I am healing!

Lately, I have been feeling great. The past month has been the best month I have had in over 18 months. In the past 2 weeks I have only had ONE bed bound day.
My energy is so much better, and my pain levels have gone down significantly. I am really starting to feel like my old self again. I believe that I have had such success in my recovery due to a lot of hard work. I have been very strict with my diet, meditation, spiritual healing and of course a lot of help from some great doctors (Chinese doctors, naturopaths & kinesiology).


I have been volunteering in a Chinese medicine clinic and am a student apprentice there as well. I have also officially enrolled to study Chinese Medicine at University next year! Although my Lyme journey has took me through hell and back, I am so grateful and happy to have found my passion - helping others heal through natural modalities. I am so excited to begin my career in Chinese medicine, to help others heal from chronic illness and to treat people in a holistic manner.

With time, self love and a lot of effort, healing is possible.
Although my healing journey is not yet over, I am confident that a Lyme free me is just around the corner. Sending my love & blessings to all!

Gut healing broth

Recently, a few people have been asking me how I make my broth. I thought that it would therefore be a great idea to make post about my broth recipe!

In recent times, broth has become very popular amongst the health community. Broth contains many health benefits, its most sought after benefit however is its ability to aid with digestion by healing and sealing the gut. It has also been proven to improve joint health and boost immunity. You can read more about the health benefits of bone broth here: https://draxe.com/the-healing-power-of-bone-broth-for-digestion-arthritis-and-cellulite/ 

TIP: I usually collect my left over vegetable scraps into a bag that I leave in the freezer, then when it is time to make my broth I just add all my leftovers to the pot!

GUT HEALING BROTH RECIPE

Ingredients:

(preferably organic)

- 4 cloves Garlic

- 2 Onions

- 2 tablespoons coconut oil

-Fresh ginger root

-Fresh turmeric root

- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

-organic chicken bones (or bones of your choice)****

-for a vegetarian option, add some fresh, local mushrooms instead of bones

-fresh herbs (I use lots of parsley and coriander) 

-any left over vegetable scraps or vegetables you have in the fridge 

-half a lemon 

(lemon is important when using leafy greens such as silverbeet or spinach in your broth as citric acid from lemons and other citrus fruits can help prevent the formation of calcium oxalate fluids found in)

- himalayan salt

-black pepper

-2 litres of purified water

**** BONE TIP: You can purchase organic free range chicken bones from your butcher at a very cheap price. I usually cook with a whole chicken carcass, chicken necks or wings. Alternatively you can also use lamb or beed bones, however I try to avoid red meat and prefer the taste of the chicken broth****  

Method:

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove and bring to a medium heat. Add coconut oil, garlic and onion (you can leave the garlic cloves whole & just cut the onions in half with skin on).

2. Grate or finely chop the ginger and turmeric, add to the coconut oil mix. Add the rest of your vegetables, herbs as well as the bones or mushrooms to the pot. 

3. Next, add the apple cider vinegar and enough purified water to fill the pot. Bring to the boil.

4. Bring the pot to a simmer and let the broth simmer with a lid on for a minimum of 24 hours. I usually cook my broth for two days.

5. Turn off the heat, and let the broth sit until it has cooled down enough for you to handle it.
6. Strain the broth into jars and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
7. Add the gut healing broth to your favourite soup, slow cooked dish or simply have it on its own :)

Fish Broth I have made in the past 

Broth & breakfast :) 

Paleo Lemon Slice

PALEO LEMON SLICE 

This slice is gluten, sugar, soy, grain and dairy free! And rather delicious...

