Confused About What Supplements To Take?- READ THIS!

Well, if there was one huge thing I learned during my recovery from Lyme, it was was how important it is to supplement. It boggles my mind that the FDA says that supplements can’t cure disease or improve conditions. Or course, I don’t really believe anything the FDA comes out with anyway. It’s best for me to just do my own research and make up my own mind.

If the FDA believes that supplements can’t cure disease, I guess they believe that diseases can’t be reversed or that somehow being deficient in essential vitamins and minerals doesn’t lead to disease. I thought that is why they were called “essential.”

My point is that I took a LOT of products, supplements, herbs, tinctures, and pills when I was sick. Had I not gotten on the supplements, I’m sure I would not have recovered. Yes, I know everyone is confused as heck trying to figure out what to take and when to take it. Timing is important, but getting it in is the MOST important thing to remember. I find most people just aren’t taking enough and the ones who are taking enough are taking the wrong things.

Having The Right Foundation Is Key To Recovery

When people first find out they have Lyme and I was no different, they go straight to the hard core stuff. You want to take the abx and get on the Lyme killing protocols. I think for someone with an acute case and not chronic, this could be a good idea. But most people find out they have Lyme find out months later and sometimes years after they have first been exposed. So they do indeed have a chronic illness.

The people who go straight for the kill often get upset because the “cleanup” just doesn’t go as well as they anticipated or perhaps they go in circles. Feeling better and then feeling worse…..over and over again.

The problem is that everyone who has chronic Lyme disease is severely deficient in one thing or another. So how is taking antimicrobials and abx going to help you get out of the hole you got yourself into?  It doesn’t, because essential nutrients are MISSING and need to be built up again.  Essential nutrients are what keep the processes in the body going.

Two things every Lyme person has:

1) Depletion of some sort  (usually many)

2) Toxicity

Three things need to happen when you become ill and you need more nutrients:

1) You need to eat EXTREMELY well, like your life depends on it, which it does

2) You need to JUICE seasonal organic vegetables (for instance, now is a good time of the year to juice spinach and other cruciferous veggies)- Get a juicer!

3) You HAVE TO SUPPLEMENT

I wish eating well just by itself could give your body what it needs, but it often doesn’t these days. It’s best to get your nutrients from food and follow up for anything missing with supplements. And in the case of people who have severe symptoms, supplementing hard is CRUCIAL to recovery. It takes a long time for most people to get into the chronic illness state, years of depletion, so it takes time for the build up to occur and to remove all symptoms. I am a nice example of this.

I Recovered From Arthritis In My Knees

When I moved to Colorado in October of last year to start training again (from a 5 year break due to Lyme disease) and when running in the cold and then getting into a heated car, it made my knees ache badly. I knew this was a symptom of arthritis and it scared me!  I still had lingering inflammation and that bothered me also. So this past year, I just kept going on with my “maintenance” which is basically detoxing every now and then for specific organs (usually when I’m not in racing or training periods) and supplementing to keep rebuilding. The only way to keep Lyme and other illnesses from coming back is to make sure your body gets everything it wants.

This year in Colorado we have had some very cold days and I’ve been running in them with ski mask and gloves and I have noticed already that my knees are not hurting (even when I go from cold to hot quickly), which means I’ve basically reversed “arthritis.”  It doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing what I’m doing either, but many people think that arthritis cannot be reversed and in some instances perhaps it can’t, but after seeing myself and other people make great comebacks from serious symptoms, I believe anything can happen.  You just have to go into it like YOU know you are going to recover fully and commit to the idea. *I will devote a newsletter to arthritis in the future.

Hard Physical Training is like Recovering From Lyme

So I stated above that one of the biggest issues while being ill is the need to supplement and take this seriously. I see it as a primary responsibility. I know that if I don’t supplement well, I will not be able to train and I will race like crap. Looking back at my racing history, I realize that before I was sick with Lyme, I was not doing enough to keep myself healthy while beating my body down so hard. It’s just like being sick with Lyme, if you are finding it hard to recover, you may not be taking in the appropriate amount of nutrients to keep your body balanced while it FIGHTS. Without the right support, your body will not recover. It will stay in limbo!  And I’m sure you’ve heard of how many people with autoimmune diseases are in limbo.

For example: Your doctor puts you on three different antibiotics to “beat” lyme and some co-infections.  He/She then tells you to take a good probiotic and a couple of different vitamins like B, C, E and D.

….I can already tell you that it ISN’T enough to combat your depleted state and to also combat the damage that taking those pharmaceuticals will do.  Why not use them as a last resort?  Especially when there are so many good alternatives, even for nasty infections?

I’ve been in limbo before and even these days will have a few “limbo” days from hard training. The only way out is rest and supplementing hard to rebuild. It is the ONLY way. In the past, I just wasn’t doing enough, and correcting the problem is why I can run like a maniac now.

The Basics (MY VERY STRONG SUGGESTIONS)

Most of my maintenance now includes what I call “the basics.”   Sure there are specific supplements that are needed for individuals with specific symptoms and health issues. But before anyone gets all carried away with the herbs, tinctures, antimicrobials, etc. you must consider getting your fundamentals right. LOADS of symptoms from Lyme can be reversed when you get the basics down and rebuild from there.

These are the basics and these are what I take daily to keep myself out of the hole.

Omega 3-6-9 oils (2-4 a day)- Fish oils should come from small fish like sardines. I also like taking a good flax oil. I don’t have a preference on brands and there are MANY good brands to pick from.

