Herbs with anti-Lyme potential

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, April, 2007 by James A. Duke

By what authority do I, a botanist, venture to write a short contribution for this special issue of Townsend Letter on Lyme disease? Like many (some speculate all) Americans, I have chronic Lyme disease, at least according to my Lyme Aware Medical Practitioner (LAMP), Dr. Ken Singleton, MD, and according to the battery of tests that were run. In 2000 or 2001, I had the bull's eye erythema and took a two-week course of Doxicyclin. The arthralgic symptoms disappeared, and, like my allopathic GP, I thought I was cured. But no! In late 2005, floating myalgia and arthralgia reappeared with a vengeance. Borrelia and possible coinfections were coming back after a long quiescence. Since then I have studied two herbalists protocols, those of Stephen Buhner (2006) and David Winston (2006); their protocols are rigorous and, to me, rather frightening. Both suggest at least nine months of antibiotics and, between them, more than 70 herbs to fight the disease or at least alleviate the symptoms. So, during the last two years, my 76th and 77th, I took more antibiotics and more herbs than I ever took in my relatively long life. I don't know that I am any better. But I am not any worse! Is it the three months of antibiotics? The 12 months of herbs? Or both? Or chance? I don't really know.

Now, in the beginning of 2007, I am focusing on certain herbal remedies, a few of those many herbs mentioned by Buhner and Winston, and allicin (from garlic; allicin is reportedly in double-blind studies for Lyme at present). I may bypass the pharmaceutical antibiotics this year. I think of the Biblical garlic as the best of herbal "antibiotics."

Allicin

Allicin, one of the most active antiseptics in garlic is now being investigated in a double-blind study on Lyme (hard to know how one could double-blind, as the allicin is a pretty powerful aromatic). I eagerly await the conclusion of this trial. I am embarked on my own personal trials with allicin this year, hoping it will do better by me than the many other antibiotics and herbs I tried last year.

Temporarily out of my standardized garlic preparation, I have resorted to "food farmacy" to get my daily dose of allicin. Conventional herbalists suggest a dose of one clove garlic a day for many septic situations. I'm trying to get at least the equivalent of two cloves per day. In The Green Pharmacy (Rodale, 1997), I mention that one easy way to down a whole fresh clove (and receive more than 90% of its allicin) is to blend one clove with half an onion (which also contains some allicin), a small carrot, and a stick of celery (or proportionate multiples of each). This keeps well in the blender in the refrigerator. Then add other raw veggies, e.g., green pepper, parsley, tomato, what have you, to taste. You'll have the garlic smell and taste about you, but many Americans can cope with this dosage. It is doable. Some say that green tea will reduce the garlic breath. Mrs. Duke has not yet agreed to this optimistic suggestion.

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Since I am working on a new "food farmacy" contract with Rodale Press, and since I am out of my standardized allicin product, recently I resorted to the following:

Lyme Lunch (And Mrs. Duke almost passed out when she passed me after luncheon experiment # 1; I hope the Borrelia is just as appalled as Mrs. Duke, even to the point of avoiding me.)

Garlic Doggone: On one slice nine-grain bread, slather one side with mustard, the other side with ketchup. Sprinkle on Tabasco or cayenne to taste; another slather of diced raw onion; one thin sliced garlic clove; cover with coleslaw loaded with celeryseed. Forget the hotdog; fold over, and toast no more than a minute. (Total one clove of garlic, finely diced; very good; I'll enjoy this one more often.)

Super Slaw Soup: This is my saffron slaw soup recipe, minus the saffron (with Biblical cumin, curry, mustard, turmeric, one whole diced onion, two tablespoons pickled diced garlic, and a handful of frozen nettle leaves, plus some non-Biblicals: one half cabbage shredded, diced bell pepper, two stalks celery, celery seed, and fresh ground black pepper (to facilitate update of curcumin and others of the many COX-2-s in this spicy soup). I add three whole garlic cloves only for the last ten minutes of simmering. Dr Larry Lawson provided me with info to make me think that three cloves (boiled ten minutes) should have the allicin activity of one raw clove. The slaw soup is a little spicy, but on a day with a wind chill of 0[degrees]F, I sip my hot and hot slaw soup as I type, hoping the allicin gets the message through to my Borrelia. (Equivalent to about two to three cloves raw garlic, but good.)

GON Potlikker; (Garlic/Onion/Nettle) Cook up a mess (one to two cups) of diced Biblical stinging nettles, adding one-half Biblical onion and three cloves diced Biblical garlic in the last five to ten minutes of simmering, (Drink the potlikker, equivalent to almost one clove raw garlic.) Freeze the greens or have them for supper with diced raw onion and garlic and vinegar with hot peppers. (Use according to your capacity to handle more garlic. I have a tough gut that can handle this. Many people do not.)