Wipe It Out In The Wild
Any effort to snuff out Lyme disease has to start with its eight-legged bloodsucking hosts. Until you get rid of it in the environment, youve got to keep investing in prevention in humans, Hu said. Whereas if you wipe it out in the wild, its one and done, right? Eradicating Lyme in the ecosystem, however, is easier said than done. While the bacteria that cause the disease live in ticks, the ticks dont pass it down to their offspring directlyinstead, they feed on a vertebrate host, such as a white-footed mouse, and pass the pathogen to it. When another tick feeds on that same host, it too picks up the bacterium.
Many of the efforts by Hu and other scientists have been focused on breaking that chain. One promising technique Hu developed, for example, was to vaccinate mice by leaving out vaccine-infused food for them. The oral vaccine contained a virus that would express a Borrelia antigen that would make the mice immune to Lyme. The idea was to feed it to mice in the wild, and have fewer infected mice, which would translate into fewer infected ticks, and fewer human cases, Telford said. While the scientists insist the technique is safe, however, its been held up by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is leery about releasing a virus in a world beset by a pandemic. We got stuck in regulatory purgatory, Hu said. No one wants to put a live virus out in the wild right now.
What Is Functional Medicine
At CCFM, we are proud to offer a different form of healthcare functional medicine that is uniquely poised to not only address and reverse chronic conditions but improve long-term health and well-being.
Conventional medicine has its strengths, particularly in the areas of emergency medicine and surgery. However, it falls short in treating chronic illnesses, particularly complex chronic conditions such as Lyme disease.
The statistics on chronic diseases are in, and they are alarming. According to recent CDC estimates, six out of every ten American adults have a chronic disease, and four in ten have two or more chronic diseases.1 Unfortunately, the conventional medical model has little to offer in treating these conditions beyond watchful waiting, medication, and surgery. In the case of complex chronic illnesses, such as autoimmune diseases, chronic gastrointestinal illnesses, or Lyme disease, conventional medicine has even less to offer. Conventional medicine frequently tries to prune back the final manifestations of disease by trying to control or suppress symptoms without asking why those symptoms are occurring in the first place. When it comes to treating chronic illnesses, we need to think outside the box of conventional medicine and look for the root cause of illness and intervene as far down the chain as possible, at the root cause.
Strategies To Tackle Lyme Disease
I have Lyme disease, writes this weeks viewer. Is there anything I can do to treat it naturally?
Lyme disease, the most common American tick-borne infectious disease, often goes undiagnosed or becomes misdiagnosed. That becomes a real problem when you consider that in America, up to 300,000 new cases a year of Lyme disease diagnoses have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , an increase of up to 10 times what researchers previously believed.
Lyme disease, or borreliosis, is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which can proliferate to every area in your body. An infected blacklegged deer tick transmits the virus to humans through a bite.
Unfortunately, Borrelia burgdorferi has the ability to proliferate within every area of your body, hiding from and suppressing your natural immune system. Lyme infections literally hijack your immune system like AIDS.
Lyme is one of the most challenging, difficult situations in my practice because it mimics other illnesses such as the flu, manifesting as diverse symptoms like headaches, muscle aches, stomach ulcers, constipation, and joint pain. That makes diagnosing and treating Lyme very difficult.
A weakened immune system paired with suboptimal cellular function and protection, chronic bacterial infections, and exposure to environmental toxins, like molds and parasites, can make things much worse for those who suffer from chronic Lyme.
Wishing you health and happiness,
You May Like: Guillain Barre Syndrome Lyme Disease
Tick Borne Disease 2020 Update
Every year, over 400,000 people are infected with the pathogen that causes Lyme disease. If caught early and appropriately treated, many cases of Lyme disease can be cured, but a very significant number of cases are not diagnosed quickly, misdiagnosed, denied, or ignored, allowing the disease to flourish and wreak havoc in the body. Because much misinformation plagues the topic, it is important to stay up to date regarding both fundamental and more advanced information coming from Lyme researchers. In this presentation for the Lake George Land Conservancy, Professor Holly Ahern, Associate Professor of Microbiology, SUNY Adirondack, offers basic information as well as updates on new findings and promising new technologies that are giving us hope for an accurate diagnostic in the very near future.