Time:  45 minutes (soak cashews overnight prior to baking the slice)

Ingredients:

Crust
1 cup of almond meal
3/4 cup of coconut flour
2 eggs
4 tablespoons melted coconut oil
4 tablespoons xylitol (use honey or other sweetener if not trying to avoid sugar)
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
pinch of salt


Filling
Juice of 2 lemons
Rind of 1 lemon
1 cup raw cashews (soaked)
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon vanilla bean powder
4 tablespoons xylitol (use more honey or other sweetener if not trying to avoid sugar)
1 tablespoon honey
pinch of salt

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°c and line an 8x8 inch square baking tin with baking paper.
2. Add all crust ingredients into a large mixing bowl and kneed with hands until it forms a dough consistency.
3. Transfer the dough to the baking tin and spread it out by placing more baking paper on top and using a cup to push the dough to all edges (this will prevent the dough from sticking to the cup). Ensure that the dough is spread out evenly on along the tin.
4. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until dough is just starting to brown.
5. Place the soaked and drained cashews into a high speed blender along with all the other ingredients used in the filling. Blend until smooth and creamy.
6. Pour the filling over the crust and spread into an even layer.
7. Bake the slice for a further 20 minutes.
8.  Let the slice rest for 10 minutes before transferring it to the fridge.
9.  If you don't want to try the slice warm, let it sit in the fridge for an hour.
10. Cut the slice into rectangular slices and add your favourite berries, more lemon rind, honey or nuts for extra flavour. (I used blueberries, muesli & coconut yoghurt)

ENJOY!

Paleo Falafel Wrap

I had a lot of pumpkin going to waste in the fridge so I decided to improvise and make some grain free falafels! They turned out to be delicious....

GRAIN FREE PUMPKIN & CAULIFLOWER FALAFEL WRAPS

Makes 4 Wraps (1 & 1/2 falafels per wrap)

Ingredients:

Lettuce of choice for wrap (I used swiss chard) 

Falafel Mix 

- 2 cups pumpkin puree 

- 3 cauliflower florets (cut into pieces) 

- Generous amount of flat leaf parsley (chopped)

- 2 teaspoons cumin 

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

- 2 teaspoons paprika 

- 4 garlic cloves 

- 1/2 cup of soaked cashews

- 1/2 cup almond meal

- 1/2 cup coconut flour

- 1 egg

- salt - pepper

- 4 tablespoons melted coconut oil

    

Tabouleh 

- 1 bunch round leaf parsley 

- 3 garlic cloves 

- 2-3  florets of cauliflower 

- 1/4 of large cucumber 

- 1/2 punnet of cherry tomatoes 

- 1/2 red onion

- 1 whole lemon juice

- 4 tablespoons olive oil 

“Hummus" Sauce 

- 1/2 cup tahini

- 3 tablespoons of tomato paste

- 1/2 an avocado 

- 1 lemon (juice) 

- salt

- pepper 

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2. Add all ingredients for falafel mix into a food processor except for the coconut flour and coconut oil. Blend until all ingredients are combined. Slowly add the coconut flour until the mixtures texture resembles that of falafels (you made not need to use the whole 1/2 cup). 

3. Roll the mixture into falafel sized balls and place on an oven baking tray lined with baking paper. You should get about 8 balls with this mixture. 

4. Cover the falafels with coconut oil and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. 

5. Meanwhile, prepare the tabouleh by roughly chopping the parsley and placing it into a large bowl. 

6. Finely chop the garlic, and roughly chop the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and red onion. Add to the bowl.

7. Process the cauliflower florets in a food process until they form a grain like consistency. Add to the bowl.

8. Add lemon juice and olive oil to the bowl. The tabouleh is now ready. 

9. To make the hummus sauce, mix all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.

10. Finally, serve the falafels on top of the swiss chard, hummus and tabouleh (as seen in the mixture below)

Enjoy :) 

Anti-inflammatory Vegan Pumpkin Soup

Todays lunch is organic pumpkin soup topped with fresh parsley. This soup is full of vitamin C and has great anti-inflammatory properties.

VEGAN PUMPKIN SOUP RECIPE:

Ingredients:

- 1 brown onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3/4 whole organic kent pumpkin
- 1 can of organic full cream coconut cream
- 400 mL of vegetable (or chicken for non-veg option) stock *preferably home made
- 1 red chilly
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric
- generous pinch of nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons of fresh coriander
- salt
- pepper
- fresh parsley to top

Method:

1. Put coconut oil to a large pot, along with the roughly chopped garlic and onion. Cook on medium until onion is transparent.

