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Author: Sima

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The following is a list of nutrients that some researchers (from the Institute of Food Technology) think of as especially beneficial to the brain. Other researchers may (or probably will) focus on other nutrients. I am posting it even though I generally dislike articles that talk about "superfoods" or an itemized list of foods that one should eat to the exclusion of others. Because, of course, focusing on some nutrients may leave out many just as important nutrients.

Also, medical thinking changes over time and what was once considered "unhealthy" may later be considered a wonderful food (remember when eggs, nuts, and coconuts were almost considered evil?). And vice versa (remember when margarine with partially hydrogeneated oils and trans-fats was considered healthier than butter?) And study after study says it is better to eat the foods, rather than take supplements. So keep in mind that the following nutrients are found in whole foods and in a varied diet. And when they mention a specific food such as blueberries, remember that ALL berries have benefits (though they vary), so eat a variety of berries. Same with nuts - eat a variety and not just walnuts. From Science Daily:

Eight nutrients to protect the aging brain

Brain health is the second most important component in maintaining a healthy lifestyle according to a 2014 AARP study. As people age they can experience a range of cognitive issues from decreased critical thinking to dementia and Alzheimer's disease. In the March issue of Food Technology published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), contributing editor Linda Milo Ohr writes about eight nutrients that may help keep your brain in good shape.

1. Cocoa Flavanols: Cocoa flavanols have been linked to improved circulation and heart health, and preliminary research shows a possible connection to memory improvement as well. A study showed cocoa flavanols may improve the function of a specific part of the brain called the dentate gyrus, which is associated with age-related memory (Brickman, 2014). {NOTE: good sources are cocoa and dark chocolate}

2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids have long been shown to contribute to good heart health are now playing a role in cognitive health as well....Foods rich in omega-3s include salmon, flaxseed oil, and chia seeds.

3. Phosphatidylserine and Phosphatidic Acid: Two pilot studies showed that a combination of phosphatidylserine and phosphatidic acid can help benefit memory, mood, and cognitive function in the elderly (Lonza, 2014). {NOTE: good sources are fish and meat}

4. Walnuts: A diet supplemented with walnuts may have a beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset, or slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease in mice (Muthaiyah, 2014).

5. Citicoline: Citicoline is a natural substance found in the body's cells and helps in the development of brain tissue, which helps regulate memory and cognitive function, enhances communication between neurons, and protects neural structures from free radical damage.... {NOTE: Citocoline is synthesized in the body from choline, so see foods high in choline}

6. Choline: Choline, which is associated with liver health and women's health, also helps with the communication systems for cells within the brain and the rest of the body. Choline may also support the brain during aging and help prevent changes in brain chemistry that result in cognitive decline and failure. A major source of choline in the diet are eggs. { NOTE: Good sources of choline are eggs, meat, fish, beans, and cruciferous vegetables.}

7. Magnesium: Magnesium supplements are often recommended for those who experienced serious concussions. Magnesium-rich foods include avocado, soy beans, bananas and dark chocolate.

8. Blueberries: Blueberries are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity because they boast a high concentration of anthocyanins, a flavonoid that enhances the health-promoting quality of foods. Moderate blueberry consumption could offer neurocognitive benefits such as increased neural signaling in the brain centers.

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This research found that the beneficial gut bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) interacts and facilitates (modifies the activity) of other gut bacteria. This isn't surprising. All our microbiomes are communities or ecosystems of microbes. But the really important bacteria have been called keystone species by other researchers. From Medical Xpress:

New research sheds light on how popular probiotic benefits the gut

In recent years, research into the benefits of gut bacteria has exploded. Scientists across the globe are examining how these microbes can help improve health and prevent disease. One of the most well-known of these is Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG). This strain of bacteria, which is part of many popular probiotic products, has a reputation as a helpful microbe. Researchers have found evidence that it can help with intestinal problems, respiratory infections and some skin disorders. Some research suggests that it may even help with weight loss. But a key question has remained unanswered: How does LGG actually produce benefits?

Now, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) have come up with an explanation. It appears that LGG may act as a facilitator, modifying the activity of other gut bacteria....Claire M. Fraser, PhD, professor of medicine at the UM SOM, as well as director of the Institute for Genome Sciences, studied the effect of LGG on a group of elderly subjects.

