Essential Oils – Highly Effective at Destroying Lyme Bacterium (in a Petri Dish)
Dec. 17, 2018
Written by Joseph Mercola
Story at-a-glance
- In lab tests conducted at Johns Hopkins, essential oils from garlic and other herbs and medicinal plants were found to be highly effective at destroying the bacterium that causes Lyme disease
- At least 300,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with Lyme disease, which is a bacterial infection spread by ticks commonly found in the U.S. and at least 60 other countries
- Treating Lyme disease is often complicated by coinfections, nutrient deficiencies and toxin overload, as well as the fact many of its symptoms mimic illnesses like fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis
- While conventional medicine most often turns to long-term antibiotic use to treat Lyme, I encourage you to investigate the many natural solutions available, including the use of antioxidants, probiotics and lumbrokinase
- If you are not finding the help you need and your condition is worsening, you may want to consider learning more about the treatment protocol recommended by Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, one of the leading authorities on Lyme disease
Lab-based research conducted at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health suggests various essential oils, including garlic, can effectively kill persistent forms of Lyme disease bacterium. While clinical trials are needed to validate the lab-based results, this is good news for anyone who had previously been relying on antibiotics alone to treat this life-threatening, tick-based disease.
Notably, 10 of the 35 essential oils tested showed strong killing activity against dormant and slow-growing “persister” forms of Lyme disease bacterium.1
If you are struggling with Lyme disease, I encourage you to look beyond conventional treatment, which often focuses on the use of long-term antibiotics. You owe it to yourself to investigate essential oils and other natural solutions, which I highlight below.
Essential Oils Shown To Be Effective for Treating Lyme Disease
As presented in the featured video, a new study published in the journal Antibiotics2 suggests essential oils such as garlic and eucalyptus may be useful in treating Lyme disease.
Interested in the oils’ strong antibacterial properties and many other health benefits, a team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health conducted lab tests designed to treat Lyme bacterium with 35 essential oils.
Previously, lead study author Dr. Ying Zhang, professor in the department of molecular microbiology and immunology, and his colleagues identified five essential oils, including oregano, cinnamon bark and citronella, that have higher antipersister activity than the commonly used Lyme antibiotic drug daptomycin.3 Results of the current research revealed:4,5,6
- Ten of the 35 essential oils that were tested showed “strong activity” against persister forms of Lyme disease bacterium
- Essential oils derived from allspice berries, cinnamon bark, cumin seeds, eucalyptus, garlic cloves, myrrh trees and thyme leaves are among those found to effectively combat persister forms of Lyme disease
- Five of these oils were effective against dormant forms of the Lyme bacterium in a concentration of only 1 part per 1,000
- Essential oils from allspice berries, garlic, may chang trees, myrrh trees and spiked ginger lily not only eradicated all Lyme disease bacteria in seven days, but also prevented regrowth in 21 days
About the study outcomes, Zhang stated, “We found that these essential oils were even better at killing the ‘persister’ forms of Lyme bacteria than standard Lyme antibiotics. At this stage, these essential oils look very promising as candidate treatments for persistent Lyme infection, but ultimately we need properly designed clinical trials.”7
Given the study outcomes, essential oils are certainly worth consideration when it comes to addressing Lyme symptoms. Later in this article, I will share other natural remedies you may want to consider. For now, let’s take a closer look at what causes the disease and how it is most commonly contracted.
What Causes Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is caused by a spirochete — a corkscrew-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. It is primarily transmitted by deer ticks and black-legged ticks found in grassy and wooded areas throughout the U.S. and at least 60 other countries.8
Lyme is sometimes accompanied by a characteristic bullseye rash and may include flu-like symptoms such as: body aches, fatigue, fever, headaches and stiff or swollen joints.
As I have often mentioned, early treatment is vital because it may help you avoid future complications such as chronic joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), cognitive defects, heart rhythm irregularities and neurological symptoms.