2. Add pumpkin (cut into medium sized squares with skin off) into pot. Add all spices and cook, stirring on medium for 1 minute.

3. Next, pour your stock into the pot and bring to the boil.

4. Bring the pot to simmer and place a lid on top. Allow to cook for one hour or until pumpkin is soft.

5. Turn off the heat and add the corriander (roughly chopped), Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

6. Pour the coconut cream into the soup and process with a hand held processor until smooth.

7. Serve with fresh parlsey, salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Brisbane trip

I recently embarked on a trip to Brisbane, Queensland. A group of my incredible friends from Brisbane surprised me for my birthday by buying me a flight voucher to go and visit them.  I was over the moon when I received the gift - I am truly blessed to have such kind friends.

I stayed in Brisbane for just over a week. I was feeling pretty good before leaving but wasn't feeling all that good when I arrived in Brisbane. I think that the flight took it out of me a bit.
I still had a fantastic time away in the sunshine. I was feeling well enough on some days to go to the beach and to do things that normal people do. Although I was experiencing some migraines, joint pain and fatigue, I was generally feeling pretty good 😊.

However, while I was away it was hard to stay on top of my strict diet. This resulted in me indulging in a few food items that I shouldn't have eaten. I ate a gluten free bun and rice noodles on the 2nd day that I arrived in Brisbane... Lots of grains that I usually avoid as they upset my stomach and cause inflammation in my body. Unfortunately the food really didn't digest well and I ended up having internal bleeding as well as a loss of appetite and nauseousness for the following three days.
I feel as though this setback, as well as a few other issues that have come up - have sent me backwards in my recovery process. Since returning back home to Melbourne I haven't been feeling my best. I feel as though I have a had a little relapse. I have been experiencing deliberating migraines, vertigo and lots of joint pain. My ears are also severely infected which means they have a lot of fluid built up in them which causes noise sensitivity, pain and dizziness. As a result of all this physical pain that I have been dealing with, it has been difficult for me to stay on track with my routine that I had going. I haven't been doing much exercise other than the occasional 10 minute walk and some stretching here and there.

After doing a one day juice fast, having an epsom salt bath and performing a coffee enema on myself.. I am finally starting to feel better. Let's hope that I continue to experience less pain :).

Here are some photos that I took of my time in Queensland...
It's amazing to look back on these photos and see that I was feeling so good only 3 weeks ago!!
I feel so lucky to have spent such a beautiful time with my friends, doing many of the things that I have been unable to do for so long.
These photos were taken on my film camera: Nikon FM10.
Enjoy!

Lifestyle tips for healing chronic infection

The real me is returning!

I am currently in my fifth month of treatment for Lyme and co-infections, and I am experiencing some fantastic results.
I feel as though all my hard work and effort that I have put into recovering from this illness is finally paying off. I am no longer experiencing as many debilitating symptoms, I have a lot more energy and my sense of humour along with my natural spark are returning. Every day I am feeling better and better, it is such an incredible sensation! I am now spending a lot less time inside, and more time out of the house - rediscovering old hobbies, soaking up the sun and inhaling the fresh spring air.
I have a new found appreciate for the small things in life!

Wherever I go, I feel a sense of enlightenment within me. I am always so happy whenever I am well enough to enjoy the old things I loved doing with my life. So much so that I find myself smiling at smallest and simplest things in life - such as going food shopping on my own.
I recently started my very own vegetable garden at my grandparents house. I feel so blessed to have the energy to be able to put time and effort into such a thing - something I would have taken for granted in the past.
I have also begun a "Lyme rehabilitation program" at the gym, whereby I undertake a series of light machine based exercises. The routine takes me roughly 30 minutes to complete, and I am aiming to do this routine 2 -3 days a week, depending on how I am feeling.
I am absolutely loving having more energy and enduring less pain. However, I still really need to listen to my body. As I have been doing so little for such a long time (I have pretty much been indoors on the couch/ in bed for the past 8 months), I am becoming very excited about gaining my life back. All I want to do is get outside and do things that normal people do! Sometimes I get so excited that I do too much with my day, and I crash. A lot of my symptoms return and I end up in bed, in pain - I become very frustrated. I am slowly learning to listen to my body and not overdo things!

