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The Chronic Lyme Disease (CLD) Diet - List of foods every person with CLD should eat or avoid

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Posted 11/29/2015 6:24 PM (GMT 0)
It's true that the ultimate optimal diet down to every specific herb, vegetable, meat, carb type, etc. and every specific quanity of each is based on each individual's unique gene mutations, GI floras, and conditions.

But there has to be a list we can generate of foods which every person with Chronic Lyme Disease should eat or avoid.

I'll throw out my own list, and I'd appreciate if anyone would like to amend it, change if, add/subtract from it, etc.

FOODS TO EAT

organ meat and offal (aim for 5 times per week, the more the better)

fish and shellfish (wild is best, but farmed is fine) (aim for at least 3 times per week, the more the better)

vegetables of all kinds, as much variety as possible and the whole rainbow, aim for 8-14 cups per day
Green vegetables

Colorful vegetables and fruit (red, purple, blue, yellow, orange, white)

Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, kale, turnips, arugula, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, watercress, mustard greens, etc.)

Sea vegetables (excluding algae like chlorella and spirulina which are immune stimulators)
quality meats (grass-fed, pasture-raised, wild as much as possible) (poultry in moderation due to high omega-6 content unless you are eating a ton of fish)
quality fats (pasture-raised/grass-fed animal fats [rendered or as part of your meat], fatty fish, olive, avocado, coconut, palm [not palm kernel])
fruit (keeping fructose intake between 10g and 20 g daily)
probiotic foods (fermented vegetables or fruit, kombucha, water kefir, coconut milk kefir, coconut milk yogurt, supplements)
glycine-rich foods (anything with connective tissue, joints or skin, organ meat, and bone broth)

Foods to AVOID

- ALL processed foods
- Gluten
- Meats that have added hormones, antibiotics
- Fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed with chemicals
- White flour
- Refined sugar, added sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup

Post Edited (LymiesBrother) : 11/29/2015 1:21:25 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/29/2015 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
No nightshades.

Some say no bananas as well.

Milk and eggs could be a problem for the autoimmune, I think. Also, they fit into the "make sure the animals weren't treated with antibiotics and hormones" category.

The olive oil, while I'm not saying you should go broke over it, don't go with the cheapest brand. I've heard a lot got a lot of filler, and are rancid.

Beans and brown rice could be your greatest friends, as far as getting some good carbs/calories in your diet, but make sure you're taking care of the many aspects of GI health (microflora, keeping candida at bay, and making sure you are having bowel movements daily).

The lectins in them can be a butt, especially if you're suffering from slow bowel transit. Also, the candida can feed off the high carb stuff, if the overgrowth is bad enough. I've heard they can feed on just about anything really, but not so much as the sugar and high carb things. So, yeah, you're gonna wanna not let that be a problem for you.

Yupyup, a nice, clean diet coupled with good multi-strain probiotic, some S. Boulardii, maybe some glutamine, and making sure you are moving the wastes out, and you should be good.

Be diligent. Healthy gut function is one of the most important things. You will not heal without it, and, once it gets bad, it can go from that to worse, then near hopeless. There are so many conditions.

Also, just wanna say, I see your name is LymiesBrother, so, if you're doing this for a sibling, I apologize for not writing this in the proper way. Everything's "you," not "him." I haven't seen any of your posts to really know, sorry.

Anyway, others should be along to give you more/better information. Hope some helps.

I wish I could, but I can't remember all of it. :D

Though, really, there are lots of lists on the web and likely quite a few posts right here on the forum relating to this stuff. If you don't get all the answers to the point of satisfaction here, try some searching.

This may be a bit too limiting and unnecessary for your needs, but it'll give you a good idea as to why some have to follow diets like these.

http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol
Posted 11/29/2015 8:24 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks NotQuiteAntonio, good ideas and good link with some good lists. I used the list of foods to eat based off that link.

Georgia Hunter cured his lyme with a paleo diet I believe. Maybe the paleo diet works for lyme and everything.

Fish seems to be the best, safest type of protein. I didn't realize eggs could be bad for some
Posted 11/29/2015 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
Actually, farmed fish is very unhealthy - it's like eating animals raise in feed lots. Tons of abx are feed to them daily in order to control infections due to the high population of animals in such tight quarters. Not to mention who knows what they eat.

Georgia Hunter is healed? My understanding is he's still in treatment.

Paleo diets are not what cures people. I was low carb, high protein generally, but included raw goat milk dairy products and a few breads and healed my 40 yr infections in only 2 yrs. total. Only those that are sensitive to gluten need to avoid gluten.

