in the middle of a pandemic vitamin C is hard to find. It’s almost always better to get your vitamin C from whole foods, but there’s also a way to make your own whole-food vitamin C supplement that’s probably better than anything you’d find in the store.

Related: How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes

Fruits With At Least 50% Daily Recommended Vitamin C

  • Papaya (one medium) – 224%
  • Strawberries (one cup) – 113%
  • Pineapple (one cup) – 105%
  • Oranges (one medium) – 93%
  • Kiwi ( 1- 1/2 in) – 85%
  • Cantaloupe (1 cup) – 78%
  • Grapefruit (1/2) – 59%

What may surprise you is the number of vegetables that meet the criteria.

Vegetables With At Least 50% Daily Recommended Vitamin C

  • Bell Peppers (1 cup) – 157%
  • Broccoli (1 cup) – 135%
  • Brussels sprouts (1 cup) – 129%
  • Cauliflower (1 cup) – 73%
  • Kale (1 cup) – 71%
  • Cabbage (1 cup) – 69%
  • Bok Choy (1 cup) – 59%
  • Parsley (1 cup) – 54%
  • Turnip greens (1 cup) – 53%
  • Sweet potato (1 cup) – 52%

If you eat well you should be getting plenty of vitamin C. But if you would still like to supplement your diet with extra vitamin C, we recommend not wasting your citrus peels. They’re full of vitamin C! Simply dehydrate them and then grind them up into a powder.

Recommended: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

Other herbs and supplements you may want to consider for vitamin C include thyme, basil, rose hips and chlorella.

I don’t take a multivitamin but I do use something called Total Nutrition Formula. It’s expensive to buy by the bag but if you can afford the bulk ingredients from Mountain Rose Herbs you can make your own and save lots of money.

Total Nutrition Formula Recipe

With this recipe, a “part” means a measurement by volume and not weight. What volume you use is up to you. All ingredients should be organic or wildcrafted.

Available for purchase on Green Lifestyle Market

  • 1 part Alfalfa Grass Powder
  • 1 part Barley Grass Powder
  • 1 part Wheat Grass Powder
  • 1 part Norwegian Purple Dulse Seaweed Powder
  • 1 part Beet Root Powder
  • 1 part Spinach Leaf Powder
  • 1 part Rosehips Powder
  • 1 part Orange Peel Powder
  • 1 part Lemon Peel Powder
  • 1 part Astragalus Powder
  • 1.5 parts Spirulina Green Algae
  • 1.5 parts Chlorella Broken Cell Algae
  • 5 parts Yeast Flakes
  • 5 parts Yeast Powder
Related: Homemade Calcium and Magnesium

Remember, it’s not how many nutrients you can get into your system, it’s how many quality ingredients your body can absorb and use.

Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly. You may need a dust mask when mixing, as the powders can get into the air and irritate the nose and throat. We mix ours on a patio when there is no wind where we can easily rinse off the mess.

Yeast (both the flakes and the powder) must be non-active saccharomyces cerevisiae nutritional yeast fortified with B12. Which is safe for patients with Candida albicans. Doc wrote, “I added astragalus as it is the #1 herb for balancing metabolism and blood sugar levels. Without changing my diet one iota, I dropped 10 pounds when I added this little goody to the formula. I also upped the spirulina and chlorella 50% each to increase the protein, and mineral intake.”

Most of the ingredients can be purchased at Mountain Rose Herbs. We plan to offer all of these ingredients at Green Lifestyle Market soon as well so that you can make your own without having to go to multiple stores to get ingredients. Use 1-2 teaspoons as a daily addition to any drink.




How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an intestinal disorder that causes pain in the belly, gas, diarrhea, and constipation. Sometimes the condition goes away without treatment, and for some, it ends up being a lifelong affliction. IBS is often associated with stress, depression, anxiety, or a previous intestinal infection. IBS is often referred to as spastic colon or spastic bowel.

What’s the Difference between IBS, IBD, CD, and UC?

IBS: irritable bowel syndrome

IBD: inflammatory bowel disease

CD: Crohn’s disease

UC: ulcerative colitis

Dysbiosis: gut microbial imbalance

With irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), there is an autoimmune reaction to foods, bacteria, or other substances in the intestinal tract. Most conventional medical professionals do not believe that IBS causes inflammation, ulcers, or other damage to the intestinal tract. The digestive system looks normal under x-ray, but it doesn’t function properly. Conventional medical professionals believe IBS has a physiological basis. It is associated with stress, depression, and anxiety. But today, newer technologies are now being used with older methods to reveal specific abnormalities associated with IBS. For doctors keeping up with research, it’s no longer thought of as primarily psychosomatic.

Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are both inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBD is not believed to have a physiological basis (it’s not associated with stress, depression, anxiety). IBD can be debilitating and can cause life-threatening complications.

How to Know if You Have Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Doctors call IBS a “functional disease.” A person with IBS will have many or all of the following symptoms, but current medical testing won’t show any physical explanation for these symptoms. IBS is also sometimes called spastic colon or spastic bowel. Symptoms will often fade or even become nonexistent for a period of time.

Symptoms of IBS can include:

  • Abdominal pain
  • Cramping
  • Gas
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Alternating diarrhea and constipation
  • Bloating
  • The feeling that a bowel movement may be incomplete
  • Stools that contain mucus, which may be white in color
  • Nausea after eating
  • For women, symptoms tend to flare up during their menstrual period

There is no test to definitively diagnose IBS. Doctors generally look at medical history and perform a physical exam along with other tests to rule out other conditions. If you have IBS with chronic diarrhea, the doctor should also test for celiac disease.

How to Know if You Have Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term for disorders that involve chronic inflammation in the digestive tract. Types of IBD include ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD).

UC is characterized by chronic inflammation and ulcers in the innermost lining of the large intestine and rectum.

CD is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. Crohn’s can affect any part of the digestive tract, from the mouth to the rectum, but it usually affects the small intestine near the connection to the large intestine.

IBD is considered a “structural disease.” This means there is underlying physical damage that causes the symptoms. With IBD, doctors can see physical signs of chronic inflammation or ulcers when they examine the gut.

IBD can cause serious longterm damage to the digestive system, and it will increase one’s risk of colorectal cancer.

New research shows that IBD may be the body’s way of compensating for a “leaky gut.”

“Both have significant overlap in terms of symptoms, pathophysiology, and treatment, suggesting the possibility of IBS and IBD being a single disease entity albeit at opposite ends of the spectrum.”

NCBI

“Irritable Bowel Syndrome may be related to chronic pain, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and may be a strong correlation with Leaky Gut Syndrome.”

Alt Med

Our results suggest that when there is a chronically leaky intestine, defects in the immune system need to be present for the development of IBD.”

Charles Parkos, MD, PhD

Symptoms of IBD can include the previously mentioned symptoms of IBS and the following:

  • Blood in your stools
  • Black stools
  • Weight loss
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue
  • Severe, frequent diarrhea
  • Progressively worsening symptoms
  • Fever
  • Inflammation throughout the body

The Difference Between a Healthy Gut and an Unhealthy Gut

Scientists estimate that there are 100 trillion or so microorganisms in the human body, and they say approximately half of these microbes live in the gut.