My aim of this post is to tell all chronic illness sufferers out there that there is hope. After following a strict diet, meditating, receiving treatment from an incredible team of doctors, naturopaths and kinesiologists (message me for details), I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel - and you can too! Although I still experience daily symptoms, I have a major part of my life back and I am now able to do a lot more with my day. I still have a long road ahead of me until I am completely healed, but I am getting closer to making a full recovery with every day that passes.
Don't let disease take control of your life. You need to take control of it! Remind yourself that everything in your life is temporary, and that it will get better!

Paleo Beetroot Mud Cake

I have recently been experimenting with Paleo deserts. I came across a beetroot chocolate mud cake online and decided to change the recipe around to make it paleo. I added / substituted a few things from the original recipe and used avocado mousse for the frosting instead of icing sugar. I was pleasantly surprised with how the cake turned out!

Here is the recipe:

JERRY'S PALEO BETROOT CHOC MUD CAKE:

Base:

Ingredients:

- 3 roasted beetroots (wrap beets in foil and cook for 30 mins on 180) 

- 3-4 tablespoons of raw cacao 

- 2 eggs (free range)

- 1 & 1/3 cup almond meal

- 3 tablespoons of tapioca flour

- 3 tablespoon desiccated coconut 

- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil

- 2 tablespoons of almond butter (not essential)

(you can play around with the flour/ almond butter and just add whatever you like)

- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean powder / paste / liquid 

- pinch of himalayan salt 

-sweetener of choice (I think I used about 4 tablespoons of xylitol and a teaspoon sativa) 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
2. Add roasted and cooled beets to blender. Blend into a smooth puree.
3. Add eggs, coconut oil, almond butter, vanilla extract, baking soda and sweetener to blender

     4.  Combine left over dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add wet mixture and mix until all ingredients are combined. 

    5. Line a round cake tin with baking paper. Add cake mixture to tin.

    6. Bake cake on 160 for 35 minutes. 

    7. Remove from oven and wait to cool before adding frosting.

Frosting:

Ingredients:

- 2 large ripe avocados 

- 1/3 cup coconut oil

- 1/2 cup sweeter of choice (honey, maple syrup, rice malt syrup etc)

- 3 tablespoons of raw cacao 

- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean powder / paste / liquid 

- pinch of himalayan salt

Method: 

     8. Skin avocados and remove the pip

     9. Blend avocados in a food processor until smooth

    10. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until combined

    11. Place in fridge for 1 hour to set before adding to cake 

    12. Once cake has cooled and frosting has set, spread frosting over cake. Decorate with your favourite nuts or berries. 

   13. To make a double layered cake, double the cake mixture recipe and add frosting between cakes to hold them together. (there should be enough frosting to make double layered cake from 2 avocados)

Please note:

As I was just experimenting with this cake, each layer turned out to be a different colour.

I added 3 beetroots and about 3 tablespoons of cacao to the bottom layer of mixture in the cake pictured below. In the top layer I added 2 and a half beetroots and 4 tablespoons of cacao. Feel free to do the same, the two different cake colours stacked on top of each other came out looking and tasting fantastic.

Enjoy! 

