I get ScienceDaily’s RSS daily feed which puts out breaking science news for free (sign up for ScienceDaily’s RSS feed or email updates to get their latest science headlines on their site) and this morning I saw I really interesting article on cranberry juice and its ability to dissolve bacterial biofilms! So why is this important for those of us with Lyme disease? Biofilms are formed when bacteria join forces by clinging together and form a matrix that can be hundreds of times more drug resistant than when the bacteria are apart. Biofilms are implicated in many chronic bacterial infections, estimated at upwards of 80% of all microbial infections. Recently, researchers proved their hunch that the Lyme disease causing spirochetes form biofilms which can be a piece to why people develop chronic Lyme disease.
So, back to the article on cranberry juice. A recent study may have cracked the code in why cranberry juice is often effective in treating urinary tract infections. Using strains of E.coli, the researchers found that cranberry juice prevented the E.coli from forming biofilms by preventing the bacteria from sticking to one another as well as from sticking to the petri dish; again, a biofilm is a thin slimy layer that enables bacteria to grow and flourish so that the infection takes hold. Thus, since biofilms are implicated in Lyme disease, perhaps cranberry juice would be a prudent addition to the antibiotic or alternative treatment arsenal! **I would recommend you use sugar free organic cranberry juice or even in supplement form of cranberry concentrate in veggicaps.
Try frozen cranberries. They are tart and all you need is to chew on one berry at a time. I found this works better for me to fight infections than the capsules.
Thanks for sharing this tip!