Stephen H. Buhner is a master herbalist who has made some remarkable discoveries when it comes to using herbs to treat Lyme disease. If I ever have the pleasure of meeting him,
I will shower gratitude flowers upon his feet for having introduced me to Japanese knotweed.
This remarkable herb is King when it comes to treating Lyme. An anti-inflammatory, it helps the immune system to combat various infections, since inflammation helps blind the immune system to Borrelia and the activity of other infections in the body. The anti-inflammatory actions are exceptionally useful for Bartonella, which relies upon inflammation for its proliferation. And, as an anti-inflammatory, japanese knotweed relieves symptoms of arthritis.
Next, it modulates and enhances immune function in a number of ways, and is an anti-everything; anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral. It is known to kill some varieties of spirochetes, and that may even include Borrelia (though data on its effectiveness as a Borrelia killer is unknown to me).
But this is just the beginning. Japanese knotweed protects the body against neurotoxin damage, so that central nervous system symptoms are reduced, at the same time that it increases blood flow and transport of Lyme treatments to hard-to-reach areas of the body, such as the eye, heart, skin and joints.
It is an antioxidant that also helps to reduce Herxheimer reactions. I could go on and on, but I’ll finish my rave of knotweed by stating that it protects the heart and helps reduce symptoms of Lyme carditis.
Finally, I should mention that much of japanese knotweed’s actions are due to resveratrol and trans-resveratrol, two active constituents of the herb. (Red wine contains resveratrol, BTW. Perhaps it’s part of the reason why the Mediterranean folk are healthier than us? Hmmm!)