She and her collaborator, Dr. Patricia Hibberd at Massachusetts General Hospital, tested 12 subjects, who ingested LGG twice a day for 28 days. She analyzed gut bacteria before and after this regimen, and found that ingesting LGG led to increases in several genes that foster several species of gut bacteria, including Bacteroides, Eubacterium, Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus. These microbes have been shown to have a range of benefits in humans, including the promotion of a healthy immune system. (Fraser notes that LGG may also have direct effects, in addition to its ability to modify the overall ecosystem.)

"This is a new idea, that some probiotics may work by affecting the overall ecosystem of the gut," said Prof. Fraser. "Previously we tended to think that LGG and other probiotics worked directly on the host. I think this finding has many exciting implications." For one, Fraser says, it lends support to the idea that we need to look at the microbes in the gut as an interconnected ecosystem rather than a series of solitary bacteria. Modifying the behavior of microbes already in the gut may be just as important as adding any single species to this population.

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Scientists warn about endocrine disruption from 4 common chemicals in an analysis just released. This is absolutely depressing because the 4 chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) are so pervasive in indoor air. Especially that at levels considered "safe" by the EPA there may be disruption of our hormones (endocrine systems).

Of course the 4 chemicals are already known to have health effects on the human body other than what is discussed in this study. For example, toluene has a number of central nervous system effects. The EPA says toluene , which is found in highest concentrations in indoor air from the use of common household products (paints, paint thinners, adhesives, synthetic fragrances, and nail polish). Outside - the biggest source of toluene is from automobile emissions.

Some ways to lower exposure to these 4 chemicals: Read product labels. When using a product that says to use with proper ventilation - open the windows and let the room ventilate!  Don't smoke. (For example: the EPA says tobacco smoke contains benzene and accounts for nearly half the national exposure to benzene) The study researchers themselves said the EPA should be paying more attention to these air contaminants. I read this at Scientific American, but the following excerpts are from EHN.

From EHN: Scientists warn of hormone impacts from benzene, xylene, other common solvents.

Four chemicals present both inside and outside homes might disrupt our endocrine systems at levels considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to an analysis released today. ...continue reading "More Problems With Four Common Chemicals"

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A big question for many adults is: how can one age well and live to a ripe old age? The author of the book The Blue Zones has dedicated a lot of time to studying communities throughout the world where there are a lot of centanarians and they age well (healthy). What are their secrets to aging well? The answer seems to be: while the diets vary, overall they have a lot of plant based whole foods, they have a lot of physical activity, are committed to their families, take time to de-stress, and they have social networks with healthy behaviors. From NPR:

Eating To Break 100: Longevity Diet Tips From The Blue Zones

Want to live to be 100? It's tempting to think that with enough omega-3s, kale and blueberries, you could eat your way there. But one of the key takeaways from a new book on how to eat and live like "the world's healthiest people" is that longevity is not just about food.

The people who live in the Blue Zones — five regions in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the U.S. researchers have identified as having the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world — move their bodies a lot. They have social circles that reinforce healthy behaviors. They take time to de-stress. They're part of communities, often religious ones. And they're committed to their families.

But what they put in their mouths, how much and when is worth a close look, too. And that's why Dan Buettner, a National Geographic explorer and author who struck out on a quest in 2000 to find the lifestyle secrets to longevity, has written a follow up to his original book on the subject. The new book, called The Blue Zones Solution, is aimed at Americans, and is mostly about eating.

Why should we pay attention to what the people in the relatively isolated Blue Zone communities eat? Because, as Buettner writes, their more traditional diets harken back to an era before we Americans were inundated with greasy fast food and sugar. And to qualify as a Blue Zone, these communities also have to be largely free of afflictions like heart disease, obesity, cancer and diabetes. So clearly they're doing something right.

But in a nutshell,Buettner in 2004 rounded up a bunch of anthropologists, demographers, epidemiologists and other researchers to travel around the world to study communities with surprisingly high percentages of centenarians. He and the scientists interviewed hundreds of people who'd made it to age 100 about how they lived, then did a lot of number crunching to figure out what they had in common. A year after that book was published, the team announced they'd narrowed it down to five places that met all their criteria. They gave them official Blue Zone status: Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Ogliastra Region, Sardinia; Loma Linda, Calif.; and Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. 