Quite often, Lyme disease can be complicated by factors such as coinfections, nutrient deficiencies and toxin overload.9 LymeDisease.org provides the following facts about the disease:10
- Most people contract Lyme from the bite of an immature tick — and the bite is often so tiny and painless, you may not realize you’ve been bitten
- An undisturbed tick can feed for several days; the longer it is attached to your body, the greater the chances it will transmit Lyme and other pathogens into your bloodstream
- Lyme, which is known as “The Great Imitator,” is very challenging to diagnose because its symptoms mimic conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis
- Lyme disease can affect any organ of your body, including your brain and nervous system, muscles and joints and even your heart
Who Gets Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is no respecter of persons and one bite from a tick the size of a poppy seed may be the only thing separating you from this devastating illness. At least 300,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease annually.11
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lyme disease cases are mainly concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwest, with 14 American states accounting for more than 96 percent of the cases reported to the CDC.12
The people at greatest risk of picking up a Lyme-infected tick include children and older adults, as well as firefighters, park rangers and others who spend time in areas known to increase their exposure to ticks.13
Antibiotic Treatment for Lyme Disease Is Not Always Effective
In most cases, the first line of treatment for Lyme disease usually involves the administration of antibiotics such as amoxicillin, cefuroxime or doxycycline for two to four weeks. That said, antibiotics are not always effective. It’s also important to note that the overuse of these drugs contributes to antibiotic resistance, which is becoming an increasingly bigger issue worldwide.
A 2013 study suggested 36 percent of antibiotic-treated patients continued to suffer from fatigue six months after taking the medication, whereas 20 percent experienced ongoing joint or musculoskeletal pain and 45 percent dealt with persistent neurocognitive symptoms.14
This poorly understood condition that lingers after standard treatment has been completed is known as “persistent Lyme infection” or “post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLDS) syndrome.”15 While the cause of so-called persistent Lyme infection is unknown, experts have observed that the Lyme bacterium can enter a dormant stage in which its cells multiply very slowly or don’t divide at all.
As such, these so-called persister cells are known to be more resistant to antibiotics. About this aspect of Lyme disease, authors of the Johns Hopkins study stated:16
“We found that the variant persister forms such as round bodies, microcolonies and biofilms with increasing degree of persistence in vitro, cannot be killed by the current Lyme antibiotics or even persister drugs like daptomycin alone. [T]hey can only be killed by a combination of drugs that kill persisters and drugs that kill the growing forms.
These observations provide a possible explanation in support of persistent infection despite antibiotic treatment in vivo.
Although daptomycin has good antipersister activity, it is expensive and is an intravenous drug and difficult to administer and adopt in clinical setting, and it has limited penetration through blood brain barrier (BBB). Thus, there is interest to identify alternative drug candidates with high anti-persister activity.”
Natural Strategies to Fight Lyme Disease
As mentioned, conventional Lyme treatment usually focuses on antibiotics, which often stop short of addressing the underlying issues associated with the disease. Due to the damage it will do to your gut microbiome, I do not recommend long-term antibiotic use for Lyme.
The use of antibiotics also increases your risk of fungal or yeast infections. Moreover, antibiotics tax your natural immune function and increase your risk of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Rather than choose antibiotic therapy as your primary means of treating Lyme, you’d be wise to investigate the many natural alternatives first, or, at least use the natural remedies in concert with any recommended pharmaceutical medications. You may find the following nutritional supplements useful in addressing Lyme disease:
| Andrographis and artemisinin — herbs that treat a Lyme coinfection called Babesia | Krill oil — this omega-3 powerhouse helps reduce inflammation and relieve Lyme symptoms |
| Astaxanthin — a powerful antioxidant that neutralizes toxins and relieves joint pain | Probiotics — promotes healthy gut flora and boosts your immunity |
| Cilantro — a natural chelator for heavy metals | Quercetin — an antioxidant known to reduce histamine, which is usually high in Lyme patients |
| CoQ10 — a potent antioxidant that alleviates muscle pain, boosts cardiac health and reduces brain fog | Resveratrol — this antioxidant helps with detoxification and may treat the common coinfection called Bartonella |
| Curcumin — the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, which eliminates neurological toxins and helps reduce brain swelling | Serrapeptase — helps dissolve biofilms |
| GABA and melatonin — two great sleep supplements that will help address insomnia, a common complaint of Lyme sufferers | Transfer factors — help boost your immune function |
| Grapefruit seed extract — known to kill bacteria, Candida and parasites and may help treat the Borrelia bacterium in cyst form | Whey protein concentrate — may be useful as a dietary supplement |
Lumbrokinase Also Shown to Help Treat Lyme
Beyond the natural remedies mentioned above, lumbrokinase, a group of six proteolytic (protein digesting) enzymes derived from earthworms, has been successfully paired with antimicrobial remedies for the treatment of Lyme disease.
Lumbrokinase is believed to effectively penetrate through thick clumps of gut bacteria known as biofilms, which are one of several factors involved with Lyme. When pathogenic bacteria hide within biofilms, they can feed and replicate out of the reach of your immune system.
As such, they remain strong and unaffected by any antimicrobial medications, including antibiotics and herbs, you may be taking. The fact lumbrokinase is helpful in breaking down fibrinogen is an important aspect of Lyme treatment because the pathogenic bacteria use fibrinogen, which they convert to fibrin, to strengthen their network.17
Researchers studying the effects of lumbrokinase18 say earthworms have been used for thousands of years within traditional medicine in Asian countries such as China, Japan and Korea. In these countries, dry earthworm powder taken orally has been shown to promote healthy blood circulation.
Dr. Miguel Gonzalez, a functional, integrative and holistic medicine specialist from Thousand Oaks, California, and creator of the Lyme People website, suggests lumbrokinase, “appears to assist in dissolving the excess fibrin that covers and hides the bacteria, is involved in the regulation of blood clotting and also eliminates the abnormal proteins that are released as a result of the bacteria’s activity.”19
You May Want to Try Klinghardt Academy’s Lyme Treatment Protocol
My mentor Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, founder of the Klinghardt Academy in Woodinville, Washington, is one of the leading authorities on the treatment of Lyme disease. Having been used successfully to restore health to hundreds of patients, his Lyme disease treatment protocol is most definitely something you should check out, especially if you have been unable to get the help you need elsewhere.
Be Vigilant: Preventing Lyme Disease Is Your Best Option
Lyme disease is a complex, controversial and extremely challenging condition to treat, making prevention your safest and best option. Your first line of defense is to take precautions to avoid the ticks that transmit the disease. After all, no tick bites, no Lyme disease. Because the ticks can be as small as poppy seeds, you must be vigilant to safeguard yourself, your loved ones and your pets from ticks.
Whatever you do, do not spray your body or your clothes with insect repellant containing N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide, also known as DEET. Because DEET is a known neurotoxin,20 I recommend avoiding all DEET-containing products. If you live or spend time in a high-risk area, you can protect yourself from tick bites by:21,22
- Avoiding tick-infested areas such as densely wooded areas and always walk in the middle of trails to avoid brushing against tall grasses and other plant material that may house ticks
- Looking for ticks on your body and hair immediately upon returning from a high-risk area and continuing to check your body, hair and bedding daily for several days afterward
- Wearing long sleeves and pants, as well as closed shoes and a hat, when venturing into wooded areas
- Checking your pets for ticks, which can latch onto collars and fur
- Removing ticks properly and, if possible, keeping them alive; for detailed instructions on handling ticks, visit the lymedisease.org tick removal page
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**Comment**
Please remember, this study is in vitro (in a lab) not in vivo (the human body). I believe they are in the process of mouse studies.
Back to EO’s. My husband and I both used the combination of clove, cinnamon, and oregano (2 drops each, so 6 drops in a capsule twice a day for a grand total of 12 drops of EO’s). I also added 2 drops of turmeric for inflammation as well as 8 or so drops of black seed oil as a good fat). We used this protocol 1 week out of every month as a maintenance program as we have treated extensively with both antibiotics, herbs, blood ozone under UV light, and with high dose vitamin C IV’s for over FIVE YEARS.
