That’s because Lyme is the number one tick-borne illness in the United States, with an estimated 300,000 people diagnosed1 every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That is a conservative estimate. This leaves many people struggling to manage their unrelenting chronic Lyme with no answers in sight when treatments for these other diseases don’t end up working. Symptoms of Lyme are global, spanning multiple body systems, especially the nervous, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular systems. Days to months after the tick bite, later signs and symptoms of Lyme4 can include severe headaches, fatigue, neck stiffness, erythema migrans rashes, arthritis with severe joint pain, facial palsy, abnormal heart beat, shortness of breath, dizziness, inflammation of the central nervous system, nerve pain, brain fog, and memory loss (to name a few). What’s more, unchecked Lyme is thought to trigger autoimmune conditions5 broadly, which would contribute to even more debilitating and wide-ranging symptoms. Also, celebrities like Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Amy Schumer, Alec Baldwin, and Justin Bieber candidly sharing about their battles with Lyme has brought this disease long overdue attention. But in my opinion, and from functional medicine’s perspective as a whole, we may be hearing more about Lyme for other reasons too. In my opinion, epigenetic or lifestyle factors like the processed foods we eat, epidemic proportions of metabolically unhealthy Americans, the depletion of nutrients from our soil, the pollution in the air we breathe, and toxins in the water we drink may be amplifying and perpetuating the impact that chronic infections caused by viruses, mold, protozoa, parasites, and bacteria (like Lyme disease) have on the body. As our earth is groaning in the form of climate change, so, too, is the human immune system from the onslaught of modern stressors. Typically, mainstream medicine will diagnose the presence of Lyme through lab work—that is, if you notice a bite or if you or your doctor recognize your symptoms as possible Lyme indicators, Then the infection is typically treated with a round of oral or intravenous antibiotics. But chronic Lyme that persists after antibiotic treatment (sometimes referred to as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome8) or that’s never diagnosed and treated to begin with goes largely unrecognized in conventional medicine. Thankfully, this battle with chronic Lyme is gaining recognition among the functional medicine community with the support of organizations such as the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). Lyme-literate functional medicine practitioners like me have a multipronged approach to chronic infections like Lyme. One of the tools we often use: food as medicine. I should point out that there are no published research studies (yet) on the efficacy of the ketogenic diet in people with Lyme disease, so I am sharing insights from my clinical experience and observations. Here, I’ll explain how a clean keto diet can be a major piece of the healing puzzle for people struggling with Lyme disease and other chronic infections: In animals (rodents), a ketogenic diet has been shown to support mitochondrial health by increasing mitochondrial biogenesis11, or the production of new mitochondria, through a process called autophagy, or “mitophagy”12 in the case of mitochondria. Literally translating as “self-eating,” autophagy is your body’s natural cleaning system and the primary process for removing damaged mitochondria. A ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting (which enhances ketosis) are two tools that increase autophagy in mechanistic studies of animals. Ketones, including beta-hydroxybutyrate, are not just a form of fuel for the body. They’re also signaling molecules and epigenetic modulators, which various cell culture studies have shown to activate anti-inflammatory pathways14 while inhibiting inflammatory pathways like the NLRP3 inflammasome15. Whether this effect occurs in humans following ketosis is unknown at this time. The fiber content of non-starchy vegetables (which you can eat freely on a keto diet as they’re naturally low in carbohydrates) provides prebiotic fiber17 and fuel for good gut bugs (probiotics). Ini contrast, sweets and processed foods lack valuable nutrients and fiber for gut health. Too much sugar has also been shown to promote inflammation18 in the gut microbiome, so an ultra-low-sugar diet like keto would help support normal inflammation and healthy gut immune function. If you personally suffer from Lyme disease, you may want to consider seeking out a functional medicine practitioner who’s familiar with Lyme and low-carb diets to help guide you through the process. A cutting-edge nutrition deep dive taught by 20+ top health & wellness experts
