Linda asked me to share the newest Lyme-related resources with the FIGHT blog readers:

http://www.lymebook.com/may-2010

Enjoy!

Bryan

Linda’s comments:  Well, FINALLY, Walmart is waking up.  This is exciting news if they keep their word?  This hopefully will make shopping organically more affordable to consumers.  I do believe that the grocery side of Walmart is feeling the push/crunch of consumers flocking to the “farmers markets” popping up across the US.  I only hope that they use the same practices of protecting the consumers that Cosco does. 

I stay close at the side of the general manager at my Cosco and keep requesting organics…..Cosco is true to its consumer, as they have a department of scientists/investigators that visit their organic suppliers on a regular basis, testing the organic products they have in their stores.  A good example is, Cosco has not carried “frozen organic” blueberries for almost a year.  When I questioned the GM, he explained that they fired the supplier of organic blueberries, as their team of investigators found that the company was not living up to the quality of organic that Cosco wants for their consumers.  This is exciting folks….get to know your general manager of your local Cosco and let them know your need for organic products.  If they see the need, they will supply the product….my Cosco now carries organic chicken and hamburger….their frozen organic products and produce is also growing….Get all your friends to put suggestions in the “suggestion box” EVERYTIME they visit Cosco….talk to your general manager every time you go into Cosco and praise them for meeting your needs.  Don’t forget these suggestions box inquires go to corporate and this helps each GM get the products we want.

Full article: http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-wal-mart-goes-green-becomes-biggest-environmentalist/19521927?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fopinion%2Farticle%2Fopinion-wal-mart-goes-green-becomes-biggest-environmentalist%2F19521927

Excerpt:

Sugar is the new health food. Apple is larger than Microsoft. And Wal-Mart is now the world’s biggest environmentalist.

Bet you didn’t see that coming.

It wasn’t that long ago that Wal-Mart was a big and easy and almost daily target for environmental reporters. Leaders from Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and others pushed Wal-Mart to do what it could to cut its environmental footprint.

And in 2005, Wal-Mart stopped defending its behavior and started changing the way it acted. Wal-Mart went green.

At first, many were skeptical. That is a polite way of saying no one believed them.

But today, Wal-Mart has made a believer out of environmentalists, as well as tens of thousands of business owners around the world who are scrambling to go green to meet the demands of the $400 billion a year gorilla.

And it’s shown how private enterprise, acting on its own without the force of law or the heavy hand of federal regulations, can make a huge difference to the environment.

Wal-Mart didn’t go gently into sustainability. It went full bore: Within a year of its announcement, the 2 million associates at 8,400 stores were squeezing energy — carbon — out of every nook and cranny in every store and warehouse.

Linda’s comment:  I made this recipe and it is DELICIOUS….I made my own crepes or you can buy packaged crepes in the daily case or refrigerated tortillas. Use as much organic ingredients as you can.  enjoy

ORGANIC SUMMER CREPES

• INGREDIENTS
  • 1/3 cup organic reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives, divided, plus more for garnish
  • 3 tablespoons organic rice milk
  • 2 teaspoons organic lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided (sea-salt or bio-salt)
  • 1 tablespoon organic extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped organic zucchini
  • 1 1/4 cups organic chopped green beans 
  • 1 cup fresh organic corn kernels
  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese 
  • 1/2 cup shredded organic Monterey Jack cheese 
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 4 9-inch “ready-to-use” (making your own crêpes is recommended) 

Linda’s comment:  I love Omelets but this one is so yummy you will want to eat the whole thing at one setting. 

• Zucchini Flat Omelet 

•  
  • 4 teaspoons organic extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup diced organic zucchini (1 small)
  • 1/2 cup organic chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup organic grape tomatoes or organic cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup slivered fresh mint
  • 1/4 cup slivered fresh basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided (sea or bio-salt)
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 5 large organic eggs
  • 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese (2 ounces) (other cheese to use is feta or ricotta salata)

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20202419&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

Data regarding the type, frequency, and distribution of
tick-borne pathogens and bacterial agents are not widely
available for many tick species that parasitize persons in the
southern United States. We therefore analyzed the frequency and
identity of pathogens and bacterial agents in ticks removed from
humans and subsequently submitted to the Texas Department of
State Health Services, Zoonosis Control Program, from October 1,
2004, through September 30, 2008. The data showed associations of
bacterial agents and potential vectors. Tick-related illnesses
may pose unidentified health risks in areas such as Texas, where
incidence of human disease related to tick bites is low but well
above zero and where ticks are not routinely suspected as the
cause of disease. Cause, treatment, and prevention strategies can
be better addressed through collecting sufficient data to
establish baseline assessments of risk. 

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20392912&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for
Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of
Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
(E.B. Breitschwerdt, R.G. Maggi, P. E. Mascarelli), and the
Department of Pathology, North Shore University Hospital, 300
Community Drive, Manhasset, New York (P. Farmer).

Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, Bartonella henselae or DNA
of both organisms was amplified and sequenced from blood,
enrichment blood cultures or autopsy tissues from four family
members. Historical and microbiological results support perinatal
transmission of Bartonella species in this family.

