Lyme Disease Diet

Lyme Disease Diet

Most times, dietary modifications are an essential component to a successful chronic Lyme disease treatment.

Lyme pathogens thrive with foods that metabolize as a polysaccharides and yeasts. Some examples are sugars, yeasts, dairy lactose (sugars), vinegars except apple cider vinegar, alcohol and so on.

With a healthy Lyme disease diet, a successful treatment is better assured. Without dietary modifications and certain food abstentions, most times any treatment will not work. 

As many of you may know, Lyme disease may be accompanied with other infections such as an overgrowth of yeast, candida and parasitic nematodes. Lyme disease pathogens may also be accompanied with bacterial and parasitic co-infections that go under the radar of the immune system, as well as molds, fungi and other forms of bacteria.

So, what we need to do with a Lyme disease diet is not feed any of these other pathogens. This prevents them from multiplying quicker than treatment can control or reduce them, as well reduces and prevent further inflammation so treatment can work.

​​Foods to Avoid with a Lyme Disease Diet

These foods are never to be considered while fighting Lyme disease. 

Foods containing certain unwanted polysaccharides or starches excite pathogens, which in turn excites the immune system, which in turn causes symptoms (immune reactions). All of these foods below with give strength to unwanted pathogens and cause immune reactions, thus preventing any treatment from being effective. 

• All sugars such as refined sugar, sucanat, brown sugar, maple syrup, agave, honey, bananas, mangoes, dried fruit or berries, any herbs with polysaccharides (sweet) such as Astragalus. Absolutely no syrups, jellies, dried fruit or berries, or sweet herbs.

• All Dairy, except butter and ghee is okay to eat.

• All baked goods

• Grains – I think it is okay to have rice later on once a week, after 4-5 months of impeccable diet and treatment.

• Wheat products – all wheat feeds/excites many infections thus causing immune reactions.

• Alcohol metabolizes as a sugar. It is like airplane fuel for infections

• Anything with yeast. Nutritional yeast is okay. Brewers yeast is not okay. All other yeasts are not okay.

• Soy sauce, tamari and other sauces containing alcohol. Even when it is burned up, part of it is converted to polysaccharides.

• Fermented foods such as kombucha, pickles, ect.

• Mushrooms

• Coffee – Feeds candida and restricts the capillaries. When combatting Lyme disease, we want to open up the capillaries, dilate them, help the blood get to the difficult to reach areas of the body.

• Cocao and chocolate – even sugar free. As it has natural occurring sugars and caffein

• Certain nuts – Cashews, pistachios, These nuts contain troublesome polysaccharides

• Lentils, garbanzos, chickpeas
• All beans/legumes
• Popcorn – Very high glycemic index

• All vinegars except apple cider vinegar.

• Ground beef – Even organic or grass fed. It contains contains a natural occurring sugar (alpha-gal) that infections like.

• Red meat – Beef, pork, venison, buffalo, elk – Contains alpha gal (unwanted polysaccharide)

• Coffee
• All caffeine – We want to dilate the vessels, not construct them. As well, caffeine feeds certain infections, such as candida.

If you are sensitive to nightshades, honor that. If not, eat them raw or steamed.

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Foods to Eat with a Lyme disease diet

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Other Protein Sources to Eat with a Lyme Disease Diet

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• Tofu is good. Just make sure to eat tofu made with sprouted soybeans. Research shows this offsets the estrogen production effect. Sauté it with veggies, herbs such as rosemary, oregano, thyme and salt. Pure, unflavored tofu. Flash fry it with salt, pepper (not pepper with babesia or bartonella), with broccoli and onion; over a bed of chopped romain.

• Pumpkin seeds and nuts! Soak them first overnight. This neutralizes some of the histamine content. Refrain from eating them with severe symptoms.

• Almond milk, sugar free/unsweetened (read ingredients as always)!

• Chicken, fish and turkey, white meats.
• Almonds (no cashews or peanuts). Soak almonds overnight is best but not essential, then rinse, pluck the skin off, rinse again, then eat and store the rest in the refrigerator.
• Blend at times – sprouted blanched almonds, ½ fresh squeezed lemon, pinch of stevia, dash of salt, filtered water.

Carbs for the Lyme disease diet

• Almond flour tortillas – you can buy them at Whole Foods or make them (2 tablespoons of almond flour/1 tablespoon of psyllium husk/salt/ water. Add baking soda and baking powder and an egg for waffles.