“…the number of microbial cells we carry can be as much as 10 times greater than the total cell number in the human body, and their genetic information is at least 150-fold greater than that of our human genome.”

Microbial endocrinology

Dysbiosis (also called dysbacteriosis) is a gut flora imbalance. We now know that such an imbalance profoundly affects our wellbeing. We know that it can lead to neuropsychiatric symptoms and conditions, autoimmune disorders, allergies, cancer, bowel diseases, obesity, diabetes, and more. We know that a gut imbalance can exacerbate every chronic disease. On that note, I surmise that a gut imbalance is the cause of more than 99% of modern chronic diseases.

Scientists are just beginning to understand the importance of gut health and the connection it has with autoimmune diseases. For a naturopath, it’s a pretty interesting time to be alive. While social media giants are censoring natural cures, credible scientists are busy discovering that gut microbes are found all over the body, and how an unhealthy gut may make one more likely to suffer from adverse vaccine reactions, mental disorders, and autoimmune diseases.

Allow me to take some liberties to explain what’s really going on in the gut.

The Gut Microbiome

For a long time, we’ve had this idea that the gut lets certain items pass into the rest of the body and blocks certain items, end of story. Supple, permeable living tissue doesn’t work that way; it’s not so black and white.

A healthy gut has a healthy gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome is a gut lining of bacterial biofilm that covers the entire intestinal tract.

We are on the verge of a health revolution. In fact, we’re in the middle of one. Gut microbes are being discovered in various glands and organs and all over the human body. We also have recently come to find that there are not merely hundreds of different kinds of bacteria on our gut, but thousands. This number will keep growing for some time.

Gut bacteria does so much more than just digest food. A healthy microbiome breaks down and removes toxins from the body like heavy metals, glyphosates, and BPAs. Healthy bacteria can also cause an anti-inflammatory response in the gut and throughout the entire body. Our beneficial gut bacteria also produce enzymes we need for good health. The microbiome acts as a shield that lines the intestinal wall and breaks down particles before they pass through the intestinal wall into the body. This process not only allows for nutrient assimilation, but gut bacteria also synthesize vitamin K and B vitamins including cobalamin, folates, pyridoxine, riboflavin, and thiamine. And that’s merely what we now know. There could be many more necessary nutrients that our bacteria produce for us.

Let’s look at B12. It’s been said that B12 is only created in the lower intestine where we don’t absorb the nutrients. I suspect there may be a mechanism for which the nutrients can move up into the lower part of the upper intestine, but there’s no evidence of this. So the consensus has been that humans need to either eat meat, supplement with B12, or eat our own feces. But, a study found that there is actually some bacteria in the small intestine that can produce B12 in some people. This bacteria is less common in people who adhere to the Western diet, and this makes sense because the Western diet and lifestyle stifle bacterial diversity in the gut.

The gut microbiome also houses gastrointestinal immune cells, known as “Peyer’s patches.” These immune cells protect the intestinal tract against infection by releasing white blood cells.

In other words, our gut bacteria contains white blood cells (a healthy gut microbiome contains more white blood cells) and these cells and the gut bacteria together act as a barrier to keep undigested particles (and toxins) out of the rest of our body, and they synthesize nutrients we need. Our gut bacteria also suppresses cancer, helps regulate our hormones, and even affects our DNA! We need a lot of different kinds of bacteria to do right by us. Chronically ill people have less diversity in the gut microbiome. The diversity of gut bacteria helps keep each and every potential pathogen in check.

The Most Interesting Part – THE GUT ALWAYS LEAKS

In my mind, the most important and interesting job of our gut bacteria is how it affects our immune system throughout our whole body. As mentioned previously, there was this belief that our gut bacteria pretty much stayed in the gut, only leaking out of the gut if the gut is “leaky.” This is wholly inaccurate.

The gut “leaks” our beneficial bacteria into our entire body. A healthy gut is a factory that produces a vast array of, and massive quantities of, beneficial bacteria. This bacteria seeps into and all over the body to provide protection from pathogenic activity. But most people in our modern world do not have healthy gut microbiomes.

If you have an ache from an old injury that never seems to heal all the way, you have pathogenic activity infecting that injury, causing inflammation and pain. Damaged or dead cells in the body feed microbes. If the body is full of beneficial bacteria the damaged and dead cells will be feeding beneficial bacteria, and the dead and damaged cells will be broken down and cleaned up by enzymes and beneficial bacteria.

The “bad” bacteria and other pathogenic microbes attack the body, as we all know, and their lifecycle causes off-gassing that damages the surrounding cells while they feed off of the damage they create. With more pathogenic activity in the body, the immune system becomes overwhelmed and begins reacting to allergens.

Have you ever walked by the perfume aisle in a department store, or walked through the cleaning products in your grocery store and suddenly noticed a bad taste in the back of your mouth? This is post nasal drip caused by chemicals damaging the cells in your nasal cavities. Bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other pathogens feed off of or otherwise benefit from damaged cells. Damaged cells release sugars, starches, and fats that feed pathogens, and they allow the proliferation of viruses. If your body contains lots of pathogens, breathing in chemicals will cause an immediate proliferation of pathogenic activity, which can lead to illness.

A body with massive amounts of a wide variety of healthy bacteria will have a different reaction. The beneficial bacteria will still feed off of the damage like pathogens do, but the vast variety of healthy microflora eliminates the possibility of infection by any one type of microbe. If you have only a few kinds of bacteria in such a situation, one or more are likely to proliferate and become pathogenic, or yeast or other pathogens can take over. Many of the beneficial bacteria within us are capable of causing infection. It is the variety of bacteria that keeps everything in check.

This is a very simplistic way of explaining this concept. Many kinds of beneficial bacteria strains will not ever infect us. Some will only cause problems under very unusual circumstances, and many will cause problems if left to flourish without enough beneficial microbe diversity to keep them in check. Plus, there are also autoimmune reactions and allergy issues that can come into play in this scenario. But the point of this section is to provide an understanding of how important a healthy microbiome is to our immune system. Earlier I wrote, “allow me to take some liberties” because I do not yet see that science has discovered this function of our microflora. So, feel free to take my conclusions here with a grain of salt, but we do know that the gut bacteria work this way (warding off infection) in the gut, and we know how and why variety is paramount to good health (keeps bacteria and yeast in check), and we now know that gut bacteria also is found in the brain and the liver (it’s all over the body, we’ll discover this soon enough). And we know that gut bacteria evolves based on its environment. To understand how to achieve optimum health you just need to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Dysbiosis Causes IBS and IBD and Other Autoimmune Diseases

As mentioned, dysbiosis is an impaired or unbalanced microbiota. An unbalanced microbiome causes poor digestion of food, poor nutrient uptake, a “leaky gut” that leaks food particles and toxins into the bloodstream allowing pathogenic activity. Typically, with our modern, antibacterial world and our limited gut bacteria, virulent bacteria (often antibiotic resistant), viruses, parasites, and lots of fungi are able to flourish in our bodies.

