Matthew Gross: Vitamins, Nutritional Supplements, and Herbs

Matthew Goss's Lyme Disease Information

Vitamins, Nutritional Supplements, and Herbs

Introduction

How I got it

Types of Ticks that Carry Disease

Definitions and Terminology

Symptoms and Tests

Drugs

Herxheimer Reactions

Vitamins, Nutritional Supplements, and Herbs

Is it Sexually Transmitted?

Links

Printable Flyer

Dr. Zhang is a doctor that treats Lyme Disease using Chinese herbal medicine. When visiting his site, click on the link in the lower left corner that says Treatment Flowchart to see specific details on what herbs he recommends and at what dosages. He also includes treatment for Babesia in his protocol.

There is a separate website to order his products, no prescription necessary. The minimum cost of his six month protocol for Lyme, including discounts for repeat orders (set up on automatic shipment), is about $1230, or about $200 a month.

If you are treating for Babesia as well, you can add another $354 to that for a minimum 40 day treatment.

If you would like to be treated by Dr. Zhang and are unable to travel to his office in New York, he does do phone consultations.

A common choice for Lyme patients is Teasel Root tincture. Some people have reported having Herxheimer reactions while taking this herbal, so it appears to be doing something. Grapefruit seed and Grape seed extracts are also very popular, although I have not tried these myself.

Another popular type of supplement is immune transfer. This is in the form of colostrum from either cows or goats. Colostrum is the first milk after a cow or goat gives birth. It is nature's way of transfering the immunity that the mother goat or cow has built up over the span of its life to the newborn. This first milk allows the newborn to have a defense against infection while it is building its own immune system.

There are immune transfers on the market that have been designed especially for Lyme Disease and coinfections. There is even a former congressperson who believes he was cured of Lyme Disease after drinking colostrum from a cow whose udder was injected with Bb bacteria a few weeks before it gave birth. Most immune transfers come in pill form, so you won't actually have to drink the milk.

I myself have used Garlic, Astragalus, Milk Thistle, Reishi, Ginseng, Ginko Biloba, Aloe juice and Olive Leaf extract. In addition to being an antiviral, Milk Thistle helps regulate your liver, which can be a good thing if you are on heavy antibiotics and other drugs. Garlic is very good for your heart and immune system, and it also has anti-bacterial properties. I eat 1 whole raw clove of garlic every day. Astragalus and Reishi regulate your immune response. Ginko opens up and dialates your blood vessels and allows things to flow more easily. Drinking 2 ounces of aloe juice a day helps to fight off viruses, and surprisingly it tastes good too.

Name (Alternate Names)	Dose	Description
Allicin (Garlic extract)	20mg 3 x day	This is a potent garlic extract recommended by Dr. Zhang for treating Lyme. Although allicin does have antibacterial properties, studies have proven that allicin breaks down easily and does not make it into the blood stream. Dr Zhang also recommends other herbs for treating Lyme.
Garlic (Raw garlic)	1 or more cloves a day, eaten raw and uncooked.	This is hard for a lot of people to imagine even doing, but those that have done it swear by it. I was surprised to find that I really like the way it tastes, and would eat it even if I didn't have Lyme. You may have stinky breath, but what if it works? And they say that the chemical that makes the smell is one of the active ingredient in garlic, so you are wasting your money if you buy a supplement that is "unscented." It has been proven that garlic has anti-bacterial properties, and there are many active components to it that have still not been identified. Garlic also has many other health benefits.
Olive Leaf extract (active ingredient is Oleuropein, pronounced oh-lee-or-oh-pin)	.	This supplement has been proven to have anti-bacterial as well as anti-viral properties, and is considered a natural antibiotic. It has been credited with having anti-fungal, anti-yeast and anti-protozoal properties as well. It is also said to inhibit microbes from reproducing.
Qinghaosu (Artemesia annua, Artemisinin, Sweet Annie, Qinghao, Wormwood) Caution: - There are several species of Artemesia from which supplements are made, many of which are toxic. - Can cause severe cardiac problems in some people. - Long-term use is associated with dementia.	Qinghaosu: 3 grams/day Artemesinin (Allergy Reserach Group; Pure Encapsulations: 100-200 mg/day	This is an herb in Chinese medicine used to treat malaria. The World Health Organization has a page on this herb here. Studies have proven it to be 100% effective for treating malaria, even strains that are resistant to Quinine and Chloroquine, and Dr Zhang uses it to treat Babesia. He also recommends combining this herb with Astragalus root, Dang Shen (Codonopsis pilosula), and the drug Trimethoprim.

There are so many supplements that it is hard to keep them all straight. I have reported on the ones that I've heard a lot of people say work.

The Matthew Goss Lyme Disease Information content is no longer being updated by Matthew Goss. A new home on the web for this information is provided by Melissa Kaplan's Anapsid.org Herp Care and CND & Lyme Information. Please report any webpage errors to Melissa Kaplan.

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Last Update: 10/22/2004