In the new book, which was released April 7, Buettner distills the researchers' findings on what all the Blue Zones share when it comes to their diet. Here's a taste: - Stop eating when your stomach is 80 percent full to avoid weight gain. - Eat the smallest meal of the day in the late afternoon or evening. - Eat mostly plants, especially beans. And eat meat rarely, in small portions of 3 to 4 ounces. Blue Zoners eat portions this size just five times a month, on average. - Drink alcohol moderately and regularly, i.e. 1-2 glasses a day.

Ikaria, Greece You may remember this Blue Zone from Buettner's wonderful 2012 New York Times Magazine article entitled "The Island Where People Forget To Die." As we've reported, health researchers have long praised the Mediterranean diet for promoting brain and physical health and keeping chronic diseases at bay. 

"Their tradition of preparing the right foods, in the right way, I believe, has a lot to do with the island's longevity," writes Buettner. And "what set it apart from other places in the region was its emphasis on potatoes, goat's milk, honey, legumes (especially garbanzo beans, black-eyed peas, and lentils), wild greens, some fruit and relatively small amounts of fish."Ikaria has a few more "top longevity foods:" feta cheese, lemons and herbs like sage and marjoram that Ikarians use in their daily tea...The Ikarians do eat some goat meat, but not often.

Sardinia, Italy ...Buettner writes that the Sardinians explain their exceptional longevity with their assets such as "clean air," "locally produced wine," or because they "make love every Sunday." But when Buettner brought along a researcher to dig deeper, they found that pastoralism, or shepherding livestock from the mountains to the plains, was most highly correlated with reaching 100.

So what are those ancient Sardinian shepherds eating? You guessed it: goat's milk and sheep's cheese — some 15 pounds of cheese per year, on average. Also, a moderate amount of carbs to go with it, like flat bread, sourdough bread and barley. And to balance those two food groups out, Sardinian centenarians also eat plenty of fennel, fava beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, almonds, milk thistle tea and wine from Grenache grapes.

Loma Linda, Calif. There's a Blue Zone community in the U.S.? We were as shocked to learn this as you may be. Its members are Seventh-day Adventists who shun smoking, drinking and dancing and avoid TV, movies and other media distractions. They also follow a "biblical" diet focused on grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables, and drink only water. ...Another key insight? Pesco-vegetarians in the community, who ate a plant-based diet with up to one serving of fish a day, lived longer than vegan Adventists.Their top foods include avocados, salmon, nuts, beans, oatmeal, whole wheat bread and soy milk.

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There have been a number of studies over the years finding environmental links to testicular cancer (such as some pesticides, smoking, and endocrine disruptors). Now another one - muscle-building supplements with creatine and androstenedione . From Science Daily:

Testicular cancer link found for muscle-building supplements

Men who reported taking muscle-building supplements, such as pills and powders with creatine or androstenedione, reported a significantly higher likelihood of having developed testicular cancer than men who did not use such supplements, according to a new study in theBritish Journal of Cancer. Moreover, said study senior author Tongzhang Zheng, the associated testicular germ cell cancer risk was especially high among men who started using supplements before age 25, those who used multiple supplements and those who used them for years.

"The observed relationship was strong," said Zheng, who led the study at Yale University before joining the Brown University School of Public Health as a professor of epidemiology. "If you used at earlier age, you had a higher risk. If you used them longer, you had a higher risk. If you used multiple types, you had a higher risk." Testicular cancer incidence rose to 5.9 cases per 100,000 men in 2011, from 3.7 cases in 100,000 in 1975, Zheng said. Researchers aren't sure why. The work was inspired by mounting evidence that that at least some supplement ingredients may damage the testes.

To conduct the study, Zheng's research team conducted detailed interviews of nearly 900 men from Massachusetts and Connecticut -- 356 of whom had been diagnosed with testicular germ cell cancer, and 513 who had not. In the interviews, researchers asked the men not only about their supplement use but also about a wide variety of other possible factors such as smoking, drinking, exercise habits, family history of testicular cancer, and prior injury to their testes or groin....The researchers defined "use" as consuming one or more supplements at least once a week for four consecutive weeks or more.

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Macular degeneration is a feared condition, so this study finding a link with calcium supplements and age-related macular degeneration in those 68 and older is a bit alarming. However, it shows association, not causation, because it looked at people only one time. But once again supplements are looking suspect.

