According to the Center for Disease Control’s data, more than 300,000 people suffer from Lyme disease every year. The disease affects all races, genders, and age groups equally, and it is most commonly spread by deer ticks and black-legged ticks. Lyme disease is found in all of the continental states of the US, as well as in 60 other countries around the world.
Lyme disease negatively affects most of our organs. This includes our nervous system, brain, heart, as well as joints and muscles. Common symptoms of this disease are fever-like, and they include:
- Fever
- Muscle pain
- Chills and sweats
- Nausea
- Rash
- Joint pain
The most common method of dealing with Lyme disease is by using antibiotics. What is not commonly known is that antibiotics aren’t able to eliminate the cause of Lyme disease; they only deal with the symptoms. This leaves us with slight chances of experiencing fatal consequences of the bacterial infection, as it fasters in our body.
When it comes to completely eliminating the underlying cause of Lyme disease, which is the bacterial infection transmitted to us through the tick attack, there have been some promising recent research results.
A preliminary study conducted at the Department of Biology and Environmental Science at the University of New Haven, found that whole stevia leaves are more potent than antibiotics in eliminating the bacterial infection that causes Lyme disease. Researchers from Connecticut found that the pathogens responsible for causing Lyme disease are highly resistant to antibiotics, while whole stevia leaf extracts were effective against all known morphological forms of this bacteria.
While conducting the research, it was found that up to 1/5 of the subjects treated with antibiotics exhibited major side-effects during the 4-week treatment period. These side-effects included fatigue and increased muscle and joint pain, which in some cases lasted for 6 months.
The scientists explain that, due to the combination of numerous phytochemicals and antimicrobial elements, stevia leaf extract are effective against this, and many other pathogens. The results of this study point to the effectiveness of stevia extract in eliminating bacteria-caused health issues, triggering a global interest in finding out what else can stevia treat and cure.
The results of this study are very promising for those suffering from Lyme disease, even though it was just a preliminary, preclinical study. There is more work to be done, and the current state of the matters points to stevia’s potential to treat many other conditions that we commonly use antibiotics for, such as flu and common cold. This information leads to hope when it comes to recent stories about our over-use of antibiotics and the antibiotic resistance that we are expected to develop in the near future.
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