Click here to watch this presentation:
Stress And Allostatic Load
Allostatic load is “the wear and tear on the body” which accumulates as an individual is exposed to repeated or chronic stress.13 Chronic stress and a high allostatic load can significantly affect all aspects of health, including your mood and brain function, resulting in accelerated aging, inflammation, hormone disruption, immune dysregulation, and much more. Many factors act as stressors for your body, including hidden infections, poor sleep, inadequate movement, or an unhealthy diet. Furthermore, stressful experiences stack up over time, further depleting the body. Our goal is to identify current and past stressors, modify or eliminate them to decrease the overall load experienced by your system and to help you process and heal your brain and nervous system to get you better.
Recommended Reading: How To Tell If Your Cat Has Lyme Disease
Discover Food Sensitivities With An Elimination Diet
In the interview Dr. Hyman introduces Lisa Dreher, MS, RDN, LDN. She is a nutrition expert from his clinic. They discuss the differences between food allergies and intolerances. Food sensitivities can be difficult to identify and cause many symptoms. For example, they think recurring sinus congestion and infections are signs of dairy intolerance, I agree. They think joint pain may be a sign of gluten intolerance.
The benefits of an elimination diet and reintroducing foods properly is discussed. They share stories about their clients discovering their food intolerances with this method.
The Pillars Of Functional Medicine
Conventional medicine views the body as a set of disparate parts and systems this is evidenced by the fact that we have separate doctors or specialists for literally every part of the body! In the conventional medical model, you must visit a gastroenterologist for gut issues, a cardiologist for cardiovascular concerns, an endocrinologist for hormone problems, a dermatologist for skin troubles, etc. To make matters worse, conventional specialists are siloed and often provide conflicting information and do not communicate with one another, making the recovery process complicated and frustrating for the patient.
Conversely, functional medicine is a holistic approach that looks at the body as a complex, interconnected set of systems, rather than as individual body parts. We also understand that every person is unique and that treatments must be individualized, a concept we call biochemical individuality.
Recommended Reading: Lyme Disease Arthritis In Hands
Dr Mark Hyman: 7 Ways To Tackle Lyme Disease
I have Lyme disease, writes this weeks viewer. Is there anything I can do to treat it naturally?
Lyme disease, the most common American tick-borne infectious disease, often goes undiagnosed or becomes misdiagnosed. That becomes a real problem when you consider that in America, up to 300,000 new cases a year of Lyme disease diagnoses have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , an increase of up to 10 times what researchers previously believed.
Lyme disease, or borreliosis, is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which can proliferate to every area in your body. An infected blacklegged deer tick transmits the virus to humans through a bite.
Unfortunately, Borrelia burgdorferi has the ability to proliferate within every area of your body, hiding from and suppressing your natural immune system. Lyme infections literally hijack your immune system like AIDS.
Lyme is one of the most challenging, difficult situations in my practice because it mimics other illnesses such as the flu, manifesting as diverse symptoms like headaches, muscle aches, stomach ulcers, constipation, and joint pain. That makes diagnosing and treating Lyme very difficult.
A weakened immune system paired with suboptimal cellular function and protection, chronic bacterial infections, and exposure to environmental toxins, like molds and parasites, can make things much worse for those who suffer from chronic Lyme.
Functional Medicine Is Patient
In the conventional medical model, doctors spend a mere 15 minutes with patients in a single appointment.14 This is barely enough time to greet the patient, let alone get to the root of the patients health problems, and offer helpful solutions! The functional medicine doctor, on the other hand, will frequently spend an hour or more thoroughly getting to know the patient.
Understanding what led to symptoms/disease takes time. At CCFM, we know that its imperative to spend time going through a patients history. We want to know everything that has happened to you from when you were in your mothers womb until the moment we meet. By gathering a comprehensive medical history, we can often connect the dots and begin the necessary investigation and detective work.