Consider the examples above (the perfume aisle, aches, and pains that don’t heal). It’s easy to understand how chronic inflammation and autoimmune disease works.

Celiac Disease May Be Causing Dysbiosis

If diarrhea is a predominant IBS symptom, celiac disease or another gluten intolerance is a likely cause. Celiac disease is characterized by gluten causing chronic inflammation of the small intestinal mucosa. This causes the intestinal villi (small finger-like projections of tissue called villi which increase the surface area of the intestine) to atrophy (waste away), which leads to malabsorption (nutrition is not absorbed properly). Dysbiosis can cause these symptoms too, so it’s a bit of a chicken-egg issue. Gluten allergies and wheat allergies are also common with gut issues and may be precursors to celiac disease.

Research suggests that many people with IBS and IBD have celiac disease. Medical professionals are starting to see that wheat can trigger IBS and lead to IBD and celiac disease. Research also suggests that many more people have celiac disease than originally thought.

Celiac disease can be diagnosed using simple blood tests, but even if tests come back negative, other gluten intolerances are still likely.

If you have an impaired gut, get off wheat! Even the healthier varieties of breads are problematic until the gut is healed. For more information on why wheat is such an issue for so many, check out Gluten Intolerance, Wheat Allergies, and Celiac Disease – It’s More Complicated Than You Think.

How to Treat IBS, IBD, Dysbiosis

Like almost everything else in conventional medicine, treatments for IBS and IBD focus on relieving symptoms, not on curing the disease. Conventional treatments don’t work because they don’t address the actual cause. Conventional treatments include a wide variety of drugs to manage inflammation (which will make the health problems worse in the long run), minimal (insufficient) diet changes, and a few supplements (often of dubious quality) like fiber and probiotics. For IBS, many doctors also recommend therapy.

In order to manage dysbiosis, one needs to manage their diet. Cut out refined foods, wheat, dairy, and chemicals such as artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, soy, GMOs, and MSG.

How To Cure IBS, IBD, Dysbiosis

Managing disease is for suckers. Ridding the body of disease is a much better option. It takes patience and time, but it will likely take a lot less time than how long it took to develop the autoimmune issues.

Most prescription drugs cause or at least exacerbate gut problems. One can still make the gut much healthier and elevate many chronic conditions while on prescription drugs, but as long as prescription drugs are consumed the gut will not be fully well.

This is also true for over-the-counter medications, recreational drugs, and alcohol. And if you smoke, you’ll have to quit. Smoking wreaks havoc on the gut in a variety of ways. You will never have a healthy gut if you smoke.

One of my favorite quotes:

‘There is only one disease: cellular malfunction. And there are only two causes of disease: deficiency and toxicity.”

Raymond Francis

The key to better gut health is eliminating toxins and getting the proper nutrition. You might be thinking, “If only it were that simple…” And in a way, it is. But in other ways, our modern world complicates things.

Diet for Dysbiosis – How To Build Healthy Gut Microbiota

The best bacteria love the best foods. Nature wouldn’t work right if it were any other way. The healthiest foods are raw vegetables and herbs. A wide variety of healthy bacteria is essential for optimum health. Different bacteria like different foods at different stages of digestion. This means that if you blend your vegetables in a blender before you consume them you’re missing out on feeding some of the bacteria that would have broken down the vegetables to that state. Unprocessed, unadulterated vegetables and herbs are essential for building incredibly diverse, strong, and healthy gut flora. Salads are the key. And not just any salad. I’m talking about huge salads with 15 different vegetables and five different herbs. All fresh. Here’s the salad recipe: Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included. The cranberry lemonade recipe in that article will also help detoxify and bring the body into homeostasis.

Many people can’t digest salads well enough. This may cause discomfort. I recommend starting off with smaller salads and building up while snacking on small amounts of random vegetables throughout the day. But any doctor who tells you that salads are bad for you because your body is different, or because you need more “heat producing” foods, or whatever, is wrong! Most people will benefit from ingesting huge salads right away, and a select few need to work their way up to them, but this is the most important step to building a healthy gut colony in the gut.

Other meals should only include whole foods and these meals should be prepared by you. Do not let a company prepare your meals. Don’t even buy nut milk. Make it yourself. It’s easy and much cheaper, here’s how.

I do recommend grains (brown rice, wild rice, amaranth, montina, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and sorghum. But avoid oats until the gut is well.), legumes (when soaked and/or sprouted properly), and nuts and seeds (seeds are typically easier to digest than nuts). But these foods will need to be brought into the diet slowly if digestive troubles occur when they are consumed. Once the right kind of bacteria is flourishing in the gut, whole healthy foods are much easier to digest.

Cooked vegetables are also wonderful for you. I eat an 11 cup salad for breakfast and I also usually put tons of vegetables and herbs in my dinner. Dinner at my house usually consists of a grain, a legume, lots of veggies, and lots of herbs.

Meat from a healthy free-range animal is typically fine for people who are healing the gut. So are eggs when they’re from healthy chickens. Like with the aforementioned, these may need to be introduced slowly if stomach troubles occur.

Avoid sweet fruits at first and slowly introduce them later as the gut gets better and better. Most of the fruit that we eat is not what we would have found in nature. We’ve evolved to eat fruit seasonally, and most of the fruit we did eat was not nearly as sweet before hybridization.

The benefits of eating like this also include not having to take a bunch of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies will normalize and the body will take what it needs and discard what it doesn’t. But if you still feel you need vitamins and minerals I recommend Total Nutrition and Liquid Light.

Best Supplements For IBS, IBD, Dysbiosis

Most Important:

The SF722 kills all fungi better than anything else I know of. Abzorb supplies vitamin D, Magnesium, systemic enzymes, and a probiotic. Take Abzorb without food to heal the gut and with meals to help digest the food. Berberine is an anti-microbial pre-biotic with tons of other health benefits, read more here. The MycoCeutics is an anti-microbial fungal complex, and MicroDefense kills non-beneficial microbes including parasites.

Optional (depending on symptoms and budget):

Shillington’s Intestinal Detox is a clay, fiber, and charcoal intestinal detoxifier. It can slow down bowel movements. Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse kills parasites and restores gut function. It can make bowel movements easier. The two work very well together. Shillington’s Total Healing Poultice Powder is good for ulcers. Syntol AMD is another probiotic enzyme blend. Total Nutrition is a good multivitamin that contains algae, astragalus, alfalfa, seaweed, lots of vitamin C and some B vitamins. Liquid Light is a multi-mineral formula.

If you’re curious about more supplements to help heal the gut here’s a list of 25 more.




How To Eliminate Morgellons

When Morgellons disease was first recognized most doctors believed it to be a delusional disorder, that it didn’t exist, that is was most likely a combination of delusional parasitosis and obsessive picking of the skin. Doctors told their patients that Morgellons was all in their head, except for the skin lesions caused by self-abuse. Fortunately, scientists did some research. Recent studies have shown that the filaments accompanying Morgellons are composed of keratin and collagen and that is caused by the proliferation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts in epithelial tissue. Some researchers believe that the cause of this disease is an infection from a tick bite.

