When you get diagnosed with Lyme disease there are many things to do, pills to take, sleep to catch up on, and ways to detox. You might not have the energy for any of them. Find a Lyme expert and get some help. You body hosts the Lyme bacteria and maybe co-infections, but a lot else is going on too. While you are in treatment, take the opportunity to build healthy digestion separate from Lyme disease. Strong Balanced Digestion is a critical part of health to emphasize as you are rebuilding from Lyme .
Digestion is a trans-formative process. It takes food and other inputs that are not self and changes it into nutrients thoughts and emotions your body uses to maintain, heal and rebuild (self). Digestion starts at your head with your brain mouth and senses and ends at your anus.
Most anything your body can’t use is escorted out as waste not self. Waste leaves your body as breath, sweat, urine and feces. Waste overload that doesn’t get processed builds up and causes problems. Think of only 1/2 trash pick up. What happens over time is a mess.
The quality of you inputs food, ideas, emotions, plus your ability to digest builds you into who you are and creates your waste stream. Healthy Digestion is an intelligent process, with many decisions on what is self and not self. Everyday our body transforms inputs to create self. When you are out of balanced or diseased the ability to make these decisions can become impaired.
Your healing path may be short, direct and complete (I hope so!). For others with Lyme disease it is longer road and full of twists and turns. Strong Digestion is an ally for overall health on either path. If you go to a functional medicine specialist, they will likely work on gut health and digestive strength as part of a multipronged approach to build health. Listen to them this is important stuff.
The medical literature links intestinal permeability impaired digestion to allergies illness and especially autoimmune disease. If you can’t digest, you can’t get the nutrients your body needs from your food. Lyme disease is living in your house eating your body for food. You need all the nutrients you can digest to rebuild.
You add an extra burden of partially digested waste to your elimination, and overload your body’s ability to detox when you have leaky gut. Finally about 80 % of our immune system cells live in our digestive track, our gut. If things are messed up down there big problems can result. A healthy you gut can support you with lots of nutrients and a refined immune response to Lyme disease.
Digestive fire, too sharp, too low or variable? Your body will let you know.
Digestive fire out of Wack? Here are some signs.
- Does your tongue have white gunk on it?
- Heartburn a constant companion?
- Do you eat sporadically and without rhythm?
- Constipation too common? (Eliminate less than once each day).
- Flatulence or burping after meals?
- Do you have loose stools and eliminate more than 3 times each day.
If your body is telling you about digestion problems, listen. Take Steps to support strong digestion. Identify the habits you have that hurt your ability to transform food into nutrients.
10 factors that can smother healthy digestion
- Junk Food/ Non Nutritive Food
- Constant Overeating
- Alcohol
- Smoking
- Stress Overload
- Environmental toxins
- Allergens
- Excess Weight
- Too many over the counter pain pills
- Long courses of certain medications.
Address these factors as you can. Make steady improvements in your eating and self care habits to help your digestion. Start with the low hanging fruit, an easy change for you. Reduce dairy and junk food consumption or cut back on alcohol and see if you notice a difference in how you feel.
For Tips and help to add nutrition to your diet and support healthy digestion click here.
The information provided on this website is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment or advice. All the material here is for information purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team.