3 months into treatment

Last week marked the completion of my third month of treatment for Lyme disease and co-infections. For the past three months I have been taking many different anti-microbials (monthly rotations), I have stuck to a strict Paleo diet as well as boosting my immune system by taking many different herbs, vitamins and other supplements.
It hasn't be an easy three months. There have been many lows but also many highs along the way. Although I still have many symptoms and my health is nowhere close to where it used to be, I have made an incredible recovery in the short space of three months!
When I reflect back on my health and life only a few months ago, I realise just how far I have come. Only three months ago I was in constant pain all over my body, I had no energy, I couldn't drive, couldn't walk on some days, it was difficult to get out of bed, my body was twitching, I had shortness of breath and much more.
Today I feel like a different person. I am now doing light exercise every second day, I am walking around the house, cooking for myself, driving my car and am in less pain. I no longer have any twitching, my breathing is significantly better and I have more energy.
I believe that I have put a lot of hard work into regaining my health over the past few months. It feels fantastic knowing that what I am doing is making me better, and although I still don't feel like my normal self, my health is much better than it once was.
I have had a great support system throughout my entire Lyme journey, and I truly believe that this has helped considerably helped me in my healing process. Not only do I put my good recovery down to diet, medication and rest - but the love and support that I have received from my friends and family has been overwhelming. I am very grateful to have such an incredible support system.
I also believe that yoga, meditation, a positive mind, reiki, FAR infrared Saunas, acupuncture and getting out of bed even when I'm in considerable pain, have all helped my body heal form this illness.
I am now on my fourth month of treatment. For the next six weeks I will be focusing on ridding my body of Streptococcal infection which is proving to have a detrimental effect on my immune system, making it harder for my body to beat the Lyme infections. My doctor suggested that I use an antibiotic for the next months or so to get rid of the Strep infection, however I decided not to use the antibiotic (as my body has proven to be very allergic / sensitive to antibiotics), and my naturopath made me up a Strep herbal complexion instead. I will have another stool test in six weeks to see whether I have got rid of the infection or not.

5 day juice fast

I just completed my 4th day of a juice / broth fast!

I decided to do a fast as I had been feeling rather ill and toxic after eating some of the wrong foods and pushing my body to do too much. I continued to tell myself that I would get strict with my diet again tomorrow, but it wouldn't happen - and I would keep eating the wrong foods (I was eating grains such as gluten free bread, and lots of raw vegan deserts than contain a lot of sugar!).

I needed to detox! And I needed a restart.... Why not fast?!

I organised my juice fast through Pressed Juices, an Australian juicing company. I bought 3 days worth of juices from them as I thought that this would take stress and time away from buying the juices, and really allowing me to focus on detoxing. In addition, their juices are all cold pressed meaning that their is more nutrients in the juice. I was able to order the juices online and choose my own flavours. You can access their website as http://www.pressedjuices.com.au/

Initially, I was planning on doing a 3 day fast. But as I started the fast, I started to see great results and had an abundance of energy. I then decided to drag my fast out to 5 days. I also made my own organic chicken and lamb broth to sip on, to heal my gut! 

My home made broth

2 days worth of juices

During the course of my fast, I have also been doing my own colonic hydrotherapy and coffee enemas. I cannot recommend coffee enemas enough for anybody suffering from digestive issues, parasites or IBS. I had read so much about the amazing benefits of enemas but was a little hesitant to try them (who wants to put coffee up their bum!?) I am so glad that I was game enough to try this whacky procedure. It cleared a lot of stuff out of my intestines, including worms and other nasties (I could go into more detail but I think I'd be oversharing). I have also had an abundance of energy after doing the enemas, and my colon is feeling so much lighter and cleaner as a result. I am no longer feeling as toxic - as the coffee enema is well known to open the bile ducts in the liver, ultimately detoxing the body. There is however, little science to support the idea behind coffee enemas. I would suggest talking to your health care professional about completing one beforehand. You can read more on coffee enemas here https://draxe.com/coffee-enema/.
This video explains how coffee enemas help detoxification in a simple manner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q7Ejmnk5P4

Another technique I have been trying to help detox my body during my fast is a FAR Infrared Sauna. I find the sauna really helps when my joints are aching and when I am feeling fatigued. I really enjoy the Infrared Sauna as you are able to go in fully clothed (as it is a dry heat) and read / drink tea during the process! The FAR Infrared Sauna is great for detoxing as the heat is able to penetrate deep into the body, targeting organs. Read more about the benefits here: http://healthspaceclinics.com.au/blog/the-many-benefits-of-far-infrared-saunas

Enjoying my Infrared Sauna whilst planning a new vegetable garden

Surprisingly, I have not been hungry during my fast, and am only yet to experience great benefits. Tomorrow is my last day of the fast. I am really looking forward to eating some solid food on the weekend :). 