The study proved that filaments are not cellulose as found in cotton, linen, or other plant-based textile fibers, or chitin which would indicate fungal cells or insect exoskeletons.

They are biofilaments of human cellular origin produced by epithelial cells and stem from deeper layers of the epidermis, the upper layers of the dermis, and the root sheath of hair follicles.” – NCBI

Though studies are showing that the disease is real, conventional medicine is, of course, slow to acknowledge the disease. Googling “what causes Morgellons disease” gets you this non-answer:

Morgellons disease is a delusional disorder that leads to the belief that one has parasites or foreign material moving in, or coming out of, the skin. Morgellons disease is a little-known disorder that is often associated with nonspecific skin, nerve, and psychiatric symptoms. Some refer to it as a fiber disease.” – MedicineNet.com

But, the next article is titled, Studies show that infections–not delusion–cause Morgellons disease.

Morgellons involves many symptoms common to auto-immune sufferers including:

  • chronic, severe fatigue
  • joint pain
  • neurological problems
  • memory and cognitive disruptions (including brain fog)
  • mood changes
  • crawling sensations on and under the skin
  • the sensation of itching or biting
  • skin eruptions or lesions with little black specks on or under the skin
  • filaments or threads under the skin and erupting from the skin

Morgellons and Lyme disease have a lot in common. Both were thought to be mostly psychosomatic. Both are thought to be transmitted from a tick bite. Both are autoimmune diseases that cause the first four symptoms listed above. Both may be caused by Borrelia spirochetes (corkscrew-shaped bacteria associated with tick-borne diseases). And both can be healed through the same means.

Like many of our readers, I first heard about Morgellons Disease back in 2015 when singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell was hospitalized for the disease. In 2010, she told the Los Angeles Times, “Fibers in a variety of colors protrude out of my skin like mushrooms after a rainstorm: they cannot be forensically identified as animal, vegetable or mineral.”

We published an article about the disease in 2015 and then I received more than a dozen calls and emails asking for help within a couple of months. Within the last few years, I’ve helped teach more than twenty people how to regain their health and rid their body of all Morgellons symptoms. The good news is that every single person was able to eliminate the disease.

I suspected a Morgellons was a fungus. It looks like I was wrong about that. But, whether it’s Lyme, Morgellons, diabetes, cancer, or depression, the only treatment that works is holistic with primary emphasis on gut health. The reason for this is that an unhealthy gut overwhelms the immune system, whereas a healthy immune system (one that is not overwhelmed) can rid the body of almost any disease.

Below is a list of recommended supplements, but the right diet is absolutely imperative. Don’t skimp on the diet!

Morgellons Diet and Supplement Protocol

Here are three articles I put together on diet. This is indicative of how my family eats every single day.

We start off with cranberry lemonade and a huge salad every morning. For lunch, we sometimes do a smoothie or we snack on some nuts and/or fruit or we just finish our massive 11-cup salads. For dinner, we always cook from scratch, which takes preparation and time, but it gets easier. Rice and beans, quinoa, lentils, millet, oatmeal, and amaranth are common staples for our cooked meals. We add lots of raw vegetables and herbs to our dinners as well, for instance, the rice and beans go great with chopped tomatoes and avocado, diced onions and garlic, and shredded turmeric and ginger. Eat raw herbs and cooked herbs together for maximum health benefits.

This is truly a lifestyle, not a diet, and it’s one we live every day. You may not need to go to this extreme to rid your body of disease, but I find that most who are dealing with chronic illness need to take it this far, at least for a few months.

The salads are the most important part of this protocol! In fact, they are the most important part of all of my protocols. More than supplements, more than anything save getting enough water, the right kind of salads are imperative. Eat lots of salads with tons of different vegetables and herbs. Make sure they have at least 15 different vegetables and herbs. If you could see what packing your gut with salad does to your ecosystem under a microscope, you’d understand why I’m so passionate about salads. There is nothing more beneficially life-changing than developing a salad habit when the salads are big and diverse and homemade. They do more than any supplement or any other food to clean the intestinal walls of filth and develop a beneficial gut ecosystem. And that is the key to good health. A beneficial gut microbiome is a fortress against undigested proteins and unwanted pathogens. When the gut is not well these intestinal walls allow undigested proteins and pathogens to seep into the bloodstream wrecking havoc on the immune system. Salads feed the right gut microbes and the right microbes build a healthy microbiome.

The cranberry lemonade helps keep the kidneys and liver working optimally. These organs typically get sluggish quickly when lots of pathogens are killed. If salads are #1, this cranberry lemonade is #2, and supplements are a distant #3.

For those with very serious gut issues, legumes and grains will be a no-no for the first few weeks, but when enough salad has been consumed, the gut should be able to reap many benefits from cooked foods like the dinner meals aforementioned.

Sweet fruit should be severely limited, and for the very ill, avoided until the gut is working better. Grapefruit, cranberry, avocado, lime, and lemon do not fall under this category.

Drinking fruit juice, even fresh homemade fruit juice, is not much better for you than refined sugar, so don’t make the common mistake of thinking a fresh-juice fast is going to get you well. It has its benefits, but it doesn’t usually rid the body of chronic disease.

Now that diet is covered, here’s the supplement part:

Supplement Stack #1 – On an empty stomach, twice a day, early morning and late night

  • Abzorb (this is a probiotic and a systemic enzyme)
  • 2 cups of cranberry lemonade
  • Optional: Add a serving of the MycoPhyto Complex
  • Optional: Additional systemic enzymes (systemic enzymes break down proteins that should not be in the body)

Supplement Stack #2 – With meals, three times a day:

Also, take absorb with any food that is difficult to digest.

If you can’t afford many supplements, or are overwhelmed by this information and don’t know where to begin, contact me. I don’t ever charge to talk to people.

Protocol

6am – Supplement Stack #1

Take two Abzorb with a big glass of cranberry lemonade. This is the right time to take systemic enzymes if you chose to take them.

9am – Supplement Stack #2

Salad time! The MycoPhyto Complex company recommends to take on an empty stomach, but I like to take it with salads and smoothies too.

12pm – Supplement Stack #2

Homemade Smoothie Time! If you’re extremely ill you may need to wait on the smoothies and just double up on the salads for the first week, but I’ve found that many people who were suffering from a plethora of ailments and having trouble recovering responded very well to pineapple smoothies. Pineapple smoothies (made with fresh pineapple), like the ones I have recipes for in the above link, pack a massive amount of enzymes and can help break down a lot of junk in the gut, while delivering large amounts of nutrition. But, fruit smoothies have plenty of sugar, so it’s a good time to repeat the supplements from 9am.

Use pineapple, coconut water, water, cranberry juice, or if you can withstand some sugar try granny smith apple juice, but don’t use sweet fruit juices for smoothies. Always use fresh pineapple when using pineapple. Always add as many vegetables and herbs as you can. I also suggest adding Total Nutrition Formula or something similar (here’s a recipe). If you want to make a smoothie without pineapple, I recommend coconut water as the liquid. Check out our smoothie article for more ideas.