Another reason to stick with whole foods, especially leafy greens and fish, and don't smoke. From Medscape:

Calcium Supplementation Associated With Macular Degeneration

Individuals who take more than 800 mg of calcium daily are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as those who did not, according to the results of a new study published online April 9 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Caitlin L. M. Kakigi, BA, from the Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues evaluated 3191 participants in the 2007 to 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) aged 40 years and older, including 248 patients with AMD diagnosed by fundus photography. Each participant was surveyed about consumption of dietary supplements and antacids during the 30-day period preceding trial enrollment.

The researchers found the odds of an AMD diagnosis were elevated among participants who reported taking 800 mg of calcium or more daily....The association was strongest in older people,  for those aged 68 years and older. In fact, there was no association between AMD diagnosis and calcium intake in participants younger than 68 years. The average age of participants with AMD in this study was 67.2 years compared with 55.8 years for those without an AMD diagnosis.

Rahul Khurana, MD, a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a partner at Northern California Retina Vitreous Associates in Mountain View, who was not involved in the study, cautioned that it is an exploratory analysis."It shows association but not causation."

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People are living longer these days, but the desire is to age with mental faculties intact. Thus it is great to find research that looks at how one can increase the odds of not having cognitive problems or dementia in old age.

The research here suggests several things one can do, starting in middle-age, that may help in delaying thinking and memory problems: participating in arts, crafts, socializing, and computer activities. The lead researcher Dr. Roberts said: "The key point we want to get across is that you need to start these activities early"....if you start these activities earlier, perhaps in your 20s, "keep doing them throughout your life; don't stop as you get older."

Note that: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an intermediate stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious decline of dementia. It can involve problems with memory, language, thinking and judgment that are greater than normal age-related changes. From Medical Xpress:

Can arts, crafts and computer use preserve your memory?

People who participate in arts and craft activities and who socialize in middle and old age may delay the development in very old age of the thinking and memory problems that often lead to dementia, according to a new study published in the April 8, 2015, online issue of Neurology.

People age 85 and older make up the fastest growing age group in the United States and worldwide."As millions of older US adults are reaching the age where they may experience these memory and thinking problem called Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), it is important we look to find lifestyle changes that may stave off the condition," said study author Rosebud Roberts, MB, ChB, MS, of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Our study supports the idea that engaging the mind may protect neurons, or the building blocks of the brain, from dying, stimulate growth of new neurons, or may help recruit new neurons to maintain cognitive activities in old age."

The study involved 256 people with an average age of 87 who were free of memory and thinking problems at the start of the study. The participants reported their participation in arts, such as painting, drawing and sculpting; crafts, like woodworking, pottery, ceramics, quilting, quilting and sewing; social activities, such as going to the theater, movies, concerts, socializing with friends, book clubs, Bible study and travel; and computer activities such as using the Internet, computer games, conducting web searches and online purchases.

After an average of four years, 121 people developed mild cognitive impairment. Participants who engaged in arts in both middle and old age were 73 percent less likely to develop MCI than those who did not report engaging in artistic activities. Those who crafted in middle and old age were 45 percent less likely to develop MCI and people who socialized in middle and old age were 55 percent less likely to develop MCI compared to those who did not engage in like activities. Computer use in later life was associated with a 53 percent reduced risk of MCI.

On the other hand, risk factors such as having the APOE gene, having high blood pressure in middle age, depression and risk factors related to blood vessels increased the risk of developing MCI.

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More benefits of exercise or physical activity (this time lowering risk of early death), especially if there are short bursts of vigorous activity. The researchers suggest it for people of all ages.

From Science Daily: Working up a sweat: It could save your life

Physical activity that makes you puff and sweat is key to avoiding an early death, a large study of middle-aged and older adults has found. The researchers followed 204,542 people for more than six years, and compared those who engaged in only moderate activity (such as gentle swimming, social tennis, or household chores) with those who included at least some vigorous activity (such as jogging, aerobics or competitive tennis). They found that the risk of mortality for those who included some vigorous activity was 9 to 13 per cent lower, compared with those who only undertook moderate activity.

"The benefits of vigorous activity applied to men and women of all ages, and were independent of the total amount of time spent being active," said lead author Dr Klaus Gebel from James Cook University's Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention."The results indicate that whether or not you are obese, and whether or not you have heart disease or diabetes, if you can manage some vigorous activity it could offer significant benefits for longevity."

The current advice from the World Health Organization -- and health authorities in countries including the US, UK and Australia -- is for adults to accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.

So who should get huffing and puffing, and how much do you need to do? "Our research indicates that even small amounts of vigorous activity could help reduce your risk of early death," Dr Gebel said."Previous studies indicate that interval training, with short bursts of vigorous effort, is often manageable for older people, including those who are overweight or obese."

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This is part 2 of today's post. This past week I came across two amazing and very different stories, but in both Lyme disease appears. So read with an open mind - because they may or may not work out. But I will say that living in the NY metro area, tick diseases are a big deal, and we all know people who have gotten diseases from ticks. Most get successfully treated with antibiotics, but then there are those people who are suffering years later with all sorts of symptoms .

The following article may be considered speculative by many in raising a Lyme disease and Morgellons disease link, but it is nonetheless very interesting with a famous personality (Joni Mitchell) involved. The mysterious disease has been the subject of much debate, but many doctors and the CDC  think Morgellons disease is actually a delusional infestation or delusions of parasitosis (DOP) - a psychiatric condition in which people falsely believe themselves to be infested. Finally, I give a link to recent research showing a Morgellons disease and Lyme disease link. From MNN:

The mystery surrounding Morgellons disease

Earlier this week, legendary singer Joni Mitchell was rushed to the hospital after fainting at her home in Bel Air, California. While still under observation by doctors, an update provided to fans said the 71-year-old is resting comfortably and that "she continues to improve and get stronger each day." What was not disclosed was the exact illness Mitchell is suffering from, leading to speculation that  Morgellons disease, a health condition she's spoken about in the past, might be responsible. "I have this weird, incurable disease that seems like it's from outer space," she told the LA Times in 2010. "Fibers in a variety of colors protrude out of my skin like mushrooms after a rainstorm: they cannot be forensically identified as animal, vegetable or mineral. Morgellons is a slow, unpredictable killer — a terrorist disease: it will blow up one of your organs, leaving you in bed for a year."  ...continue reading "A Morgellons Disease and Lyme Disease Link?"

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This past week I came across two amazing and very different stories, but in both Lyme disease appears. So read with an open mind - because they may or may not work out. But I will say that living in the NY metro area, tick diseases are a big deal, and we all know people who have gotten diseases from ticks. Most get successfully treated with antibiotics, but then there are those people who are suffering years later. The first article is by Dr. Christie Wilcox (a freelance science writer and postdoctoral researcher). Do go read the whole article for her fascinating account of venoms. From Digg:

Poison As Medicine: How A Bee Sting Saved My Life

“I moved to California to die.” Ellie Lobel was 27 when she was bitten by a tick and contracted Lyme disease. And she was not yet 45 when she decided to give up fighting for survival. Caused by corkscrew-shaped bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, which enter the body through the bite of a tick, Lyme disease is diagnosed in around 300,000 people every year in the United States. It kills almost none of these people, and is by and large curable – if caught in time. If doctors correctly identify the cause of the illness early on, antibiotics can wipe out the bacteria quickly before they spread through the heart, joints and nervous system.

But back in the spring of 1996, Ellie didn’t know to look for the characteristic bull’s-eye rash when she was bitten – she thought it was just a weird spider bite. Then came three months with flu-like symptoms and horrible pains that moved around the body. Ellie was a fit, active woman with three kids, but her body did not know how to handle this new invader. She was incapacitated. “It was all I could do to get my head up off the pillow,” Ellie remembers.

As time wore on, Ellie went to doctor after doctor, each giving her a different diagnosis. Multiple sclerosis. Lupus. Rheumatoid arthritis. Fibromyalgia. None of them realised she was infected with Borrelia until more than a year after she contracted the disease – and by then, it was far too late. Lyme bacteria are exceptionally good at adapting, with some evidence that they may be capable of dodging both the immune system and the arsenal of antibiotics currently available. Borrelia are able to live all over the body, including the brain, leading to neurological symptoms. And even with antibiotic treatment, 10–20 per cent of patients don’t get better right away. There are testimonies of symptoms persisting – sometimes even resurfacing decades after the initial infection – though the exact cause of such post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome is a topic of debate among Lyme scientists.

I just kept doing this treatment and that treatment,” says Ellie. Her condition was constantly worsening....So she packed up everything and moved to California to die. And she almost did. Less than a week after moving, Ellie was attacked by a swarm of Africanised bees....Bees – and some other species in the order Hymenoptera, such as ants and wasps – are armed with a potent sting that many of us are all too aware of. This is their venom, and it’s a mixture of many compounds. Perhaps the most important is a tiny 26-amino-acid peptide called melittin, which constitutes more than half of the venom of honey bees and is found in a number of other bees and wasps. 

“I just went limp. I put my hands up and covered my face because I didn’t want them stinging me in the eyes… The next thing I know, the bees are gone.” When the bees finally dissipated, her caregiver tried to take her to the hospital, but Ellie refused to go... But Ellie didn’t die. Not that day, and not three to four months later...She believes the bees, and their venom, saved her life.

The idea that the same venom toxins that cause harm may also be used to heal is not new. Bee venom has been used as a treatment in East Asia since at least the second century BCE...Despite the wealth of history, the practical application of venoms in modern therapeutics has been minimal....Over the course of the 20th century, suggested venom treatments for a range of diseases have appeared in scientific and medical literature. Venoms have been shown to fight cancer, kill bacteria, and even serve as potent painkillers – though many have only gone as far as animal tests. 

The more we learn about the venoms that cause such awful damage, the more we realise, medically speaking, how useful they can be. Like the melittin in bee venom. Melittin does not only cause pain. In the right doses, it punches holes in cells’ protective membranes, causing the cells to explode. At low doses, melittin associates with the membranes, activating lipid-cutting enzymes that mimic the inflammation caused by heat. But at higher concentrations, and under the right conditions, melittin molecules group together into rings creating large pores in membranes, weakening a cell’s protective barrier and causing the entire cell to swell and pop like a balloon.Because of this, melittin is a potent antimicrobial, fighting off a variety of bacteria and fungi with ease. 

After the attack, Ellie watched the clock, waiting for anaphylaxis to set in, but it didn’t. Instead, three hours later, her body was racked with pains. A scientist by education before Lyme took its toll, Ellie thinks that these weren’t a part of an allergic response, but instead indicated a Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction – her body was being flooded with toxins from dying bacteria. The same kind of thing can happen when a person is cured from a bad case of syphilis. A theory is that certain bacterial species go down swinging, releasing nasty compounds that cause fever, rash and other symptoms. For three days, she was in pain. Then, she wasn’t.“I had been living in this… I call it a brown-out because it’s like you’re walking around in a half-coma all the time with the inflammation of your brain from the Lyme. My brain just came right out of that fog. I thought: I can actually think clearly for the first time in years.”

With a now-clear head, Ellie started wondering what had happened. So she did what anyone else would do: Google it. Disappointingly, her searches turned up very little. But she did find one small 1997 study by scientists at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, who’d found that melittin killed Borrelia. Exposing cell cultures to purified melittin, they reported that the compound completely inhibited Borrelia growth. When they looked more closely, they saw that shortly after melittin was added, the bacteria were effectively paralysed, unable to move as their outer membranes were under attack. Soon after, those membranes began to fall apart, killing the bacteria.

Convinced by her experience and the limited research she found, Ellie decided to try apitherapy, the therapeutic use of materials derived from bees...She started on a regimen of ten stings a day, three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Three years and several thousand stings later, Ellie seems to have recovered miraculously. Slowly, she has reduced the number of stings and their frequency – just three stings in the past eight months, she tells me (and one of those she tried in response to swelling from a broken bone, rather than Lyme-related symptoms). 

Since the 1997 study, no one had looked further into bee venom as a potential cure for Lyme disease, until Ellie. Ellie now runs a business selling bee-derived beauty products called BeeVinity, inspired after, she says, noticing how good her skin looked as she underwent apitherapy.....In addition, she sends some of the venom she purchases – which, due to the cost of the no-harm extraction method she uses, she says is “more expensive than gold” – to Eva Sapi, Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at the University of New Haven, who studies Lyme disease.

Sapi’s research into the venom’s effects on Lyme bacteria is ongoing and as yet unpublished, though she told me the results from preliminary work done by one of her students look “very promising”. Borrelia bacteria can shift between different forms in the body, which is part of what makes them so hard to kill. Sapi has found that other antibiotics don’t actually kill the bacteria but just push them into another form that is more dormant. As soon as you stop the antibiotics, the Borrelia bounce back. Her lab is testing different bee venoms on all forms of the bacteria, and so far, the melittin venom seems effective...And they still don’t really know why the venom works for Ellie, not least because the exact cause of post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms remains unknown. “Is it effective for her because it’s killing Borrelia, or is it effective because it stimulates the immune system?” asks Sapi. It’s still a mystery.