Page 65 - Spring2015

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections: If the immune system is weak, no treatment or
Complementary and Holistic Treatments drug will make any difference. Mycoplasmas
for Bartonella and Mycoplasma can survive pasteurization. There are very long,
by Stephen Harrod Buhner detailed explanations about how they evade im-
Healing Arts Press mune system attacks, spread from one body to
another, and drain nutrients from those infected
If you tell the average person you have a bodies. They scavenge essential vitamins, includ-
book that contains all known information about ing vitamin A, amino acids lipids, and minerals.
Bartonella and mycoplasma, the first question They are pleomorphic—they can take on differ-
will probably be, “What is Bartonella?” If you ent forms when it suits them. They are capable of
make it through the answer to that question with- rapid genetic variation and have been implicated
out triggering more questions, the next question in the development of cancer. These little bugs
will be “What is mycoplasma?” Chances are that are stubborn, devious and difficult.
even your average doctor doesn’t know much That’s the bad news. So what’s the good
about them and couldn’t answer these questions. news? There is a treatment protocol. One key is
The items in question are two very oppor- that mycoplasma is due first and foremost to a
tunistic, highly adaptable, intracellular parasites nutrient deficiency. Nutrition is an important part
that often show up in people with Lyme disease. of the recovery protocol. Scavenged nutrients
They can commandeer your immune system for must be replaced. In addition to nutrition there
their own nefarious purposes. They complicate are numerous herbs that can disrupt mycoplasma
both symptoms and treatment. They can have a infections. Buhner does not seem to think it is
big party all over your body and while they are a coincidence that some of those herbs that can
having fun, you’re not. help with these widespread health problems are
While you may not have heard much about thriving, invasive species. He tells us that if we
these things, they are quite common and have hear of a plant that is going to destroy the country,
been around for a long time. Right on the first ask yourself, “What medicinal qualities does it
page of his book's introduction Buhner points have?”
out that the numbers from the CDC are, as usual, Buhner does talk about treatment with anti-
very different from reality. Imagine that. The biotics. If you must use that option, it is important
CDC is at war with bacteria but doesn’t collect that the doctor know what he is dealing with and
very accurate information on it. Referring to how to deal with it. The wrong antibiotics will do
the war on bacteria, David Livermore (bacterial nothing. The right antibiotics will also do nothing
resistance researcher and physician) has said, “It in the long run if you don’t understand how these If we hear of
is naïve to think we can win.” bacteria can hide in bones or other places until a plant that
Buhner brings up another good point from the antibiotics are gone—and then they pick up
Buckminster Fuller, which is that American where they left off. is going to
students are taught information that is fifty to This book is good but it is not an easy read. It destroy the
one hundred years out of date. These observa- is long and goes into extensive detail. You know country, ask
tions may explain the general state of research you’re in trouble when you start seeing Greek
in America today. letters—a lot of them. The author does have a yourself, “What
Buhner goes into detailed explanations of sense of humor but you won’t find a big laugh medicinal
mycoplasma first. It is tiny. Four thousand can on every page unless you are easily amused by qualities does
fit into one red blood cell. There are many differ- the Greek alphabet. The thumb is UP.
ent strains and they cause even more symptoms. Review by Tim Boyd it have?”
Wise Traditions SPRING 2015 Wise Traditions 63

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