3pm – Week 1 – Supplement Stack #2

3pm – Week 2 – Supplement Stack #1

6pm – Supplement Stack #2

Dinner time! Everything from scratch, nothing pre-made in any way, all whole food ingredients. See this article for more info and don’t hesitate to contact me.

9pm – Supplement Stack #1

Finish off the night with probiotic support and leave them alone for the night to do their thing.

Three More Supplements to Consider – Die-0ff, Heavy Metal Detox, & Bowel Movements

If a Herxheimer reaction is a concern (die-off) be sure to drink plenty of cranberry lemonade and I also recommend adding Total Nutrition Formula and the Intestinal Detox. Here’s a recipe to make your own Total Nutrition. This way you’ll get bentonite clay, charcoal, chlorella, spirulina, and more, which are all great for mitigating the die-off effects of a Candida detox, and they also chelate heavy metals.

You can take the Total Nutrition Formula with the smoothie or sprinkle it on the salad (or choke it down with water), and take the Intestinal Detox anytime throughout the day as directed.

If you’re not defecating easily and at least twice daily, I also highly recommend the Intestinal Cleanse. It kills parasites and moves the bowels better than anything else on the market that I know of, by far. I recommend taking it with the antimicrobials.

Conclusion

Morgellons is scary. It often causes otherwise social people to become unemployed shut-ins. Unless the doctor is abreast of the latest science, they will likely treat someone with Morgellons as if they’re mad. It’s a really hard thing to live with. Medical science does not yet really understand it, but understanding a disease doesn’t typically help big pharma to cure a disease. The good news is that every single person that I’ve worked with was able to completely eliminate all of the symptoms. It takes a few months, and a lot of discipline, but it’s very doable. The first step is to heal the gut.




Best Supplements To Kill Lyme and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is grossly under-reported in the United States. Lyme cases have more than doubled since the 1990s. The number of counties that are now deemed high-risk for Lyme has increased by more than 320 percent. About 329,000 cases of Lyme disease occur every year according to the latest researcher from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lyme disease is the fastest growing infectious diseases in the US and in Western Europe. Public funding for this disease is still far below that of less common illnesses, receiving less than 2% of public funding for West Nile and 0.2% of funding for HIV/AIDS even though Lyme effects for more people, but fortunately, awareness is rapidly evolving.

Contents

Lyme Disease 101

Infected ticks have been verified in 42 of 58 counties in California. The primary carrier on the West Coast is the Western black-legged tick, and it’s preferred host is the grey squirrel. On the East Coast the Eastern Black-legged tick is the principal carrier. This tick prefers the white-footed mouse.

Climate change seems to be giving this disease an advantage by helping ticks reproduce, and helping them live in more parts of the US. Ticks can’t survive in very cold climates. We are experiencing warmer winters, and ticks are able to live further and further north. The warmer temperatures also increase the growth rate of ticks. Some researchers estimate that global warming has increased tick reproduction by up to two times in the US, and up to five times in Canada.

Lyme disease is named after where it was first discovered, which was in Connecticut in a town called Lyme. In the 1960s and 1970s, with a population of 12,000 living in Old Lyme, Lyme, and East Haddam, 39 children were diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and 12 adults were diagnosed with arthritis that was said to be from an unknown cause.

In 1975, frustrated by the lack of answers from their medical community, two mothers started gathering information from residents and then relayed that information to the  Connecticut State Department of Health and the Yale School of Medicine. The researchers were able to identify the disease and recognize its symptoms, nobody knew what the cause was until the early 80. We owe the discovery to Willy Burgdorfer, a scientist who was studying Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. He discovered the tick connection and the bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, which is named after him.

Many still attribute its transmission only to ticks, but a growing number of researchers including one of the leading authorities on Lyme disease, Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, believes that the bacteria can be spread by other biting or blood-sucking insects, including mosquitoes, fleas, spiders, and mites. We now know that dogs and cats can get infected too.

Is Lyme Contagious?

Numorous reports indicate that Lyme-causing bacteria appears to be passed down gestationally. A new study published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine suggests that Lyme disease may also be sexually transmitted.

“Our findings will change the way Lyme disease is viewed by doctors and patients. It explains why the disease is more common than one would think if only ticks were involved in transmission.” – Marianne Middelveen, lead author of the study

Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterial species of the spirochete class of the genus Borrelia. These spirochetes infect many vertebrate animals including small mammals, lizards, and birds. Ticks most frequently acquire spirochetes from infected rodents during their larval feeding.

Spirochetes and known for their unique corkscrew shape and the way they move in a corkscrew type of motion. They are very slow to replicate and they survive without iron, which is very rare for bacteria. Instead, they use manganese for their survival. Unlike most disease-causing bacteria and fungi, it is believed that Borrelia burgdorferi does not emit a toxin. But the bacteria do seem to have a direct interaction with the cell tissues it infects.

Animal studies have shown that the bacteria can be found in low numbers in many tissues and organs including the skin, joints, heart, brain, urinary tract, and more. Aside from the initial infection, Borrelia does not seem to circulate in the blood.

Borrelia burgdorferi, with its corkscrew shape, bores deep into tissues and cartilage (including the brain and nervous system). This leaves the bacteria out of reach of most antibiotics. This bacteria can also mutate out of its corkscrew shape to a form that is able to live inside our cells (“intracellular”), once again leaving hard to kill with antibiotics. Borrelia burgdorferi and other spirochete bacteria form dormant cysts inside the body that block antibiotic activity, and the higher the dosage of antibiotics, the more resistant it becomes.

As if that wasn’t enough, Lyme disease is usually accompanied and aided by co-infections of other stealth microbes that also live inside our cells as well.

Symptoms of Lyme Disease

  • Rashes
  • Fatigue
  • Joint pain
  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Cognitive decline
  • Vision changes
  • Other neurological problems
  • Skin outbreaks
  • Heart problems
  • Mood changes
  • Pain

Check out this full list of symptoms provided by Joseph Burrascano, MD

Most people who have been diagnosed with Lyme, including those who test positive, never recall being bitten, or show the telltale bullseye rash.

Testing For Lyme

Current diagnostics miss up to 60% of acute cases. This is what’s so infuriating for those trying to figure out what’s going on with their bodies: Testing for Lyme is inaccurate, but especially so in the beginning. By the time the tests are likely to show positive for someone with Lyme, antibiotic treatments are typically no longer effective. In other words, people would go to their doctor and ask if they have Lyme, the doctors would say how rare it is (fortunately doctors are getting much better about this lately), but would reluctantly perform the tests, only to find no trace of Lyme. So the person would assume some other autoimmune disease while the Lyme slowly proliferates. Then the person would eventually seek another opinion, get another round of tests, and maybe (but often not) find out they do in fact have Lyme. Or, they often find out that one can have Lyme and still test negative indefinitely, but at this stage, the person is showing enough symptoms that the new more knowledgeable doctor can easily conclude that it’s Lyme.

But now the antibiotics will no longer be effective. It’s too late. Many people try anyways, wrecking their immune system in the process.

I suspect that often times a heavy round of antibiotics works to kill the bacteria, but the body is left so badly damaged that new infection (often Candida being the first) takes over, and all of the symptoms remain.

