The 6 Essentials of Holistic Lyme Disease Treatment

Here is a list of the 6 non-negotiables of holistic Lyme disease treatment. If you haven’t received a thorough education in each of these topics, then you may be missing a vital piece of what it takes to heal fully.

For most people with persistent Lyme disease, some – or a lot – of antibiotics are a given. But what about all the other “stuff” that one could do or should do to get better?

How important is detox? Diet? Or finding ways to manage stress?

Judge for yourself as we review each of these 7 essentials of holistic Lyme recovery.

1. Detoxify

Yes, I know. This word gets tossed around like a pizza pie, but many detox strategies don’t really work.

You have to take this one deep and wide.  The #1 principle to remember is Practices Over Products.  If up to now your detox efforts have consisted of only pills and powders, then welcome to your learning curve.

Detox practices include things like becoming fully hydrated with quality water, juicing and other nutrient-dense food routines, colon cleansing, sweating, and more.

2. Heal the Gut

I know, I know – you’ve heard all about it!  But doing it right is an art form, a dance in which you must learn to partner with your body, sources of nourishment, and the forces of health generation (such as probiotics).

Lyme is a disease of toxicity, and it’s a disease of inflammation. Both of these health problems can be rooted in the gut, then further exacerbated and triggered by the Borreliosis and other infections.

The 4R’s of gut repair sum up the process: Remove inflammatory, toxic, and allergenic food; Repair the gut lining; Restore a healthy gut flora; Replace enzymes, bile salts, or hydrochloric acid temporarily to strengthen digestion if they are low.

The more your gut is obviously disturbed (with symptoms of frequent diarrhea or constipation, gas, bloating, pain, etc.), the more central this piece becomes to your recovery from Lyme disease.

3. Regulate Immunity

 

In response to infection, the immune system kicks into high gear, inflammation spikes, and thus lots of symptoms are generated within the body. Ideally, the immune system then works to diminish the inflammation, and complete the cycle.

Yet when infection persists, as it often does with Lyme disease, and this inflammation becomes chronic, you won’t feel better until you effectively manage and reduce the inflammation.

From the holistic perspective, it’s also crucial to support and strengthen the immune system’s ability to protect, defend, and eliminate the disease-causing bacteria.

Inflammation reduction and immune system stabilization can be done at the same time.

The good news is, effective cleansing and healing the gut (our first 2 non-negotiables) both support this process, that’s why we put them into place first.

In addition, herbal formulas that contain herbs such as turmeric, astragalus, ashwaganda, Siberian ginseng, Japanese knotweed (to name a few) work to successfully regulate inflammation and immune function.

4. Natural Anti-Microbials

Strong pharmaceutical antibiotics are a necessary part of many people’s recovery process. As powerful as they are, they alone are often not enough to actually heal and recover.

In addition, there are downsides such as liver toxicity, damage to gut flora and function, immune system overload, intolerable Herx reactions, and others.

Natural anti-microbials, of which there are many, have numerous advantages.

They are gentler and more harmonious with the body, rarely causing side-effects. They are more complex, broad-spectrum, and do not induce bacterial antibiotic resistance. They have additional beneficial properties, such as reducing inflammation, strengthening the immune system, and helping the body to repair certain body tissues.

They are ideal for all phases of Lyme disease and should be employed throughout the recovery process, helping to minimize the use of the big-gun pharmaceutical antibiotics.

5. Energy Management

Have you ever been feeling better, then something stressful happens, and your symptoms flare?

How about feeling stuck in your healing process – you know all the things you ”should” do for yourself but don’t – because you’re continually overwhelmed by life?

Or perhaps you’re stuck in your head – and it’s not a happy positive place – with anxiety, depression, mood swings, or anger a dominant part of your days.

I often say, your suffering does not make you unique – but how you handle it does. And that’s what energy management is all about.

In order to successfully heal from Lyme and its associated diseases, you need to strengthen every part of you – not just your immune system, your gut and detox pathways. You also need to strengthen your spirit, and your muscles of hope, forgiveness, praise, acceptance, and love.

Energy management practices build the muscle of your spiritual, emotional, and mental strengths so that these aspects of your being can come into alignment to support and accelerate your healing process.

6. Hormonal Balance

With all the attention paid to issues of infection and immunity, toxins and inflammation in Lyme disease, I find the hormonal layer of body function is often a forgotten piece of the puzzle.

Yet adrenal and thyroid hormones are commonly out of balance in people with persistent Lyme, and this can be the underlying cause of many of Lyme’s common symptoms, such as immune dysfunction, temperature de-regulation, insomnia, fatigue, and more.

It’s best to have your cortisol levels checked with a 24-hour saliva test. Your thyroid hormone levels can be checked as part of blood work through your doctor, but make sure the full panel is ordered to look at TSH as well as free T3, free T4, and reverse T3.

If these hormonal systems prove to be mal-effected by the chronic stress of life, illness, and Lyme disease, there are several good options for natural treatment, including glandulars and adaptogenic herbs such as ginseng, ashwaganda, holy basil, and others.

The House That’s Built To Last

Would you buy or want to live in a house that has a crumbling foundation? No! Because as the foundation disintegrates, all the other parts of the house fall out of alignment too, and soon there is one problem after the next.

You could patch it here and there, sure, and stave off a major reconstruction for a while. But if you want true restoration, you have to address that foundational level. Then and only then are your corrective measures going to result in true restoration.

Your body is no different. If your aim is 100% recovery and lasting health, then begin to learn more about, and include each of these 6 non-negotiables into your treatment plan and daily life.

In this way, you will generate health, and rebuild your body to experience true restoration.

 

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Ready to learn how to effectively, safely detox – and literally clear the way for healing? Check out Detox For Lyme, our 8-week online course, which teaches you everything you need to know to cleanse and fast, whether you are just learning how or ready to move to an advanced level of cleansing.