How to Avoid Lyme Disease And Lead A Healthy Life – With Dr. Tom Moorcroft

Adiel Gorel

What Are The Treatments For Lyme Disease – What Works And What Doesn’t

I have been speaking to Dr. Tom Moorcroft, ‘medical detective’ and expert in chronic tick-borne illness, mold illness, and certain types of autoimmune conditions in children on my podcast. Tom tells me how very difficult it is to detect and treat Lyme disease. He shares his story of having himself contracted Lyme disease and suffering the symptoms for many years. Treating the infection can entail weeks if not months of antibiotics – sometimes intravenous and often supplemented with herbal antimicrobials. In part two of the podcast, we speak about a holistic view to Lyme disease treatments, Bartonella (cat scratch disease), and more.

Taking a holistic view of treatment.

Tick-borne infections tend to be very obstinate and require long durations of antibiotic treatment; there are cases where three types of antibiotics were administered for 18 months for Bartonella. So, the issue of antibiotic resistance and damage to the gut flora becomes concerning and needs to be addressed. To this end, Tom typically prescribes good quality probiotics, sometimes more than one type of probiotic, to balance the population of gut flora. The important thing is to prevent problems such as the overgrowth of C Difficile, which is a harmful kind of bacteria, in the gut.
Leaky gut, infections, diarrhea and IBS-type symptoms are other issues that he has to address. Tom typically tailors treatments to the individual requirements of his patients. He will use a combination of pharmaceutical and herbal medicines, and then add probiotic supplements to optimize outcomes. In the course of our conversation, I ask Tom about the possibility of using fecal transplants as a treatment option. The efficacy in his view is limited as of now; however this could be a ‘positive tool’ in our arsenal against these diseases in times to come, he feels.

Non-medical/lifestyle modifications.

With Lyme disease and other tick or vector-borne infections, the non-pharmacological approach to overall wellness is always very important in my book and Tom seems to agree. He recommends prioritizing and optimizing sleep and getting fresh air and sunshine whenever possible. He speaks about using full-spectrum light and blue light glasses to help with the body’s circadian rhythms, particularly for the optimal production of the hormone melatonin. This sleep signaling hormone is severely underrated, feels Tom. It is something that has anti-cancer and antioxidant properties.
It bears repeating that cutting out processed foods & beverages full of artificial flavors and enhancers to the extent possible is important, as is trying to add more fresh produce to our diets. Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables he suggests. While he feels vegan diets make it difficult to be healthy, plant-based alternatives can be found to eat as healthy as possible.
Tom also speaks about some of my pet issues such as the right breathing techniques. In the podcast we cover other issues such as transmissibility of disease, how spirochetes preserved in amber give us clues into tick-borne disease in the times of the dinosaurs, and more. Don’t miss this podcast with ‘medical detective’ Dr. Tom Moorcroft.
Adiel Gorel

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