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​Green smoothies!!

Green Smoothies are great to replace electrolytes, minerals and to help supplement the tissues with glutathione naturally. Glutathione is essential to detoxification and processing die-off.

• Green smoothies with no fruit (except Lemon) in the morning and evening can be great, or when you can!

  • Soak almonds overnight, pour off the water the next morning and peel the skin off.

  • Add to blender ½ bunch of spinach, ½ cucumber, small handful of almonds and 1 fresh squeezed lemon. Modify how you like! No avocados. They have natural occurring sugars that Lyme bugs like.

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Soups are great!

Kidney bean soup with veggies and greens is packed with minerals and proteins and aids very well to the Lyme diet. Lyme weakens the digestion as it pulls energy from the body. By eating a warm power packed soup, the warmth aids in rekindling the digestive fire.

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• Veggie broth soup with meat or tofu. Eat up to 4 bowls per day. Add salt.

  • Then boil in any of the following:

    • Pack in as much as possible: Celery, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, onion, garlic (onion and garlic can exacerbate bartonella and babesia but not feed them) and add spinach, parsley at the end.

    • Add broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus’, IF YOU LIKE THEM!

    • Add fresh rosemary, oregano and basil.

    • No spices

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Steamed Veggies 

• Steamed veggies such as: cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus..

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Salads

Salads are great as part of a Lyme disease diet. Add beans, tofu or a white meat. If you have digestive issues with salads, resort to a green smoothie. Green smoothiesare easily digested for those who have problems digesting salads. Green smoothies help create beneficial bacteria in the gut. Green smoothies will quickly change the digestive flora in the gut, get rid of unwanted bacteria and help the detoxification process,

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Salad dressing ingredients to choose from for a Lyme disease diet

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• Apple cider vinegar (only type of vinegar, nothing else!)

• Olive oil

• Basil

• Parsley

• Dill

• Onion

• Celery

• Bell pepper

• Garlic

• Ginger

• Salt

Milks 

• Fresh Almond milk (Almonds have all the essential amino acids needed.)

  • Soak almonds overnight – This neutralizes anti-enzyme inhibitors and allows them to be more digestible.

  • Pour off water, rinse and pop off skins (if you choose, otherwise skins are fine.)

  • Blend with filtered water, salt and a tiny bit of stevia. Again, not a hair too much. If it tastes perfect and not too sweet, that’s good.

  • Refrigerate

• Other nut or soy milks – make sure to read the ingredients. Seeing the label saying “unsweetened” is not enough. Give these bugs a taste and you will react negatively.

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Snacks for the Lyme disease diet

• Soups
• Almond flour tortillas with cooked salmon or other fish and grated cabbage.
• Almond butter and celery
• Fresh veggies
• Pumpkin seeds

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Cleansing Reaction elixir – Only drink when feeling sick, spun, toxic or ill.

• 16oz of warm water with 1 tablespoon of bentonite clay stirred in if you feel sick, spun or uncomfortable at any time.

Water

Replenish body fluids!! Lyme depletes body fluids.

• 10 cups per day with fresh squeezed lemon is great for many reasons. (Vitamin C helps the immune system, cleans the blood vessels exposes pathogens to biochemical agents of treatment and reduces inflammation).

• Lyme consumes body fluids and electrolytes.

  • Water replaces body fluids and helps flush out dead Lyme toxins.

  • Lyme does well in acidic environments. Lemon creates a highly alkaline environment in the body and contains electrolytes; therefore eating FRESH lemon is great.

  • Stevia kills Lyme. In just the right amount stevia makes things taste good. As soon as you taste the bitterness, you have added too much.

  • A small pinch of salt helps the body use the water. Many times the adrenals and the kidneys get compromised with Lyme. Use once per day around 7:00 pm but not all day. According to Chinese medicine, the right amount of salt at the right time of day, when indicated can be very beneficial to the kidneys.

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Times of day to eat for the for the Lyme disease diet

• Eat when you are hungry!

• Food prep is key to keeping yourself on track.
• Don’t not eat, even if you aren’t hungry. Sometimes this is okay, but do not make a habit of it.

Polysaccharides to refrain from with Lyme disease diet

Sucrose, fructose, lactose, alpha-galactose, mucilage – less than 1gm per cup per serving

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© Patrick Lynch L.Ac., M.A.O.M., D.A.O.M. Intern

February 2019