Juicing has been a lifesaver for me more times than I can count. About a year and a half ago I went to the emergency room because my brain felt like it was swelling, and dealing with Las Vegas hospital staff that knew nothing about lyme was almost worse than the awful sensation. While I was sent home empty handed, I knew I had to do something. I called my LLMD and he wanted me to go on bicillin for the symptoms which he believed was caused by the bacteria entering the nerve cells and creating the sensation of swelling, I guess like a neuropathy of the brain. The symptoms, he said, are also caused by the toxins the bacteria release. I have to say that the reason my symptoms were so out of control at the time was because I was trying to come off of antibiotics and I had started using a rife machine (more on this in another blog).
I had been off of all antibiotics for about three/almost four months at the time and desperately wanted to be free of them, so I decided against the bicillin. Because I understood that the toxins from the bacteria were what were causing most of my immediate problem, I started thinking of how to reduce the toxic load in my system. I took a number of supplements, but the thing that really got me “out of the woods” that time was a juicing protocol I developed. I have been juicing and using raw foods since I found out I had lyme disease, and I know this has helped me tremendously with both the effects of the disease and with the effects of the drugs I had to take for the disease. While ultimately, I did go back on antibiotics, I used the following protocol that made me feel at least 80 % better!
I went on a 10 day juicing protocol that reduced many of my symptoms by the second day. People with lyme have to think about so many things, like avoiding yeast problems caused by the antibiotics and avoiding sugar. I created a recipe that chelated toxins out of my body with copious amounts of chlorophyl (the green veggie’s pigment), but that at the same time avoided large amounts of sugar, and had a mild drinkable taste to it. I kept the recipe really simple with only three veggies, celery, cucumber, and italian flatleaf parsely. I would just juice large quantities (60 oz) of them and keep it in the fridge, drinking it throughout the day.
So, it’s 60 full ounces of green juice (almost 8 – 8 oz glasses) a day, you juice it in the morning and keep it in your fridge. It takes about 30 minutes with preparation, juicing and clean up. I always continued to eat regularly, probably a little less because of the juice, but I did not do a juice fast. Juice fasting is a totally separate modality and it detoxifies you too fast, especially if you are having a lyme flare. What I am talking about is simply adding in the juice to your daily routine and believe me, It did make me feel about 80% better, gave me a great boost of energy, and aided in healing my internal organs. It’s crazy to think that just juicing can help so much, but it does and it has dozens of positive effects besides symptom alleviation. The therapeutic factor is both the type of juice (green juice) and the large amount of juice throughout the day for a series of days in a row. One glass will not do the job! Trust me on this one. It is also pretty affordable.
keep in mind symptom reduction/alleviation is very important when you are on the road to curing lyme, because the road is a long one! Just getting to the point that you don’t feel like you are dying, or wanting to die is a huge blessing. I have used this simple 10 day protocol many times since then because it is so effective.
Lisa’s Green Drink Recipe: (this should make about 60 full ounces, give or take)
2 whole bunches of celery
2 whole cucumbers
1 bunch flatleaf italian (not curly) parsely
*organic is best, but if all you have is a food for less than non-organic will do (just wash really well)
*tip: buy at least three days worth at a time (just multiply recipe above by three), sometimes I get away with four. So you don’t have to run to the grocery store every day. The more convenient you make it, the more likely you will do it.
As far as the juicer goes, I use the Jack Lelane Power Juicer, and there is a reason for it. The hole that the veggies go in is very large so you don’t have to spend a lot of time cutting the veggies down. This is a big deal when you are doing it daily. And it is affordable at about $99.00. I believe target and costco carry them.
http://www.powerjuicer.com/
We may be down, but we are NOT out! Living with a chronic illness can be limiting in many ways, but adjusting to those new limitations and having a solid understanding of what you CAN do is really important. Even if you know you can only be active for 4 hours a day, that should serve as the basis for planning your days.. The biggest pittfal to this way of thinking is comparing yourself with others energy or abilities. That is not your reality and is not helpful. Base your life on your abilities, not societies expectations. Because even if you touch one life with your time or simply make a connection during your active 4 hours, it is better than nothing. Set a goal for yourself, and work on it each day as much as you can. When we go, our life’s work will not be measured against another persons, it will be measured against the truth of our own Soul. So don’t give up, and DO IT ANYWAY!
From Lyme to Life 