At CCFM, we take a comprehensive care-team approach to help you recover. Our team includes a physician, a midlevel provider , a nutritionist, a health coach, and compassionate admin staff. We use a variety of comprehensive tests that allow for a deep dive into inflammatory markers, gut health, adrenal/hormone imbalance, nutrient deficiencies, mold markers, and hidden infections such as Lyme, coinfections, and others.
Read Also: How To Test Ticks For Lyme Disease
Gut And Brain Connection
Science continues to develop in this arena. If you experience migraines this podcast from The Doctors Farmacy may be helpful Functional Medicine Approach to Ending Migraine with Dr. Todd LePine. Next consider the effects of inflammation on the brain.
Dr. Hyman interviews Dr. Jay Lombard, MD. They are discussing a theory that antibiotics upset the microbiome, allowing C Diff to develop which moves into the brain, leading to autoimmune brain diseases, i.e., ALS, Alzheimer, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson. Dr. Lombard presents his theory for a new treatment, hyperthermia.
Dr. Hyman speaks with Dr. Todd LePine about inflammation in the brain. They discuss how conditions such as Alzheimers, ALS, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, depression, strep infections, and more are related to neuroinflammation. They share drivers of inflammation in the body and brain, including stealth infections. Parkinsons and gut health is covered, along with the micro biome of the brain.
Another worthy video, 5 Steps to DESTROY Negative Thoughts for Better Health! Great tips that will lead to a healthier mind and gut.
I think identifying food intolerances with The Carroll Food Intolerance Method is the easier than elimination diets to identify food intolerances. Plus, Im glad to know I can digest a little sugar if I dont eat fruit within four hours.
Functional Medicine Is Individualized
The root causes of illness differ from one person to the next based on diet and lifestyle variables, genetics, biochemical individuality, and environmental exposures. Functional medicine recognizes that there is no single cause of any given disease, and there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach to chronic disease treatment. Instead, at CCFM, our functional medicine approach treats each patient as an individual by first collecting a detailed health history and laboratory testing, and leveraging this information to direct the development of a personalized treatment plan.
The personalized treatment plan developed by your functional medicine team may include:
- Nutrition prescriptions
- Lifestyle recommendations that address sleep, exercise, and stress management
- Treatments for supporting gut health and targeting gut infections
- Hormonal and adrenal support
Also Check: Lyme Disease Onset Of Symptoms
Request Your Consultation Today
If you or someone you know is suffering from any of the aforementioned symptoms, and have been unsuccessful in finding effective treatment or lasting relief, Dr. Heyman treats patients at his integrative medicine practice: the Virginia Center for Health and Wellness in Aldie, Virginia. For an appointment with Dr. Heyman, please call & phone , or contact us online today.
Gut Dysfunction And Gut Microbiome Imbalances
Over 70% of our immune system is found in the digestive tract and there is a strong connection between gut dysfunction and many, if not most, illnesses.3,4 With every patient we see, we perform comprehensive testing to look for common issues such as yeast overgrowth, dysbiosis , small intestinal bacterial overgrowth , and gut inflammation. You might think that gut dysfunction would always manifest as digestive symptoms, but that is not always the case. While many of our patients do have GI issues that need to be addressed, impaired gut function can also manifest as skin rashes, anxiety/depression, cognitive impairment, sleep disruption, joint pain, or fatigue, among many other things. No matter what the symptoms, we always look at the gut as a starting place for intervention.
Also Check: Do All Deer Ticks Have Lyme Disease
General: How Haiti Can Help America Heal With Dr Mark Hyman
For 20 years Dr. Mark Hyman worked to address the roots of chronic illness that now affects 1 in 2 Americans and costs our society over $2 trillion a year. Along his wife and father-in-law, he was the first doctor team on the ground after the earthquake on January 12, 2010 in Haiti.With Paul Farmer he arrived in the chaos at Haitis main public hospital. In the aftermath of the earthquake, it became clear that Haitis community based solutions for TB and AIDS were exactly the medicine needed for our global epidemic of chronic disease. Inspired by Farmer and Haiti, Dr. Hyman began work to bring community based change to first world epidemics of obesity and diabetes related illness in churches, corporations and government health programs. Getting healthy together is the solution for American to Take Back Our Health.