Borrelia does not seem to circulate in the blood. This is the main reason it is so difficult to detect. The bacteria also have a very slow replication rateso the number of bacteria found in a host remains small, at least for a long time.

There are multiple tests for Lyme. The CDC recommends screening with the ELISA test and then confirming the results with the Western blot test. As mentioned, these tests are completely unreliable during the first 4-6 weeks of infection. The tests only measure the patient’s antibody response to the infection, not the presence of the bacteria itself.

Lyme disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose using conventional tests. And there’s great variation in the presentation of the disease as well, depending on where you contracted it, and whether or not you have any other coexisting infections. There is a group of seven or eight microbes that are the most common. The worst ones are Babesia microti and the different forms of Bartonella.

It is said that an initial course of antibiotics given in stage one cures the disease most of the time, but why not all the time? Is the course of antibiotics too short? Should more be given? Should they be given long term, especially for those who have stage 3 symptoms? What if blood tests no longer show spirochetes? If the antibiotics don’t work, the patient now has to combat Lyme with a very depleted immune system.” – Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD

Why Antibiotics May Not Work for Lyme Disease

These days, early treatment is typically successful, according to the latest science, but most patients go undiagnosed for years. At least 20% of those who are said to be successfully treated for Lyme will experience the same symptoms after treatment, which as mentioned, can easily be attributed to a depleted immune system leading to Candida overgrowth or other fungal pathogens, opening the door for many other infections as well.

Antibiotic resistance occurs at a high rate with spirochete bacteria. Borrelia (and also its co-infections), will respond slowly to antibiotics. They will develop resistance. The bacteria that survive antibiotics can become completely antibiotic resistant. This is why doctors are starting to use multiple antibiotics at once seems, and this does lead to better chance of defeating Lyme, and depleting the immune system. If the medication fails, the bacteria that have survived will not only become resistant, but it will also become much more entrenched in the host.

The Lyme Timeline

Phase One – 3 to 30 Days

Also called early localized infection

Some say less than 50%, others say up to 70-75% develop the bullseye rash, starting at the site of the tick bite. It is not itchy or painful but they are usually warm to the touch. Sometimes flu-like symptoms develop soon after, including fever, chills, swollen lymph glands, headaches, muscle pain, and joint pain.

Phase Two – Days to Weeks After Bite

Also called early disseminated infection

  • Rash spreads
  • Large joints may become swollen and painful
  • Stiff neck in some cases
  • Meningitis may develop
  • Dizziness
  • Heart palpitations

Phase Three – Later Months to Years

Also called late disseminated infection

Many infectious disease specialists believe that “chronic Lyme disease” does not exist, and that Lyme disease from a tick bite can be cured with a short course of antibiotics. It is possible that those who have undergone antibiotic treatments are suffering from the side effects of antibiotics, but more and more experts are coming around to the idea that Lyme disease can survive and cause long-term autoimmune symptoms when antibiotics don’t work. We all know (or at least, we all should know) that antibiotics do not always work and can cause more problems.

  • Arthritis symptoms – swollen, painful joints (fluid-filled joints)
  • Neurological symptoms – numbness, tingling, shooting pains
  • Cognitive symptoms – brain fog, short-term memory deficits, confusion
  • Mood disturbance – depression
  • Fatigue
  • Abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure

Facial paralysis sometimes occurs in this stage or stage two.

Scary Lyme Facts You Should Know

How does Lyme make us sick, and why is it so damn resilient?!?!

  • Spiders, mosquitoes, fleas, and mites may also be spreading the same or similar bacterial infections.
  • Tests are unreliable because they measure the patient’s antibody response to the infection, not the bacteria itself.
  • There’s great variation in the presentation of the disease, depending on where it’s contracted, and whether there are other coexisting infections. At least eight other microbes make up the most common co-infections., including Babesia microti and different forms of Bartonella.
  • Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, has a corkscrew shape that allows it to bore deep into tissues and cartilage (including the brain and nervous system), safely out of reach of most antibiotics.
  • Borrelia burgdorferi can give up its corkscrew shape and convert to a form that is able to live inside cells (“intracellular”) where again, antibiotics have less reach.
  • Borrelia burgdorferi, along with other similar microbes, can form dormant cysts that are completely resistant to antibiotics; the harder you hit it, the more resistant it becomes.
  • Most ticks carry multiple disease-causing pathogens called co-infections. Borrelia burgdorferi is usually accompanied and aided by co-infections of other stealth microbes.
  • Lyme disease has been reported in all 50 states.
  • Lyme disease has been found on every continent except Antarctica.
  • Ticks carrying Lyme can be smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.
  • Many, perhaps most, do not get the bull’s eye rash. Some develop flu-like symptoms a week or so after becoming infected, however, many people are asymptomatic but can develop Lyme symptoms months, years or decades later.
  • It is called the great imitator; looking like many other health problems (Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Bells Palsy, ADD, MS, and Lupus).
  • People with other chronic disease are much more susceptible to Lyme disease, making Lyme even more likely to go undetectedcted.
  • The medical community is divided over the diagnosis and treatment guidelines.
  • Health insurance still often won’t cover the treatment for Chronic Lyme disease.
  • Lyme Disease transmission may be possible through intercourse, and can likely be passed down through the womb.
  • There are 12 strains of Borrelia that are known to cause Lyme Disease, and standard testing only tests for one.
  • Lyme Disease is more epidemic than Aids, West Nile and Avian Flu combined.
  • Lyme Disease can cause more than 300 different symptoms.
  • The average Lyme patient takes 2-3 years to get diagnosed correctly.
  • 25% of the reported cases are children.

Lyme Disease Cofactors

Leaky Gut and Lyme

In response to pathogenic toxins leaking from the intestines, the immune system produces multiple inflammatory compounds: Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF Beta-1), Matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9), Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). These inflammatory compounds affect multiple systems of the body. Because of the inflammatory compounds that become elevated in people with Lyme disease or co-infections, they are at greater risk of leaky gut. In a study on Lyme disease patients, Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and Interleukin-13 (IL-13) were found to be elevated in different phases of infection. TNFα has also been found to be elevated in Bartonella infections, mice infected with Babesia, mice receiving Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever antigens, Ehrlichia infections, and in Brucellosis patients. Both TNFα and IL-13 have a direct effect on increasing intestinal lining leakage. Unfortunately, western medicine lacks a way to accurately diagnose and to treat leaky gut syndrome.” – Plugging the Holes in Lyme Disease Leaky Gut

I am of the opinion that a leaky gut is the root of most chronic disease. True or not, a leaky gut always exacerbates every ailment, every disease, every single health issue. You cannot cure any chronic disease without a healthy gut.

Lyme Disease and Co-infections

Ticks can carry many bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoans within them, and transmit these pathogens with a single bite.

