LymeBlog - What's with this salt/Vitamin C Lyme disease cure?

LymeBlog News
Lexington, KY USA
By Rita Stanley, LymeBlog News contributor

Open to Debate is a column on LymeBlog News designed to get you thinking by Rita L. Stanley, Ph.D.

XY wrote: What I've been finding is the use of large amounts of salt and Vitamin C will cure lyme [sic] disease. Is this true? Here is a report that I bought for $30.00. (30 page e-report attached)

AB wrote:…would appreciate it if you could go into this salt cure…tired of hearing I must try something or I can’t comment on it… Thanks.

The short answer is taking large amounts of salt and Vitamin C will not cure Lyme disease. Doing so can even be harmful. And yes, there are sites, testimonials and books that promote and enable this so-called ‘cure’ or protocol.

No, you don’t have to try something to discuss or heartily debate it or to try to get legitimate answers. The common ploy of “don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it” is a tiresome hustle to discourage critique and common sense.

The ball is ALWAYS in the court of anyone who is trying to make you do something, sell you something. Someone may have the effrontery, but never any authority, to silence you especially about your health care. Sites that discourage intelligent discussion, delete posts, use ploys to control and convince, employ long pseudoscience posts, or don’t address adverse health consequences are the domains of very questionable health advice.

Open to Debate A column on LymeBlog News by Rita Stanley. Rita Stanley, Ph.D., has taught and done original research in the areas of physiology and biochemistry. She has published in leading scientific journals and is the co-author of Confronting Lyme Disease: What Patient Stories Teach Us. Her background as a former Lyme disease patient, support group leader for a decade, and advisor to the Lyme Alliance, Inc. give her an insider's viewpoint on the personal toll or this complex tick-borne infection.

Rita L. Stanley, Ph.D.

Open to Debate: A column on LymeBlog News designed to get you thinking.

Suggest a topic or idea. Ask a hard question. Start a discussion. Don't expect black and white answers if there aren't any.

I'll field your questions, research a topic that you suggest, or play devil's advocate if that is what you want. I'll explain medical or scientific terms that have got you confused.

A good topic lends itself to more questions and should make you think, not take anyone's word as definitive, including mine.

So, go ahead and challenge me with your ideas and questions at Opentodebate@lymeblog.com .

I'll keep your name confidential unless you want otherwise.

Rita L. Stanley, Ph.D.
Portland, Oregon

Rita Stanley, Ph.D., has taught and done original research in the areas of physiology and biochemistry. She has published in leading scientific journals and is the co-author of Confronting Lyme Disease: What Patient Stories Teach Us available at ConfrontingLyme.com.

Her background as a former Lyme disease patient, support group leader for a decade, and advisor to the Lyme Alliance, Inc. give her an insider's viewpoint on the personal toll of this complex tick-borne infection.

Visit the original site http://www.lymephotos.com/ where all the salt/ Vitamin C hoopla started. Sadly, it has always looked like a very sick Internet joke to me—an encouragement, even—to delusional thinking. Beyond the strange precept that Lyme patients are full of worms and parasites—backed by odd photos—one concept after another is not only beyond reason but smacks of a perverted sense of humor, such as:

Cows somehow avoid getting Lyme disease because of their love for salt.
Slugs are killed when salt is put on them; this same idea can be applied to killing internal parasites and worms in the human body.
The treated person will feel—but not see—parasites or worms coming out of his body
The anonymous author describes worms coming out of his ears and head.

There is more of course, but beyond the physiological implausibility of the claims and the fantastical musings, the author irresponsibly encourages a potentially harmful treatment to children, the elderly and those of ...

unknown medical status.

One may argue you can do anything you want to your own body. Fine. But submitting children, the elderly and other dependents with no real say in the matter to something like this is unconscionable. In fact, feeding salt to children to the point of illness has occurred in cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

The e-pamphlet (30 pages) sent to me didn’t bother with the worm concept—perhaps it was too difficult to justify or it was simply too much even for the author. However, he does mention how salt “ruptures” Borrelia, using “science-speak”. The explanation falls under the “if you can’t convince ‘em, confuse ‘em” category and could be viewed as a classic example of pseudoscience , mixing fact, fancy words, and fantasy to come to a fantastical conclusion.

Even if you do not understand basic electrolyte balance in the body—how the body regulates sodium chloride and other ionic substances—the author’s basic conjecture is easily questioned anyway: why do Lyme spirochetes ‘rupture’ yet no other cells in the body do the same?

Electrolyte balance which includes the body’s regulation of sodium is not simple and involves organs such as the kidneys, lungs, adrenals. An increase in sodium intake will result in the body immediately working at normalizing sodium by a number of mechanisms. No pockets of sodium are going to exist where Borrelia hide anyway to cause any “ruptures”.