WE BOTH RELAPSED ON THIS EO maintenance program.
I got the EO idea from here: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/13/oregano-cinnamon-and-clove-found-to-have-high-anti-persister-activity-for-bb/
When I went to the ILADS convention I happened to catch Greg Lee, who uses many modalities in treating Lyme/MSIDS, including liposomal EO’s & I ran my protocol by him. He agreed that the protocol seemed sound and of the correct strength.
However, again, we BOTH relapsed.
I do not believe at this point that EO’s ALONE with conquer this beast. They very well could help and in combination with other modalities could be quite powerful. Also, the other detail is perhaps this only works on a daily basis with no breaks. So, either the dosage is too low, we didn’t take it often enough, or it just flatly doesn’t work.
I must add a final personal observation because I know the desperation out there is very great. The “naturalists” who hate antibiotics always jump on these in vitro studies as if they are the 10 commandments or a sure thing. BTW: I hadn’t taken abx for over 20 years until Lyme/MSIDS and consider myself a quasi-naturalist! Please be aware of folks’ well-meaning biases. In the end, it’s your body and your choice what treatment you will follow. Do your homework. It’s complex and much is still unknown. I chose to go with the biggest bang for my buck that I actually saw noticeable improvement upon. This looks differently on everyone. For some, abx doesn’t appear to help them and in fact for some, they flatly can not tolerate them. If this is true for you, then by all means, don’t use them! However, also keep in mind that how you feel during this nightmare is quite different than anything you’ve ever experienced before.
In other words, I felt like _ _ _ _ on a stick for the entire 5 years of treatment with a few “good days.” Treatment is hard. But, you know you are making progress when you notice a herx. Managing that herx is an entirely different matter and books could be written about this, but here’s a start: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/08/15/herxheimer-die-off-reaction-explained/
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/12/06/tips-for-newbies/
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/28/jarisch-herxheimer-a-review/ At the end of the article I explain my herxes. I would like to also add that since that time I’ve started taking MSM daily with great success for pain. In fact, I’m pain-free and have been for some time. I know; however, that when pain returns, that’s the beginning of my spiral downward and the sign of a relapse. Upon another stint of abx (usually 2-3 months) I’m back to normal, but this is how it has played out for me, my husband, and my LLMD states this is how it plays out for many others she treats. I tried MSM earlier while IN treatment to no effect but now that I’m off treatment it works well. I do believe the pathogen load needs to be decreased substantially, at least in my case, for the MSM to work. Please see this article on it: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/02/dmso-msm-for-lyme-msids/
Please remember, these experiences are my own so yours may be slightly different depending on your presentation. I feel it’s important to share this as it’s important to collect as much knowledge as you can, but always remembering that this complex illness varies from person to person. And lastly, please find a knowledgable health professional. One who is trained by ILADS and is open-minded.
Two heads are definitely better than one when it comes to tick-borne illness!
P.S. I didn’t notice a darn thing on stevia or grapefruit seed extract. My LLMD feels they aren’t strong enough. For me, Tinidazole was a game changer as well as minocycline for the ability to cross the blood/brain barrier. I NEVER only took one thing. I was on 3-4 things simultaneously throughout treatment but we did pulse these.
Read more here on Tindy: https://www.dovepress.com/evaluation-of-in-vitro-antibiotic-susceptibility-of-different-morpholo-peer-reviewed-article-IDR
However, both metronidazole and tinidazole had far superior action:
Metronidazole led to reduction of spirochetal structures by ~90% and round body forms by ~80%. Tigecycline and tinidazole treatment reduced both spirochetal and round body forms by ~80%–90%.
In terms of qualitative effects, only tinidazole reduced viable organisms by ~90%. Following treatment with the other antibiotics, viable organisms were detected in 70%–85% of the biofilm-like colonies.
LLMD’s almost all use drug combinations due to the complexity of the organism as well as to ward off any potential resistance, and the fact coinfections are often involved. For examples: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/13/lyme-disease-treatment/
More on Mino: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/04/minocycline-for-ms-and-much-more/
