Seattle Bartonella, Lyme Disease & Environmental Illness Doctor
Inflammation is the body’s normal response to infections, diseases, injuries, and anything it considers harmful. It is important to lower inflammation during treatment because this will help fight against toxic compounds, pathogens and damaged cells build up in organ tissues. Certain foods are known to cause inflammation in the body. One of the fastest ways to … Read More “Anti-Inflammatory Diet” »
Most patients with neurological Lyme Disease and coinfections (i.e., MS, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease, Autism), have elevated levels of ammonia toxicity in the brain which is neurotoxic. This is due to the fact that the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, produces urease enzymes, and ammonia accumulation results. Sometimes ammonia levels will be elevated in the blood, but many … Read More “Ammonia Toxicity in the Brain of Tick-Borne Disease Patients” »
Tick-borne diseases are a 21st century epidemic in most geographical areas of the United States and Europe, China, Japan, Australia, South America, and Africa. Greater awareness regarding the spread of these diseases is gaining momentum as we enter the “Decade of the Microbe.” However, the multidimensional impact of Lyme disease in particular on our most … Read More “Pediatric & Adolescent Lyme Disease” »
The alkaline diet is based on the idea that replacing acid-forming foods with alkalizing foods can improve your health. The body fluids of healthy individuals are naturally alkaline meaning they have a high pH, whereas the body fluids of the chronically ill tend to be more acidic with a low pH. Most degenerative diseases attributed to aging, cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease have all been scientifically linked to calcium and other mineral deficiencies that result in the body fluids becoming acidic. Acidosis is a common factor in over 150 degenerative diseases. Adopting more alkalizing foods into your diet can have positive impacts on your overall health and help you to along the detoxification process.
Put simply, pH is a measurement of how acidic or alkaline something is.
The pH value ranges from 0–14:
Incorporate Alkaline foods including:
Neutral foods: natural fats, starches, and sugars
Finally, people interested in trying an alkaline diet should avoid high-acid foods. These include:
Adult Lyme disease cases have reached epidemic proportions in the last decade due to a variety of factors including climate change allowing for continued tick replication throughout the year, urban housing development in rural areas where deer inhabit and are known tick vectors, and an increase in the deer population. Most importantly, the development of appropriate scientific tools such as tests, are needed to document the presence and exposure to Borrelia in blood and urine, which are known bacterial pathogens causing a multitude of various waxing and waning symptoms known as Lyme disease.
Lyme disease and mold toxicity, also known as the “Great Imitators”, can mimic many other diseases, especially in adults, where a proper diagnosis can be difficult. They are diseases that affect multi-organ systems, causing local and systemic inflammation, while rendering tissues, cells, and organelles unable to cope with the daily demands of everyday life.
In adults, Lyme disease and mold are often accompanied by crushing fatigue and disorders of the autoimmune, hormonal, neurological, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems that make it difficult for a definitive diagnosis. Nonetheless, appropriate diagnostic testing is required to fully understand the scope of the illnesses in question.
Having trained as an ILADS preceptor under the tutelage of Dr. Richard Horowitz in Hyde Park, NY, a leading Lyme disease expert, it is Dr. Marra’s belief that an integrated approach to Lyme disease and co-infections treatment is the most effective way to eradicate tick-borne illness. Depending on the patient and severity of the disease, she uses rotating combinations, peptides, botanical medicines, and nutrition to maximize the healing from this all too often debilitating disease.
Without question, the sooner you receive proper diagnosis and treatment, the more likely you will fully recover.
There is a patient population however, that has difficulty detoxifying from the endotoxins released into the blood from dying spirochetes. These patients require skillful antibiotics and herbal medical management in order to heal. At least half of Dr. Marra’s 22 years of experience has been treating adults with chronic Lyme disease and co-infections, and she believes that the ability to heal is largely accomplished through a solid doctor/patient relationship where truthful dialogue is achieved so that the doctor can make informed decisions about how to proceed with treatment. Dr. Marra works with many other Lyme Literate doctors that she keeps in constant contact with in order to share insights and wisdom with regard to progressive therapeutic techniques.
Dr. Marra is grateful for the outstanding colleagues that she has, as well as her courageous patients who persevere in treatment, knowing that one day they will be well and free of the often debilitating effects of tick-borne illness.
