Lyme Infection and Celiac Disease EP049

If you've been following a strict gluten-free diet, but continue to suffer from lingering neurological symptoms, you may need to explore the possibility that you have Lyme disease. In fact, there are many parallels between celiac disease and Lyme, and the Gluten Free RN has called in an expert to discuss the similarities between the two disorders and why a gluten-free diet is part of the proper treatment for both.

Dr. Usha Honeyman, a chiropractic and naturopathic physician out of Corvallis, Oregon, joins Nadine to explain the fundamentals of Lyme disease. She shares her best advice around prevention and treatment, exploring why it can be difficult to get an accurate diagnosis.

Nadine and Usha also cover the inflammation of the gut that plagues both celiac and Lyme patients, the neurological component of Lyme disease, and the relationship between Lyme and illnesses like MS, Parkinson's and ALS. Listen in to understand what can happen when Lyme goes untreated and how antibiotics coupled with a gluten-free diet may restore your health!

What's Discussed:

The fundamentals of Lyme disease

• Most common insect-borne disease in US
• Primarily carried by tics (disable immune system at bite site)
• CDC estimates 300K new cases each year

How to prevent Lyme infection

• Repellants, Insect Shield clothing

How the political controversy in medicine has led to conflicting information around Lyme disease

The treatment for Lyme disease

• Long-term antibiotics
• T3 to raise body temperature, make white blood cells more efficient
• Probiotics to support immune system

Why Dr. Honeyman advises Lyme patients to go gluten-free

• Lyme causes inflammation of gut

The neurological component of Lyme disease

• Spirochetes permeate blood-brain barrier
• Cause brain fog, balance issues, sensory disorders, etc.

The alpha-gal reaction in Lyme patients in the Southeast US

The strange gait and lower-face movement in Lyme patients

• Bell's palsy is red flag for Lyme disease

The importance of having a Lyme-literate doctor

• Skin scraping of rash for diagnosis available in research setting
• ELISA and Western blot miss 80-90% of Lyme patients

The consequences of untreated Lyme disease

The three forms of Borrelia

• Spirochete-form, intracellular and cystic

Resources:

Dr. Honeyman's Website

CDC Website

Picaridin

Natrapel

Insect Shield Clothing

Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar—Your Brain's Silent Killers by David Perlmutter

Under Our Skin Film

International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society

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Melodies of the Danube Gluten-Free Cruise with Nadine

Books by Nadine:

Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism