Tag Archives: Lyme

6 Medicinal Foods for Lyme

Is your food helping you?  Take your diet to the next level with heavy hitting anti-inflammatory foods.

1. Turmeric  is my favorite “ace” anti-inflammatory herb.  Research shows benefit in reducing inflammatory processes in neurodegenerative disease, joint inflammation, infection induced inflammation and potentially on reducing biofilms.  In medicinal herb formulas I use much larger quantities than would ever taste palatable in a curry dish.  However, small amounts on a regular basis will have a useful effect when combined with other anti-inflammatory foods and herbs.  Are you having a particularly inflamed day?  Add 1 tsp to 4 oz water, swish and drink.  Repeat 2-3 x a day.

2. Garlic  is best raw for antibacterial and anti fungal properties.  It is a good food to help prevent candida, improve circulation and potentially help with biofilms as well.  You have to be creative to eat garlic raw… and a little brave.  Add 1-2 crushed cloves to salad dressings, add to homemade or store bought pesto and guacamole, add 1-2 cloves to fresh homemade veg and fruit juice.  Make garlic oxymel for a sweeter delivery.  

Indian proverb – “Garlic is as good as ten mothers.”

3.  Blueberries are rich in polyphenols, and in particular OPC’s a unique antioxidant that has specific affinity for capillary function, improving microcirculation, reducing oxidative damage to capillaries, improve venous return and more.  All red and blue fruits are particularly rich in these compounds.  Increasing intake of blueberries (and other red and blue fruits) can help with symptoms such as shortness of breath, and numbness and tingling.

4.  Avocado  Rich in monosaturated fat and fiber, two essential nutrients for healing, avocados are a good addition to one’s healing diet.  A half cup avocado contains 5 grams fiber, and keeping fiber to at least 30 g a day will help reduce ‘herx’ response from antibiotic treatment and improve detoxification and elimination.  This west-coast fruit is also very rich in monosaturated fatty acids that are key for healthy cardiovascular health and neurological function.  Fats improve absorption of key nutrients like D and carotenoids.  It is best when dealing with Lyme to shift the balance towards less starch and more high quality fat.

5.  Kombucha   For many of my clients kombucha is a favorite way to get healthy live bacteria (probiotics) in a non-gluten and non-dairy food source.  It is fairly low in sugar, usually having less than 3 g per serving.  I recommend 4-6 oz a day.  A strange drink, certainly.  It is much cheaper if you can make it at home. Daily intake of probiotic foods is a key to survival from long-term antibiotics and systemic infectious disease in general.

6.  Kale is the ‘green of the moment’, but really it is one member of a wonderful group of nutrient-dense dark leafy greens.  Dark leafy greens like kale, collards, mustard greens, spinach, etc provide minerals, fiber, folate and support detoxification and assist healing from Lyme.  Dark leafies are a great source of magnesium, which is depleted by some antibiotics, most notably the macrolide antibiotics (Azithromycin, Zithromax, Biaxin​).  Dark leafy greens are calming to nervous and muscular skeletal systems.

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Welcome to Rebecca Snow Nutrition.  We are passionate about helping people like you, people with chronic illness, reclaim your health and vitality with wellness practices, herbs and food.  Every day we choose to live more fully. Come join us!

We wake if we every wake at all to mystery.  – Annie Dillard

We are nutrition detectives.  We help people sort out the best nutritional path for their personal health goals, feeling healthier, more resilient.  Each step towards wellness matters no matter where you are starting from.  You can start the journey now.

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Sort through all the overwhelming information to find the path that is right for you.  We help you get clarity by putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, to bring clear direction to your path towards wellness.

If you are not ready to alter your way of life, you cannot be healed.   ~Hippocrates

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Did you miss our Immune Support and Mental Peace Through the Storm webinar live?  You can access here.

In addition to proper hygiene and social distancing, learn helpful foods and herbs to prime your immune and lung health. Get grounded and peaceful as you encounter stress and uncertainty in this turbulent time.

Our Team


Meet our TEAM of Practitioners

Rebecca Snow, MS, CNS, LDN, RH(AHG

DOWNLOAD Rebecca’s resume here.