Healing Food

I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen this past week, as my vertigo has improved a lot.
I went for a huge shop at the beginning of the week - I like to purchase my fruit and vegetables locally from a wonderful Hydroponic greenhouse in the Yarra Valley. I try to buy organic as I don't want to put more toxins (pesticides) in my body!
Before finding out that I had Lyme disease, I was a vegetarian and was always into eating healthily and consciously. When I was told that the Paleo diet is essential for a recovery from Lyme disease, my initial thoughts were negative, as I have always associated the Paleo diet with a lot of meat. I thought wrong! Paleo is all about fresh, whole, real food - and healing the gut! I am really enjoying the diet and have adapted it to my own liking. As it was no longer appropriate to gain my protein from legumes or grains, I had to start eating some meat again. Initially, I was terrified. I have slowly started eating white meat again (fresh fish and organic free range chicken). Moreover, I have been making bone broth every week in order to heal my gut! I love drinking my bone broth every morning with lemon, turmeric, pepper, cumin and cinnamon.

Below I will show what my daily food diary generally looks like.

My vegetables for the week!

Breakfast (usually vegetables with an egg)

 Salad or leftovers from previous dinner for lunch

                          Snack  (usually a green smoothie)                  Curry for dinner

'The Lyme Diet'

When I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and co-infections, the first thing I did was research the illness as much as my brain could handle. One of the things that continued to come up in my research was the importance of maintaining a strict diet whilst infected with tick borne disease. Therefore, from day 1 I have stuck to a very strict paleo/candida diet.

It is crucial to eat the correct foods when you have Lyme disease, as it is necessary to reduce inflammation, build your immune system and improve gut health (parasites destroy the gut and create many stomach issues).
The three most important things to cut out off your diet when infected with Lyme disease are sugar, gluten and dairy. 

Sugar is believed to directly feed the spirochetes and other parasitic bacteria that come with Lyme disease. It is also known that sugar suppresses the immune system - avoiding sugar will not only starve off some of the infectious bacteria, but it will also boost your immune system. I also decided that it was important to cut out all fruits from my diet, as they are also high in sugar. As I have a candida yeast infection in my stomach (as do most Lyme patients), it is important that I keep my sugar intake to as little as possible to stop feeding the bacteria (www.thecandidadiet.com). I found it rather difficult to cut sugar out of my diet, especially considering that it is in pretty much everything nowadays, and I love fruit! I have found that natural sweeteners such as xylitol and stevia have helped me a lot when I have sugar cravings. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut have also played a significant roll in stopping my sugar cravings.


Dairy is built up of a protein called casein, which also causes inflammation in the body. In addition to this, diary is often difficult for many people to digest. I have been using a lot of coconut products as a dairy substitute, including making my own coconut yoghurt. Cashew feta is also a favourite of mine.


Gluten is a big no no when it comes to Lyme. There is a lot of scientific evidence supporting the fact that gluten causes inflammation in the body. The spirochetes that cause Lyme disease cause inflammation in the body, as they gain their nutrients from collagen in the body. This is why many Lymies have severe joint pain. Gluten is also difficult for the stomach to digest, and the wheat that often comes with gluten contains yeast which builds candida in the gut. By avoiding gluten, inflammation in the body is reduced and it gives ones gut time to heal.
I have been substituting gluten by making my own paleo bread made of coconut flour and almond meal as well as making my own pasta with zucchini.

