What is the cause of Lyme Disease and what do we do about it?

“Lyme Disease is caused by a whole community of microbes which produce the structure for them to live,” Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride said at the Certified GAPS Practitioner Meeting (March 7, 2017. Vancouver, WA).

Antibiotic use, when bit by a tick, is often part of the process, but may not be the best solution. Truthfully, we are not seeing simple antibiotic use resolving the issue anymore. There is a possibility that someone can be immune or allergic to Doxycycline, the standard antibiotic for a tick bite, for acne, rosacea and malaria. The decision is bio individual. “Antibiotics wipe out good microbes. It takes about two weeks to two months to recover. Majority of (pathogens) are resistant to antibiotics,” McBride said at the 2015 Certified GAPS Practitioner Training in Orlando, Florida.

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“Every course of antibiotics damages beneficial species of bacteria in the gut, leaving it open to invasion by pathogens, resistant to antibiotics. Even when the course of antibiotic is short and the dose is low, it takes different beneficial bacteria in the gut a long time to recover: physiological E. coli takes 1-2 weeks, Bifidobacteri and Veillonelli take 2-3 weeks, Lactobacilli, Bacteroids, Peptostreptoccocci take a month. If, in this period, the gut flora is subjected to another dmaging factor(s), then gut dysbiosis may well start in earnest,” McBride says in her Gut and Psychology Syndrome Practitioner Training Manual pp 229-30.

She goes on to say, “Animal experiments with sterilization of the gut found that when the beneficial bacteria living on the intestinal epithelium are removed, this process of cell renewal gets completely out of order. The state of the cells themselves becomes abnormal. In the human body the absence of good bacteria always comes with pathogenic bacteria getting out of control, which makes the whole situation much worse. Without the care of beneficial bacteria while under attack from pathogenic fora, the gut epithelium degenerates.” (p230).

When a person has found a tick bite, the tick is engorged with blood, there is a bulls-eye surrounding the bite or the person is suffering from flu like symptoms immediately following a bite, the situation is acute. McBride says, “If  you have got an acute infestation, then a short antibiotic treatment may be helpful. In chronic cases, antibiotics are usually of no help: they will only damage your gut flora further.” (p 214).

When there is a declined state in the microbiome, worms are always present eating inflammation, consuming metals and performing many other jobs. When there is Lyme, we find heavy metal contamination. Where we find heavy metals we find worms. Where there are worms, there is Lyme. This balance of the declined terrain is how our microbes function. 

She goes on to say, “Unless they cause problems, there is no need to attack them. Worms may fulfill some useful functions in the body by controlling other microbes and stimulating immunity. It has been discovered that some worms have a balancing effect on the immune system.” (p 214).

The goal is to rebuild the ecosystem. For those of us who have experience multiple tick bites that fall under the acute category, personally this author has received five which caused Lyme symptoms and tested positive for , the need for killing from antibiotics is dwarfed by the need to rebuild. For those with Lyme, Dr. Natasha says, “I recommend that you follow the Introduction Diet. If you find it to difficult, then implement the Full GAPS Diet first: you may be able to do the Intro Diet later. The standard treatment for Lyme disease is antibiotics, lots of them. So, the gut flora in these people is damaged and needs restoring.” (p 190).

McBride said, “Any one of these creatures living inside of you are capable of causing disease. As long as the ecosystem is balanced, they are kept in balance. Your gut flora is your soil. If the soil is sick, the roots are going to be sick. Vast majority of illnesses where a microbe is involved does not come from outside, they come from inside the environment. Pleomorphism, the microbes change because the environment changes.” (Campbell-McBride, Natasha. GAPS Part 1. Weston A. Price Conference, Nov. 16, 2018. Baltimore, MD).

She goes on to say, “You can not have any health disorder without damaging your gut flora first.”

Teasel root is a famous for supporting the conditions of Lyme. Beneficial Botanicals says teasel root tincture, “Warms the cells and muscles, inviting Lyme Disease bacteria into the bloodstream for the immune system to do its work, addresses chronic inflammation of the muscles as an anti-inflammatory for ‘Lyme arthritis’ (and is a) general analgesic for pain.” If a person takes too much it can potentially cause a heightened state of alertness which can prevent sleep. 

They go on to say, “Herbalist and author, Matthew Wood, M.S., his homeopathy-oriented view proposes that the tincture is given as ‘information’ for the organism, and for this reason his dosage suggestion is quite low: 3 drops, 3 times a day. [ref: p.177] Borrelia spirochete activity peaks every month or twenty-eight days and that the duration of dosage should thus be at least one month, then gradually decreasing the dosage over the next weeks. [ref: p.179]”

Message therapist Katherine Darlington says, “Although Teasel Root is not an antibiotic, it is a useful herb to take before or in conjunction with antibiotics. By pulling toxins (including bacteria) from muscles, it helps bring them out of hiding so that both prescription antibiotics and natural antibiotics such as colloidal silver, garlic, raw apple cider vinegar, or grapefruit seed extract can destroy the bacteria.”

Teasel root tincture was used after observing strange behavior from wild deer circling the drying teasel plants. 

The homeopathic remedy Ledum is best used in frequent doses that step down over time, click here to read more about natural support for Lyme. 

To learn some of the most up to date information on Lyme and how it is transmitted, click here. 

*Nourishing Plot is written by Becky Plotner, ND, traditional naturopath, CGP, D.PSc. who sees clients in Rossville, Georgia. She is a Board Certified Naturopathic Doctor, through The American Naturopathic Medical Association and works as a Certified GAPS Practitioner who sees clients in her office, Skype and phone. She has been published in Wise Traditions, spoken at two Weston A. Price Conferences, Certified GAPS Practitioner Trainings, has been on many radio shows, television shows and writes for Nourishing Plot. She serves on the GAPS Board of Directors and has recently been named “The GAPS Expert” by Dr. Natasha and will serve teaching other Certified GAPS Practitioners proper use of the GAPS protocol. Since her son was delivered from the effects of autism (Asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia, through food, she continued her education specializing in Leaky Gut and parasitology through Duke University, finishing with distinction. She is a Chapter Leader for The Weston A. Price Foundation. becky.nourishingplot@hotmail.com

“GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The right of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Patent and Designs Act 1988.