Broccoli, Kale, Spinach, Brussel sprouts and others are not good for anyone with thyroid issues - and there are many with Lyme that do.

Otherwise that's pretty good information, IMO. Except we have to remember, not everyone can afford to eat only all organic and all pasture raised meats only. I'm one of them and healed anyway. The only way I can get only organic food and only pasture raised meats is to shop only at my health food store and raise all meats myself - not something I can reasonably do, and I doubt those that can't afford to buy it can afford (due to energy limits) raise all their own food either.

So we have to eat as well as we can afford, remembering that we are trying to fuel the body to heal. What goes in our stomachs count a LOT towards our ability to heal.
Posted 11/29/2015 9:34 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure there is a one diet cures all way of dealing with Lyme. Some are on paleo, some are vegan, some are gaps, aip, the list goes on. Really it's about moderation and not going extreme in the way you eat. My LLND suggested omitting sugar and dairy as the primary inflammatory foods, but said because I'm a skinny minny, I should try not to go gluten free because I can't afford to lose weight. So I'm not gluten free, also because it's very very hard for me.

I think everyone has to find what works for them. Thankfully I do not have any food intolerances but have cut out sugar and dairy anyway.

Trav: totally agree with your comment re gluten. If you have a gluten sensitivity you should avoid it, otherwise there is no need to cut it out.

I watched an interview with one of the people who starred in "under my skin" and she said she was so financially tight that she was eating out of cans. She's healed from Lyme.
Posted 11/29/2015 11:54 PM (GMT 0)
Gluten causes the gut to be leaky in everyone - even in those who are not officially prone to or have Celiac Disease. The difference is that those who do not have Celiac Disease recover normal gut permeability after a much shorter period of time than those with Celiac Disease.

Furthermore, gluten is generally considered to be a pro-inflammatory protein, just like casein (one type of protein found in milk; whey proteins are ok for those who do not have a dairy allergy). Many LLMD's recommend gluten-free/dairy-free diets for all of their Lyme patients for this reason.

Once treatment is complete, then people can try to add back dairy and gluten, but only in moderation (and organic is best).
Posted 11/30/2015 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
Sunfun, excellent post. Sometimes I think that diet has become the new religion, people can be so fervent about absolutely no this and you must never eat that. They would be unlikely to say the same about a given antibiotic or herbal treatment where it is acknowledged that what works for one may not work for all. Plus, haven't we all got enough to deal with without being hit over the head with "if you have one cookie, even just one cookie, you will never heal".

I was just reading an ebook (see post link below) about metabolism and how some Lyme patients are actually undernourished due to these extreme diets. I think you really need to find out what your triggers are:
"Doc, it hurts when I go like this."
"So, don't go like that."

My biggest trigger is processed food. You'd be amazed how many "real" restaurants serve processed food product--my gut lets me know within 20 minutes. If I make the same dish in my own kitchen, no problems at all.

Find what works for you and stay nourished, even if you wind up coloring outside the lines of no this and never that.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=3542070
Posted 11/30/2015 3:06 AM (GMT 0)
There aren't a lot of places like this, but fish farming can produce amazing quality fish that are healthy to eat. https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish

Sugar and alcohol are two big 'avoid' foods that I think applies to all Lymies. Everything else seems to depend on the individual.
Posted 11/30/2015 10:06 PM (GMT 0)
I only eat salmon and halibut from Alaska. There are too many toxins in other fish and shellfish.

I tend to feel the best when I eat fish rather than other meats, but it's too expensive to have it a lot, unfortunately. I used to get salmon for a lot less money than I can now, before it was a "health food".

Sourdough is better to consume and has less, if any gluten. We're fortunate to have a natural food store that has their own batch of sourdough that they use each day to make loaves, rolls, etc. It's the best I've ever had. There's also a person at a farmers market that makes it and it's a good quality sourdough too. Some breads are labeled as sourdough and actually aren't.

We're all different, so some tolerate foods that others can't. You just have to listen to your body. My daughter does that very well and she will have random cravings for foods and it is often a nutrient that she needs from those foods. She does a great job with her diet, so I don't have to nag her. She keeps carbs low, knowing she won't feel good if she eats more and keeps her sugar intake very low.
Posted 11/30/2015 11:41 PM (GMT 0)
I don't avoid any foods or drinks. I don't like a lot of gluten items naturally and I am not a sugar person. I do like a glass of wine now and again and I haven't found it to interfere with my lyme. I may be the exception. I have had a couple of things that have changed for me and they are weird. I get indigestion from tomatoes now and kale doesn't do well in me and wants to come out right away. I don't know if it is the herbs I am taking or the lyme but definitely noticed those things.
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