Aloe Oil (2-3 day)- aloe oil is rich in fatty acids!  Great for repairing the gut, detoxifying the respiratory system and other organs. There is only one aloe oil product that I know of.  Get your aloe oil right here.

Aloe Juice (1-2 tablespoons a day) - good high quality aloe juice is polysaccharide rich and contains loads of natural enzymes. This is the top notch stuff. I have tried many kinds but none can compare to anything as effective (as of yet) to this aloe juice right here.

Beta Glucan – (2 a day) – I go on and off of this depending on severity of training and the need to pump up my immune system.  I like Defense here because of the other synergistic components like cumin and allicin (the powerhouse of garlic). I think it’s very potent and many people who have had low CD 57 testing have reported a very good increase using this Beta Glucan here.

Mineral Kit- (contains the six essential minerals, go through kit once a day)- my minerals are presently balanced, the kit is designed so that each person uses their sense of taste to get the correct amount of the six essential minerals in.  When I first got the kit (while ill), I was doubling my intake until I achieved a balance and it took months to do so!  I could go on forever about the importance of taking superior minerals, but you can do the research.  There is only one taste sensitive mineral brand for this- Taste Sensitive Minerals

Vitamin Kit (contains the 20 essential vitamins, go through it once a day)- you only replace what you use up. Using smell you can detect which vitamins you are low in. Currently I’m balanced in my kit on everything except Vitamin D and Iron.  These are two nutrients I use up a lot.  If the D smells good, I take 5-10,000 IUs that very moment.  If the iron in the kit smells good, I take it and also take a nano juice form of iron. When I first got the kit (years ago), everything smelled wonderful and even though I was taking all kinds of supplements previously, it still took a long time to rebuild and correct my levels! These are patented and are invaluable- Smell Sensitive Vitamins

Electrolytes are so fundamental and paramount to good health. Do not be fooled by thinking you’re balancing your electrolytes by drinking sports drinks or fizzy packets.  Sugar will cancel the electrical potential of electrolytes and everyone who is ill (with disease) will go IN and OUT of balance the entire time they are ill, usually staying out of balance a lot.  Electrolytes get imbalanced in healthy people as well for lots of reasons (from medications to exercise to stress, etc).  Having the right cellular homeostasis means you DETOX on a cellular level. Electrolytes  regulate the electric charge and flow of water molecules across the cell membrane. It’s what keeps the waste moving OUT! Medical issues need medical grade products, take medical grade electrolytes!

Iodine- I have a skin test done once a week to see if I’m deficient. I have it checked due to a hypothyroid condition in the past. I also take it more frequently during times of travel when I’m exposed to more radiation (like being on airplanes).  Lugol’s and Iodoral, together pack the biggest punch.

Metabolic Enzymes (1-2 tablespoons a day)-  I know fibrin accumulates when the body is under stress. Lyme is a stressor, not just an infection. Fibrin can kill you. I took this while I was recovering and I will continue to take it, for the sole reason of oxygenating my blood and helping me break down the foods I eat properly.  My pick, hands down are these Metabolic Enzymes here.

Probiotics – (taken via enema) once a week for pure maintenance. I know a strong gut is the key to a healthy immune system, so I still make sure that I get loads of healthy microflora in once a week.  I open up 4-5 caps of Native Flora that gives me 25 billion of a diverse group of bacteria strains (which can grow to tenfold, once in the colon).  Strong stuff!

Just recently I had a sit down with my new coach to go over my training and racing for this upcoming year. We talked about amino acids (which will probably be another newsletter) and she commented on how athletes will often take amino acid IVs for recovery and that I will probably be doing this as well after certain track days.  She went through my supplements and said “this is good stuff!”

I do have a loaded cabinet of everything from NAC to Chorella, PH balancing products to MSM and more. I play around with everything and go through rounds of taking specific supplements, but do not stay on anything other than the basics above.  For example, I’ve been taking several adaptogens since I’m training hard again and don’t want an adrenal crash.  I love Siberian Ginseng and just recently have been taking a product that contains several kinds of adapotagenic herbs, the results have been VERY, VERY good.  I also plan on trying out Royal Maca in the near future, but while all these products are great, I probably wouldn’t have so much luck with them, if my butt wasn’t already covered on the basics.

Just like with a house, you have to build a solid foundation first.

Tick Slayer Book – My Contribution To The Lyme Community

This week I got a new editor to finally see the book through to the end.  Everything is coming together.  The biggest problem I’ve had is finding the right help. Since it’s my first book (and not my last, despite all of the setbacks), it was very hard to find the right people.

I’ve been very determined in getting on with this publication because I know the impact that the story will have on people. It’s EXTREMELY important to anyone with autoimmune illness.  It’s about triumph and everything I’ve learned about health through  years of research (mad scientists, “mountain doctors,” etc.).  So I’ve been pushing hard to make it happen and to move on with my life. After this, I actually want to use my background in art and write children’s books…. in addition to my revived track career.

The website: www.TheTickSlayer.com is being finished as well. You can see on the website there will be a resource section, sponsor section, forum for people to discuss issues from the book, etc.   I’m making it THE website I wish I’d found when I was sick. Once I’m done with all of this, I want to look back and honestly feel like I gave everyone, everything it takes to get over all kinds of autoimmune issues and be satisfied enough with it so I can go and move on to something else!

People who are signed up for the book’s early release will get a special on the book and I will probably have a few contests where you can win products that I use, etc.