Lyme Disease Literate Physician
To further her studies in understanding the complex and often devastating effects of Lyme disease and co-infections, Dr. Hinchey attends the International Lyme and Associated Disease Societys Annual conference to keep up with the current ILADS treatment guidelines.
Lyme disease treatment is conducted in an integrative manner as well, encouraging patients to follow ILADS treatment protocol as well as using herbal protocols that have been studied extensively by Master Herbalist, Stephen Buhner.
You May Like: Icd 10 Code For Lyme Disease
The Vaccine You Never Knew About
A more direct way of controlling Lyme disease, of course, would be to vaccinate people to stop the infection from jumping from ticks to humans. Telford and Smith were both involved in studies in the early 1990s, led in part by Allen Steere, to create a vaccine called LYMErix. It worked by spurring the body to create antibodies to Borrelias outer surface protein lipid A a technique shown in trials of around 15,000 patients to be about 80 percent effective in preventing Lyme infection. It would have prevented hundreds of thousands of cases, Telford said.
Sam Telford. Photo: Alonso Nichols/Tufts University
Some 20 years ago, Smith led a study looking at the rashes of patients who were proven to have early Lyme disease, and found a wide variation even in that marker. At the same time, diagnostic tests for the disease work well four to six weeks after infection, but are often ineffective before that. Theyre only about 50/50 in the first couple of weeks, Smith said. The other problem with diagnosis is that once a person has tested positive for the disease, they tend to stay positive. You cant tell if someone has been cured, and you cant tell if somebody has been reinfected, said Hu. That means doctors must often rely on guesswork and intuition to diagnose the disease, based on clues and past experience. Lyme causes a large array of symptoms that differ from person to person, Kalish said. So its a disease that can look like other things and be missed.
Featuring Dr Bob Rountree Md
We are excited to do our first Functional Forum On the Road in Denver, Colorado. We will be hosting the event at the gorgeous Directors Room at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. The topic for this event could not be more pressing or pertinent for the future of medicine Detoxification.
We bring some of the finest minds in Functional and Holistic Medicine together for an all-encompassing look at how toxicity causes chronic disease and what steps doctors can take to offer clinical detoxification as a integral part of their practice.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Bob Rountree MD.
We couldnt be more excited to work with Dr Rountree on this critial topic, he will draw on decades of clinical and practical experience to evolve our understanding of detoxification in a clinical setting.
Other speakers and panelists include.
Recommended Reading: Can Lyme Disease Cause Parkinson’s
The New Old World Of Functional Medicine With Dr Hyman: Part 2
Hansa Bhargava, MD
Editor’s note: This is the second part of a three-part interview with , director of the Center for Functional Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. It has been edited for clarity.
Hansa Bhargava, MD: Hi. I’m Dr Hansa Bhargava, a medical editor for Medscape and WebMD. I am joined again today by Dr Mark Hyman to continue our conversation on functional medicine.
A lot of physicians may feel that you might miss something big with functional medicine. Let me be the devil’s advocate. If you go through a review of systems with your patients, will that ensure that we don’t miss anything like an occult fracture, an occult bacteremia, or an occult cancer? How do you make sure that you encompass traditional medicine as well?
Functional medicine is not throwing out what we all learned in medical school. We still go through a traditional history, physical assessment, and traditional diagnostics, whether they are imaging or laboratory tests. They are all part of it. But in conventional thinking, the end stop is the differential diagnosis, which we all learned in medical school. That’s usually the end of our thinking. Once we’ve made the differential diagnosis and we have the diagnosis, we know what to do. We pick up the Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics for residents. We have the standard of care. It’s not that complicated. Once you make the diagnosis, you know what the treatment is, right?
Dr Hyman: Thank you.