Radio Naturopath Episode 424: Sleep and Melatonin, Collagen and Joints, More LymeBytes

This week, I talked about how the best time to go to sleep is when your cortisol is lowest and your melatonin is highest, which for most people is somewhere between 8 and 11 pm, depending on when you get up and your genetics. If you go to bed too late, your cortisol is starting to rise and melatonin is starting to drop and it's harder to fall and stay asleep! I also talked about how collagen and natural anti-inflammatories are beneficial for joint and disc repair. Then I continued to review and give information gleaned from the LymeBytes conference. I'll do that for one more week and then we'll move on!

Radio Naturopath Episode 352: LymeBytes 2022 Conference Review: All About Tick Borne Illness

Last Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22, 2022, was the first LymeBytes conference at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. It was a very informative conference with many speakers and lots of information! I learned about antimicrobials to fight Lyme and other tick borne illnesses. We talked about antibiotics, herbs like cryptolepis and cat's claw, and how mold can complicate tick borne illness. We talked about lots of therapeutics, but also the importance of simple healthy living and eating, and resting! Lyme and tick borne illness won't stay in a body that is very healthy.

Radio Naturopath Episode 314: Lyme Disease 2021: Update on Prevention and Treatment

This week, I did a review of Lyme disease recommendations for prevention and treatment. I've been seeing more people with Lyme disease lately, and lots of people getting tick bites or pulling them off animals. We've had a lot of rain and dampness and that's an ideal breeding ground for ticks. With such an extreme focus on COVID-19, people may have forgotten that tick borne illness is not cancelled! So, discussion of antibiotics, keeping your yard trimmed and safe, insect repellent, and natural prevention and treatment of tick borne illnesses.

Radio Naturopath Episode 224: Lyme Check and Blue Zones: Rules for Living to 100!

We checked in with Ron again to see how he's doing with his unfortunate Lyme and Hashimoto's, and the reality is he's got good days and bad days, but seeming to get some more of the good days. This is a long haul! I'm going to have to check his thyroid hormone levels to see where he's at and if we need to adjust his meds.

Today I talked about Dan Buettner's Blue Zones! Those are locations in the world where they have an unusually high percentage of healthy centenarians. Dan Buettner quantified 9 life characteristics that people in all the Blue Zones share: move naturally, purpose, downshift, 80% rule, plant slant, Wine at 5, right tribe. loved ones first, and belong! So they get good rest, eat until only 80% full, eat a lot of plants especially beans, drink moderate alcohol, have a spiritual practice, good family and social connections. Good common sense for a happy life! Also great for reducing stress and maintaining health.

Radio Naturopath Episode 223: More on Lyme and CT Incidence, Hashimoto's, and Babesiosis; Insect Repellants; How Stress Affects Your Health

MORE stuff about Ron and his Lyme and Hashimoto's, and also the incidence of Lyme in the state of CT by county. New London has the highest incidence, but we wonder if it's underreported elsewhere. Ron makes the point that there is a lot of effort put into West Nile Virus which has an incidence of 23 cases/year in Connecticut, and less effort into Lyme disease which has 1800+ reported cases! And remember that these are the properly REPORTED cases, where the doctors have been presented with a state reporting form AND have managed to fill them out and send them back in. I made sure to encourage everyone to use bug spray, whether natural with essential oils, Bio UD from tomatoes, or even DEET if you must! I also make the point that the danger of antibiotic resistance is far outweighed by the need to eradicate a tick borne disease from a person, which can go on to have lifelong consequences, especially musculoskeletal and neurological.

We also talked about how stress affects your health. It can, of course, affect every system in your body, from headaches to digestion to muscle pain! And some suggestions to help.

Radio Naturopath Episode 222: More Update on Lyme, Babesia, Hashimoto's; Tips To Help You Live Longer!

Update on Ron's Lyme: turns out he has Hashimoto's thyroiditis and is frankly hypothyroid! So, we prescribed him 50 mcg levothyroxine and will play with the dose to get it right. Then we discovered that he has a Lyme coinfection: babesiosis! He will be getting a week of atovaquone and azithromycin for that, and also other natural medicine.

I also talked about some basic things you can do to live longer. They're things like keep your weight down, eat less food, don't smoke, get exercise, get rest. Basic stuff that you know, but it bears repeating!

Radio Naturopath Episode 140: Increasing Red Blood Cells After Babesiosis; All About Vitamin C!

Time to learn all about Vitamin C! It's ASCORBIC ACID or ASCORBATES. This important water soluble vitamin can't be synthesized by our bodies, so we have to eat it. It's part of the structure of collagen, so it's part of every tissue and organ. It stimulates the function of the immune system, so it helps with allergies, asthma and illness. It's a cofactor for detoxification. It can be found in citrus, but also in other cool foods, like peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, acerola cherries, and rose hips! Let's spread some vitamin C to the world! Also, we talk about how to get that red count up after a bout with Babesiosis.