These three items are the main ones to avoid when you have Lyme disease. But it is also important to reduce your intake of legumes, grains, high carb food (potatoes), alcohol, coffee, additives, GMO's and vegetables oils.

I have been extremely strict with my diet as I believe that eating nutritious and wholesome foods is essential for any chronic illness. For the first 2 weeks of my new diet, I felt very sick. All of my symptoms flared up as I experienced a Jeffrey-Herxheimer reaction (massive die off of Lyme spirochetes and co-infections). I had severe chest pain, shortness of breath, fever, my entire body ached 24/7, twitching and I honestly felt like I was going to die at every moment for those 2 weeks. But I pushed through, and have since seen improvements. I am no longer experiencing these extremely daunting symptoms as often.

As I am starting to feel a little better, I am able to cook for myself! I love cooking and try to get creative with my Lyme diet. I will try to post food ideas for other Lyme sufferers when my brain is feeling up to it!

Bibliography

http://keithhalperin.com/docs/gluten.pdf 

http://www.tiredoflyme.com/diet.html

http://www.thecandidadiet.com/foodstoavoid.htm

My story

My symptoms list

Those with tick borne illness experience a varied range of symptoms, meaning that many people often get misdiagnosed with other illness before receiving the correct illness. Look out for the following symptoms!

My tick borne illness symptoms in relative order: (as of 30/5/16)

-Flu (lasted almost 2 weeks)

-Stomach cramps 

-Tonselitus (first experience with tonselitus)

-IBS

-Bloating

-Liver pain

-Anxiety 

-Indigestion

-Acid Reflux

-Loss of appetitie 

-Blurred vision

-Loss of energy

-Fainting 

-Dizziness

-Headaches

-Migraines

-Constant head pressure

-Loss of sex drive

-Erectile Disfunction

-Chronic fatigue

-Sugar cravings
-Numb toes (toes on right foot were completely numb for 3 months)
-Numb face (only the left side would go numb, and my nose)

-Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)

-Vertigo (so bad that I was unable to walk)
-Aching joints (started in my hand, and then progressed to feet, toes, knees and hips)

-Aching muscles

-Decreased strength
-Brain fog
-Poor concentration
-Inability to read
-Light & sound sensitivity
-Tingling in hands & feet 

-Sore eyes

-Ear aches 

-Stiff neck

-Numb throat 

-Stiff/aching jaw

-Aching teeth (felt like things were crawling inside my teeth)

-Twitching 

-'Out of body' feeling
-Tremors 

-Internal vibrating (felt like my entire body was vibrating but to others I was completely still)

-Shortness of breath (would happen out of nowhere)

-Chest pains

-Heart palpitations

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease caused by the bacteria Borrelia Burgdorferi . One becomes infected with Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick carrying the bacteria. (It is also believe that Lyme Disease can be sexually transmitted, although there is little scientific research to support this).

As ticks travel from host to host (for example from a lizard to a dog), they often pick up several other bacteria, referred to as co-bacteria. This means that most Lyme disease patients' immune system become suppressed, as not only are they attempting to fight off B Burgdorferi, but they also become overwhelmed with other bacteria and viruses.

Ticks can be very small and their bite technique is extremely complex, meaning that many people remain unaware when being bitten. Approximately 30% of Lyme patients report a 'bulls-eye rash' after being bitten by a Lyme infected tick.

Lyme Disease is said to be one of the most complicated diseases known to human. The B Burgdorferi is corkscrew shaped meaning that it is able to invade virtually every organ and every tissue of the body. The disease can cause sufferers to have many symptoms that mimic other disease - many people are diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue, Anxiety, Stress, MS or other diseases of unknown origin before being correctly diagnosed with Lyme. Many sufferers aren't diagnosed until Lyme is in its later stages, making it very difficult to treat.















Bibliography:
http://www.lymedisease.org.au/faq/
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/30/heres-what-happens-when-a-tick-bites-you/
http://www.lymeneteurope.org/info/the-complexities-of-lyme-disease