A licensed nutritionist and herbalist; Rebecca has a passion for helping individuals get healthy using foods, herbs and lifestyle changes. In addition to seeing clients in Catonsville, Maryland and via phone/Skype, Rebecca teaches workshops and mentors new practitioners.  

Rebecca has been studying and using herbs for 17 years and practicing in a clinical setting for 12 years.  Upon receiving her Master of Science Program in Herbal Medicine, she was awarded the Herbert C Brown award for service to the school and practiced for 5 years at Optimal Health Physicians an Integrative Medical Practice in Rockville, MD that specializes in chronic infection and disease. Rebecca completed an International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) preceptorship and has lectured widely on Lyme disease and weight loss.

Rebecca was the Founding Director of the MS in Nutrition and Integrative Health Program at the Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH). She has taught graduate-level nutrition and herbal medicine coursework for the last several years.

Rebecca has enjoyed the honor of lecturing for Goucher College, American Herbalist Guild’s Annual Conference, Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University, Baltimore Bioneers Conference, Presbyterian Medical Center at the University of Pennsylvania, WC Grace & Co, Choice Hotels International, Ryderwood Village and the Baltimore Herb Festival. Rebecca speaks on nutrition and herbs for the media, Fox 45, WBAL, among others.

Prior to receiving her Master’s degree, Rebecca worked as the store manager of Smile Herb Shop in College Park, MD and completed coursework at the Dreamtime Center for Herbal Studies. Rebecca is a Certified Nutritional Specialist, a licensed nutritionist in the State of Maryland, and a registered herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild.

Rebecca is a mother, wife, advocate for sustainable living, she loves to cook healthy food for her family, garden and take walks outdoors.

 

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Kate Costello, MS, CNS, LDN

Kate joined Rebecca Snow Nutrition in June 2019, she brings a wonderful background in functional nutrition, coaching and research. 

Kate practices functional nutrition by emphasizing the healing power of whole-food nutrition and wellness practices like movement, stress-reduction, sleep hygiene and mindfulness practices. Kate works with complex diagnoses including, but not limited to, autoimmune conditions, blood glucose dysregulation, childhood nutritional needs, chronic fatigue syndrome, food sensitivities, inflammatory bowel disease, and endocrine imbalances.

She has worked with the Multiple Sclerosis Center at Johns Hopkins to better understand diet in people living with MS. Kate has also worked at the Village Green Apothecary providing education, consultation and laboratory analysis. 

Kate has extensive training in functional foods, nutraceuticals, supplements and natural home and beauty products. Kate earned her undergraduate degree at Coastal Carolina University in Health Promotion and Exercise Science.  She earned two graduate degrees from Maryland University of Integrative Health, a MS in Nutrition and Integrative Health and an MA in Health Coaching.  Kate is a licensed nutritionist through the state of Maryland and is Certified Nutrition Specialist through the BCNS.  Kate can be found baking vegan desserts, on her yoga mat, gardening, and reading 5 books at a time.

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Andie Inscoe

Andie joined Rebecca Snow Nutrition in 2020 as a part-time clinical assistant.

Andie is in her final year of the Master of Science in Therapeutic Herbalism program at the Maryland University of integrative health. Her herbal philosophy revolves around supporting the body’s natural tendency towards healing through modifying imbalances within the mind, body, and spirit. Andie uses a variety of methods to select herbal remedies and lifestyle changes that support each person based on their unique circumstances and individual experiences. She has a passion for working with menstrual health, skin conditions, strengthening elimination and detoxification pathways, stress and mental health in modern society, and providing a welcoming space for healing with compassion for individual experiences and identities.

After graduating with a degree in Sociology and Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Andie received herbal certificates in Community Herbalism, Women’s Herbal and Ethnobotanical Studies, and Advanced Herbalism from Artemisia and Rue in Denver, Colorado. She is also working towards a certificate in Pulse, Tongue, and Facial Assessment with the Mathew Wood Institute of herbalism. Andie has a passion for using food to build a strong foundation of health and hopes to pursue formal nutritional training in the future.

Outside of herbalism, Andie enjoys cooking, snowboarding, camping, singing, and spending time with her dog, Chance.