ENCOM said...
Georgia Hunter - Do you have any suggestions for how one can reliably test for pathogens? I've read many posts suggesting "Lyme" testing is riddled with false negatives and false positives, depending on the test/lab. So, is there a valid way to test oneself for a variety of pathogens? How does one cast the widest net? Or, if one should assume they're loaded with pathogens, then what's the broadest and most effective treatment that's also valid? Otherwise, we're just throwing darts in the dark, right? Thanks.
I do not. PCR is the best IMO but there are so many strains of each pathogen that even it is not consistent.
One thing that pathogens do is alter our "normal" microbiome. My goal in any treatment plan is to get back the lost bacteria/fungi in our GI tract. The reason we become ill often is not directly because of the physical effects of the pathogens but rather the indirect effect of us losing our microbiome. An example is the Firmicute phylum. Some of the most important bacteria in the Firmicute phylum are the Lactobacillus strains. When we get ill from the effects of pathogens, it is because of a decrease in Lactobacillus strains. They decrease and other Firmicutes increase their numbers. That may include Strep, Mycoplasma, and Clostridium. Do those 3 ring a bell as being problematic? They should. We need short chain fatty acid production and if we can't get it from Lactobacillus, we will get it from these other Firmicutes. The problem is that a decrease in Lactobacillus doesn't mean an eradication of the bacteria, it means those bacteria form spores surrounded by biofilms and this decreases the available surface area on the villi to absorb nutrients and for other bacteria and fungi to grow. This is just the Firmicutes. The same could be said about
the other phylums as well.
We must have sufficient manganese to harbor Lactobacillus and most of us do not have enough. Supplementing it only causes issues for most so my recommendation is to get it though raw plant ingestion. Raw plants have so many anti-microbial substances that they both inhibit many unwanted strains and provide nutrients for the wanted strains. IMO, we get most of those wanted strains from raw plants. Raw plants decrease the Firmicute and Proteobacteria numbers while increasing manganese levels slowly. This allows for more Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium growth which is what we want. Many that convert over to a raw plant diet will suffer because of the gram negative anaerobe die off that occurs. Gram negative anaerobes cause inflammation and decrease our health. Eating animal protein supplies them with needed nitrogen and without ample nitrogen, they will die. We can debate not eating animal protein for days, but getting back your health depends on getting back your microbiome. Eating a way we do not want to eat is the best way I have found.