Full article: www.emedicine.com/DERM/topic381.htm 

Excerpt:

BACKGROUND: Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology, while Lyme borreliosis is a multisystemic disorder caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sarcoidosis and Lyme borreliosis in a region of Japan where Lyme borreliosis is endemic. METHODS: We determined the seroprevalence of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies as well as antibodies three Japanese Borrelia strains by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and dotblot assay using purified Borrelia-specific proteins in 46 patients with confirmed sarcoidosis and 150 controls (50 disease controls and 100 healthy controls) in Hokkaido, the affected region. RESULTS: Fifteen patients with sarcoidosis (32.6%) tested positive for Borrelia spirochete in both assays, compared with two disease controls (4.0%) and two healthy controls (2.0%). The seroprevalence of anti-Borrelia antibodies in patients with sarcoidosis was much higher in the affected region than in the region in our previous study were Lyme borreliosis is non-endemic. CONCLUSION: In a region where Lyme borreliosis is endemic, Borrelia infection may be partially associated with sarcoidosis.

Linda’s comment:   WHY are they not telling Lyme patients to avoid donating blood?

Excerpt:

There’s been a flurry of activity by experts trying to suss out if the virus XMRV, which has been associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, poses a threat to the U.S. blood supply.

On Friday,  Louis Katz, executive vice-president of medical affairs at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center in Davenport, Iowa, and a member of the AABB task force studying the issue, gave his own latest assessment of the situation: People who have been diagnosed by a doctor with CFS should not donate blood, at least not at this point. (The AABB is an association that includes the facilities that collect virtually all of the U.S. blood supply.)

Last October, a paper in the journal Science linked XMRV — first discovered in 2006 — to CFS, which affects an estimated 17 million people worldwide. Since then, public health officials have been racing to learn more. Although it still isn’t yet known whether XMRV causes CFS or any other disease, there are concerns that the virus might be transmitted through blood donations.

Are you sick and tired?  My FIGHT4YOURHEALTH program can change your life even if you think LYME is your only problem. Learn more and become vibrantly healthy again.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Full article: http://bolenreport.com/feature_articles/feature_article072.htm

Excerpt:

Most people battling chronic Lyme disease think of the illness as an infection caused by a bacterium known commonly as Borrelia Burgdorferi, generally transmitted via the bite of an infected tick.  What many don’t recognize, however, is that recovery from chronic Lyme disease requires a recognition that the disease is truly a much more complex illness.  Recovery often challenges one to consider more than just infection as the single causative agent involved in the disease process.  It is through looking beyond the infectious component of Lyme disease and understanding the equally important aspects of damaging heavy metals and other toxic insults that a more full and lasting recovery may be realized.

Garry F. Gordon MD, DO, MD (H) co-founded the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) and serves as the President of Gordon Research Institute.  Dr. Gordon graciously spent a couple of hours with me sharing his views on chronic Lyme disease and those factors that are important in recovering from chronic illness. 

Dr. Gordon acknowledges Lyme disease as a serious infection which can lead to a wide-variety of health challenges.  He does not, however, hyperfocus on the specific tick-borne pathogens which cause the disease.  He instead believes that a multitude of infections are prevalent in anyone with chronic ill health.  In addition to these numerous infections, our state of health is closely tied to our total body burden of endogenous and exogenous toxins.  When looking at why illness is present, it is important to look at a number of factors including genetics, chronic infections, and total body burden of heavy metals and other toxins.

Peering into one’s genetic makeup can be quite helpful when establishing the proper course of action and considering what factors may have contributed to one’s state of health.  The more precisely a practitioner can understand the genetic contributors, the more accurately a treatment protocol can be outlined to fit a person’s unique needs.  As an example, a specific gene mutation can suggest an inability of the body to remove toxic heavy metals.  Thus, even tests performed to determine whether or not one is heavy metal toxic can be incorrect if the metals are not being released due to this specific genetic profile.  Where many doctors may miss a heavy metal toxicity issue in these patients, a practitioner incorporating a genetic review into their diagnostic workup is much better equipped to evaluate the potential impact of toxic metals on the overall state of health.

Excerpt:

In the far-western United States, the nymphal stage of the
western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus, has been implicated
as the primary vector to humans of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu
stricto (hereinafter referred to as B. burgdorferi), the
causative agent of Lyme borreliosis in North America. In the
present study, we sought to determine if infection prevalence
with B. burgdorferi in I.
pacificus nymphs and the density of infected nymphs differ
between dense-woodland types within Mendocino County, California,
and to develop and evaluate a spatially-explicit model for
density of infected nymphs in dense woodlands within this
high-incidence area for Lyme borreliosis. In total, 4.9%
(264) of 5431 I. pacificus nymphs tested for the presence of B.
burgdorferi were infected. Among the 78 sampling sites, infection
prevalence ranged from 0 to 22% and density of infected nymphs
from 0 to 2.04 per 100 m(2). Infection prevalence was highest in
woodlands dominated by hardwoods (6.2%) and lowest for redwood
(1.9%) and coastal pine (0%). Density of infected nymphs also was
higher in hardwood-dominated woodlands than in conifer-dominated
ones that included redwood or pine. Our spatial risk model, which
yielded an overall accuracy of 85%, indicated that warmer areas
with less variation between maximum and minimum monthly water
vapor in the air were more likely to include woodlands with
elevated acarological risk of exposure to infected nymphs. We
found that 37% of dense woodlands in the county were predicted to
pose an elevated risk of exposure to infected nymphs, and that
94% of the dense-woodland areas that were predicted to harbor
elevated densities of infected nymphs were located on
privately-owned land.