If you feel it is magical and works anyway. Fine, stick with that.

Illnesses can happen, of course, from electrolyte imbalances or electrolyte imbalances can occur in certain diseases. Acute situations, such as vomiting, diarrhea, profuse sweating and chronic problems (e.g. hormone imbalances) are simple examples of where this can occur. Drugs, including diuretics, specific antidepressants (SSRI’s), and some anticonvulsants can also cause problems.

If you suspect you have an electrolyte imbalance, see a physician who should evaluate you thoroughly and should include checking the medicines and supplements you are taking. Check the adverse reactions of your medications as a possible cause while you are at it. This kind of stuff is too complex to fool around with. Chugging salt is not the answer.

What about the origins and author of the Lyme salt cure site ; who is behind all of this? A LymeNet Europe member addressed this in what is titled The Hocus Pocus of the Salt & Vitamin C Protocol.

Excerpt:

“Although the authors of lymephotos.com wish to remain anonymous, one of their names is mentioned several times on the "Lyme Strategies" forum: Nancy Stone, who registered lymephotos.com. In April, 2007, Marc Fett wrote in a message found on http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/lymestrategies/message/50721:

quote:

Thought y'all might be interested in a note excerpt from one of the
Lymephotos's founders of the S/C protocol, my dear friend, Nancy

So, Nancy Stone is friends with someone who seems to profit monetarily from her work? That's odd, because the statement on lymephotos.com says: “We have no connections to, do not endorse, and do not really enjoy others trying to profit monetarily from our work”.

There has also been a Nancy Stone who posted on the newsgroup sci.psychology.psychotherapy several years ago. It could be a different person, but she started a very striking thread called "why testimonials are unreliable" in March, 1999. In her first post she wrote:

quote:

   Following is an excerpt from today's listing of science results in the
   news, provided by the listserv generated by Sigma Xi, the scientific
   honor society. I think it illustrates the dangers of relying upon
   untested remedies. It also illustrates that anything can gain
   testimonial support, no matter how ineffective.

   Nancy
-----------------------------------------------

VITAMIN O PRODUCTS ARE FRAUD, AGENCY SAYS
from The New York Times

The Federal Trade Commission has accused two companies of bottling salt water, labeling it "Vitamin O" and selling it as a dietary supplement for $10 an ounce. The agency said the companies claimed that the product would treat cancer, high blood pressure, lung disease, headaches, infections, colds, flu and other ailments.

In advertisements in USA Today and other newspapers, and on the Internet, the companies -- Rose Creek Health Products Inc. and The Staff of Life Inc., in Kettle Falls, Wash. -- have asserted that their product "purifies your bloodstream, maximizes nutrients, eliminates poisons and toxins."

A testimonial on the companies' Web site, supposedly from someone with lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease, states: "Three days after starting the Vitamin O, I threw my cane away. In November, we went to Arizona and I bought myself a bicycle."
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/science/sci-fraud-vitamin.html

In her second post in the same thread she wrote:

quote:

   When someone wishes to make lots of money without providing value, why
   bother pouring saltwater into jars? You can make just as much money
   talking without the hassle of manufacturing any product. The main
   drawback is that people are more suspicious when there is nothing
   concrete being given them for their money. Thus the need to invent
   some hocus-pocus that will make sense unless you inspect it too
   closely. You tell me why an anecdote is useless when it comes to
   testing pharmaceuticals, but not when it comes to talk therapy. Do
   you think people are less accurate in monitoring their physical states
   than their mental ones?

   Nancy

Now, doesn't that apply just perfectly to lymephotos.com and fettnet.com?! “

---------------------------------------------

When your health is paramount, I urge a healthy sense of skepticism and a belief that you can understand basics about health care. Be as savvy a medical consumer as possible. The Internet is awash with fantastical health “cures”; it’s wise to check if they fit in with your philosophy of reasonableness.

Additional reading (just a start):

Introduction to water and electrolyte balance:

http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_ha/sec3/ch18/ch18a.html

Problems with electrolyte balance: http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_ha/sec3/ch18/ch18d.html

RN web: Restoring electrolyte balance:

http://www.rnweb.com/rnweb/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=158213

Some health effects—and further links—of excessive salt ingestion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt#Health_effects

The Hocus Pocus of the Salt & Vitamin C Protocol(thread on Lymeflash)

http://www.lymeneteurope.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=56

The information in this column is for educational purposes only. Consult your health care provided for you health concerns.

This article was first published November 24, 2007 on LymeBlog

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Open to Debate is a column on LymeBlog News designed to get you thinking by Rita L. Stanley, Ph.D.