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