The most common tick-borne diseases in the United States include Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). Diseases acquired together like this are called co-infections. Click below to learn more about specific Lyme disease co-infections. – About Lyme Disease Co-Infections

We also borrowed their chart:

Lyme and Candida Overgrowth

Yeast overgrowth is a common concern for Lyme patients who undergo antibiotic therapy. Whether or not the Lyme or other bacterial pathogens are killed, the immune system is depleted, the body;’s beneficial bacteria is eradicated, and the body is almost guaranteed to be overrun with fungal pathogens. If one is cured of Lyme disease they will then have to rebuild their immune system (along with healthy gut flora). Most people don’t know how to do this. If they did, they most likely would not have been susceptible to Lyme in the first place. But for those who do the Lyme treatment without successful elimination of Lyme now have to deal with a body that soon inundated with fungi.

Lyme Disease and Amalgam Fillings, Vaccines, and Other Toxic Compounds

Mercury toxicity has been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, panic attacks, insomnia, cognitive decline (Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and more), chronic headaches including migraines, joint pain, Candida overgrowth, and much more. The body cannot fend off Lyme under such conditions. People with a history or poor diet, antibiotic use, mercury fillings, or immunizations, are extremely susceptible to Lyme disease and the many co-infections the come with it.

Supplements, Herbs Used For Killing Lyme

  • Astragalus: A potent antimicrobial that also is anti-inflammatory, boosts the immune system, slows tumor growth, helps prevent and reverse diabetes, and more.
  • Berberine: This plant-root alkaloid extract has confirmed potent anti-viral, antibacterial, and anti-fungal properties.
  • Black Walnut: Studies have shown that black walnut can effectively kill canker sores, herpes, and syphilis sores. Syphilis is another spirochete bacteria.
  • Cloves: This strong smelling spice contains some of the same compounds as oregano oil (see below). Studies have shown that cloves contain powerful antimicrobial and anti-fungal compounds.
  • Enzymes: Hemicellulase, protease, and Cellulase can dissolve Biofilms (which Lyme often resides in and procreates within) and Lyme Cysts (which, as stated above, shield the bacteria from intrusion). More on enzymes.
  • GarlicAllicin, a compound in garlic, has antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties, and garlic helps strengthen the immune system in other ways too. Read more about garlic.
  • Goldenseal: A popular herb that has been used by Native Americans for hundreds of years, with potent antibacterial properties.
  • GoldenrodGoldenrod is antibacterial, antifungal, diuretic, diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, astringent, antiseptic, and carminative.
  • Mushrooms: Many mushrooms produce powerful antibacterial factors. The reishi mushroom is well known throughout the world for its plethora of health benefits, including powerful antimicrobial properties, but there are many other mushrooms that help as well.
  • Neem: This plant’s properties include immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycaemic, antiulcer, antimalarial, antifungal, antibacterial, antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic.
  • Oil of Oregano: This extract is very well known for its ability to kill off pathogenic activity, and there are plenty of studies that demonstrate its efficacy.
  • Pau D’Arco: Also known as Lapacho, this supplement has received worldwide attention in recent years due to the numerous studies proving its amazing health benefits including the ability to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria and difficult fungal infections like Candida.
  • TurmericTurmeric is potent antimicrobial herb with proven antifungal properties and a host of other amazing health benefits. Check out How to Optimize Curcumin.
  • Wormwood: This is a potent antimicrobial’s active ingredient is Artemisia, and it is better known the world over for its ability to kill parasites.

The Lyme Protocol That Works

I’ll bet someone is going to ask why I don’t mention colloidal silver. I don’t think it’s good for you, I’ve never found it particularly helpful, and I just don’t trust it. But to each their own; you can find tons of very intelligent naturopaths who are much more educated than I am who will vehemently disagree with me on colloidal silver. And, the key to killing off Lyme with supplements, like with antibiotics, you need to use more than one. You’ve got to attack from every angle you can or else they build up immunity. The good news is that natural remedies affords many more options with fewer if any side effects and in my experience (when done right), a much better success rate. Like, 100%.

Now here’s the bad news. Actually, it’s not bad news, but it sure sounds like it to most people at first. You may not be able to kill the Lyme any time soon. I recommend a plethora of supplements with differing properties to attack any and all pathogenic bacteria, but you will never eradicate systemic pathogenic disease completely with supplements alone. And even with a perfect diet and all the best supplements, it takes time! A few of these Lyme-bacteria bastards, and other pathogens, will survive anything and everything you do to it at first. Don’t think that just because you are symptom free that your body has rid itself of all virulent infection. It doesn’t work that way.

The protocol calls for a phase of antimicrobials, but the foundation of the program is the diet. It’s the most important aspect of the program. Nobody gets well without eating right. At best, you’ll trade one disease for another if you skimp on the diet. Heal the gut, eat right, rebuild the body, and after a round of antimicrobial bombardment you rebuild the beneficial bacteria and let your immune system slowly finish off the survivors. This means being highly disciplined with diet for six months after the last ailment is gone. Think of it this way: Once you feel well, if you’re eating perfectly, it’ll take another six months to completely finish off the disease. A glass of wine or some refined sugar consumed before then could cause a resurgence.

In my experience, every single person who has Lyme disease has gut issues. I don’t believe that Lyme disease causes the gut issues, though it can exacerbate them. I contend that anyone who is susceptible to Lyme had a depleted immune system before they contracted Lyme, and virtually anyone with a depleted immune system has poor gut health. This protocol focus on gut health first and foremost. The gut is the foundation of your health. You can know how healthy someone is by the quality of microbes that reside within us.

Anti-Lyme Diet

Here are three articles I put together on diet. Most people, even those with Lyme and even worse diseases, will get completely well on this diet without supplements, but it takes a lot longer.

This is indicative of how my family eats every single day.

We start off with cranberry lemonade and a huge salad every morning. For lunch, we sometimes do a smoothie or we snack on some nuts and/or fruit or we just finish our massive 11-cup salads. For those with serious gut issues, hold off on the nuts for a week or two. Anyone with lots of Candida should wait on the smoothies as well. Double up on the salads for the first week or two if you’re very ill.

For dinner, we always cook from scratch, which takes preparation and time, but it gets easier, I promise. Rice and beans, quinoa, lentils, millet, oatmeal, and amaranth are common staples for our cooked meals, but don’t do the oats or millet until most of the inflammation subsides. We add lots of raw vegetables and herbs to our dinners as well, for instance, the rice and beans go great with chopped tomatoes and avocado, diced onions and garlic, and shredded turmeric and ginger. Eat raw herbs and cooked herbs together for maximum health benefits. There are some very interesting benefits to cooking many foods, but raw generally yields more benefits, so I mix it up.

This is truly a lifestyle, not just a diet, and it’s one we live every day. It’s also the same exact protocol I recommend for almost everyone who is sick, including anyone with Lyme. There’s a lot of conflicting information on what people with Lyme should eat, but I implore you, give this a try for at least 10 days, and you’ll see why. You may not need to go to this extreme to rid your body of disease, but I find that most who are dealing with chronic illness need to take it this far, at least for at least for a few months. With Lyme, it behooves you to err on the side of caution.

The salads are the most important part of this protocol. More than supplements, more than anything save getting enough water, the salads are imperative. Eat lots of it. Make sure they are diverse with at least 15 different vegetables and herbs. Read the article linked above, and make your salad recipe. If you could see what packing your gut with salad does to your ecosystem under a microscope, you’d understand why I’m so passionate about them. There is nothing more beneficially life-changing than developing a salad habit when the salads are big and diverse and homemade. They do more than any supplement or any other food to clean the intestinal walls of filth and develop a beneficial gut ecosystem. I cannot stress this enough – BIG DIVERSE SALADS!!! Mine are 9-11 cups a day. Throw on some beans or meat or eggs, whatever it takes to get them down, but get them down. If you can’t digest salads, get to where you can. I can’t digest McDonald’s. I don’t have the ecosystem in my gut to do that. If you can’t digest salads properly, you don’t have the right ecosystem for them. You need to build the right gut bacteria. How? Salads, that’s how. Eat salads!

Did I mention how important salads are? Ok, moving on.

The cranberry lemonade helps keep the kidneys and liver working optimally. These organs typically get sluggish quickly when lots of pathogens are killed. If salads are #1, this cranberry lemonade is #2, and supplements are a distant 3rd. The recipe for cranberry lemonade resides within the first link above where the salad recipe is.

For those with very serious gut issues, legumes and grains may be a no-no for the first two to three weeks, but when enough salad has been consumed, the gut should be able to reap many benefits from many other foods including cooked foods like the dinner meals aforementioned.

Sweet fruit should be severely limited, and for the very ill, avoided until the gut is working better. Grapefruit, tomatoes, cranberry, avocado, lime, and lemon do not fall under this category.

Juicing with fruits is not much better than refined sugar, so don’t make the common mistake of thinking a fresh-juice fast is going to get you well. Same goes for carrot and beet juice. If you want to juice with a little sweetness, that’s fine, but add lots of cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric, tot he point at which it’s really not sweet anymore.

For anyone on a tight budget I recommend putting the money to food, and if affordable, add Abzorb and SF722. That’s enough with the right diet to fix the gut in almost everyone. More of the right kind of supplements speed thing up radically, but they’re usually not neccessary if you have access to good food.

Phase 1 – Antimicrobials, Kill the Bad Guys For One Month (in order of most to least important):

Use your own judgment to an extent regarding what to take and how much. If you get every single one, you should be ok to take each and every one as directed (except the Blood Detox, take one to two full droppers by mouth one to three times a day as needed, preferably on an empty stomach, the label has the wrong instructions, it’s a long story), but for smaller people this may be a bit too much. On the other hand, if you get fewer supplements or are on the larger size, you would likely do better with upping the dosages a little. The more you spread out the dosages throughout the day, the more effective they will be. Green Lifestyle Market sells all of the supplements mentioned and offers a return guarantee, so if something doesn’t work for you, you can exchange or get a refund. Experiment. These are supplements, they’re not going to kill you, no matter what big-pharma would like you to believe. I did this protocol myself for three weeks, and I recommend 3-4 weeks for anyone with Lyme. I just took all of them with each meal, as some can cause an upset stomach if empty.

Some of them say to take with food, and some say to take on an empty stomach. I like taking antimicrobials with salad and other healthy meals, especially when taking a lot. But again, use your own judgement, see what works best.

If you need an additional immune system bost, for instance, if you’re regularly coming down with colds and flu or have sinus issues, consider these additions below. You shouldn’t need them if you get at least a few of the ones above, but if you like to go overkill like me, here you go:

If you have trouble digesting food, take abzorb with your meals. This will also help break down the supplements for easier assimilation.

If the die-off is a problem, and anytime you kill lots of pathogens there is an influx of toxins the body has to deal with. The aforementioned cranberry lemonade and salads help to mitigate this, but Gastro-Cleanse with the activated charcoal can also help.

If defecation is slow or infrequent, salads should fix this, but some people need more help. Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse will move the poop. It is imperative that bodily elimination functions are working properly. Obviously, stuck bowels are really bad news for anyone needing to detoxify.

Phase 2 – Stay Clean and Populate with Good Guys:

If you’ve been dealing with chronic illness for a long time, for phase two, I recommend reading and following Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections.

If you’re not very poor health, I recommend spending the following 5-6 months taking the following every day as directed:

Protocol Example

6am

Take an Abzorb, or other probiotic, and the Blood Detox, and the MycoPhyto Complex, and any other supplements that say to be taken on an empty stomach.

9am

Salad time!

The MycoPhyto Complex company recommends to take on an empty stomach, but I like it with salads and smoothies too.

Take Abzorb if digestion is difficult, or if you just want to maximize nutrient assimilation.

Take all other antimicrobials with the salad as well (like the MicroDefense, Berberine, UndecynOil of Oregano, Gastro-Cleanse, etc. with the salad.

12pm

Homemade Smoothie Time! If you’re extremely ill you may need to wait on the smoothies and just double up on the salads for the first week, but I’ve found that many people who were suffering from a plethora of ailments and having trouble recovering responded very well to pineapple smoothies. Pineapple smoothies (made with fresh pineapple), like the ones I have recipes for in the above link, pack a massive amount of enzymes and can help break down a lot of junk in the gut, while delivering large amounts of nutrition. But, smoothies have plenty of sugar, so be sure to repeat the antimicrobial supplements from 9am.

Use pineapple, coconut water, water, cranberry juice, or if you can withstand some sugar try granny smith apple juice, but don’t use sweet fruit juices for smoothies. See the recipes.

6pm

Dinner time! Everything from scratch, nothing pre-made in any way, all whole food ingredients. It’s also time for another round of antimicrobials.

9pm

Finish off the night with an Abzorb, or other probiotic, and the Blood Detox, and the MycoPhyto Complex, and any other supplements that say to be taken on an empty stomach.

Three More Supplements to Consider – Lyme Die-0ff, Heavy metal Detox, & Bowel Movements

If Candida die-off is a concern be sure to drink plenty of cranberry lemonade and I also recommend adding Total Nutrition Formula and the Intestinal Detox. Here’s a recipe to make your own Total Nutrition. With these two formulas, you’ll get bentonite clay, charcoal, chlorella, spirulina, and more, which are all great for mitigating the die-off effects of a and they also chelate heavy metals.

You can take the Total Nutrition Formula with the smoothie or sprinkle it on the salad (or choke it down with water), and take the Intestinal Detox anytime throughout the day as directed.

Conclusion

You can get well. Any doctor who tells you different is trying to sell you a lifetime of treatment. It takes a lot of work. It’s worth it. In the end, you’ll be healthier for having had Lyme. And if you’re not sure if you actually have Lyme, it really doesn’t matter. A truly holistic protocol, like this, will address and remedy any pathogenic chronic health ailment, given enough time and attention.

Recommended:
Sources:
  1. The Lyme Wars – The New Yorker
  2. UK’s new Lyme guideline brings both positives and negatives – Lyme Disease.org
  3. BORRELIA BURGDORFERI – Bay Area Lyme
  4. Lyme disease is vastly under-reported, CDC says – CBS News
  5. About Lyme Disease Co-Infections – Lyme Disease.org
  6. Lyme Disease – CDC
  7. Lyme Disease – Mayo Clinic