Dr. Kyle Warren
Meghan Feir Walker
In my practice, I’ve found herbs and nutraceuticals to be the superior option in combating chronic Lyme disease and co-infections and helping patients restore their health. One of the herbs I routinely like to use is Japanese knotweed. This herb has proven to be one of the most successful herbs for supporting patients with tick-borne diseases, particularly for those with Lyme and Bartonella.
In this article, we’ll cover how and why Japanese knotweed is so essential in the fight against Lyme and Bartonella, and how it can provide immense help for patients with long-term symptoms.
When Lyme Disease Doesn’t Fully Resolve
For most people, the long-term effects of Lyme disease are felt in their joints and nervous system, but others experience heart-related symptoms. Bartonella patients often experience heart-related symptoms as well, along with neuropathy, mental health challenges, and other disturbing issues.
When tick-borne bacteria and/or parasites are hurting parts of your body, we want to be able to get rid of the bugs, help your immune system calm down, and then repair the parts of your body that took the brunt of the damage so you can live your healthiest life.
Understanding the long-term effects of Lyme disease and Bartonella
Microbial persistence, biofilms, and complex microbial communities
While antibiotics can be effective for a short time after initially getting infected, once Lyme has entered a chronic state, it’s much harder to kill. This is because it creates protective biofilms that protect the bacteria from antibiotics. With time, Bartonella also enters more resistant forms that are much harder to kill than when you first get infected.
These more resistant biofilm-protected forms are what lead to long-term symptoms, like pain, fatigue, headaches, and a plethora of neurological symptoms.
In 2020 and 2021, Johns Hopkins conducted studies with Japanese knotweed that showed its effectiveness in killing Lyme bacteria. In 2021, they also demonstrated that Japanese knotweed is effective against Bartonella bacteria.
In my own experience, I have found Japanese knotweed to be an even more effective killer for Bartonella than for Lyme. At the very least, more patients experience Herxheimer reactions with Japanese knotweed and Bartonella than my patients who only have Lyme. However, it’s an immensely helpful herb for helping lower inflammation caused by both Lyme and Bartonella.
Common long-term effects of Lyme and Bartonella
Along with other complications these infections can cause, immune imbalance leading to chronic inflammation often creates a wide array of symptoms, including:
- Fatigue
- Joint pain
- Neurological changes
- Neuropathy
- Heart-related symptoms
- Cognitive shifts
- Sleep issues
- Mood disorders
- Etc.
Why some people continue to struggle
The role of co-infections
It’s important to remember that the majority of the time, when a person develops chronic Lyme, they aren’t just fighting Lyme alone. Their bodies are bombarded with multiple enemy attacks. About 93% of chronic Lyme patients are also fighting at least one co-infection. When you combine co-infections with Lyme, they both become much more powerful and harder on your body. Lyme plus Babesia, Lyme plus Bartonella, Lyme plus Anaplasma, or Lyme plus Powassan virus will make it that much harder for your body to defeat these intruders on its own.
Because it is so effective at killing various types of bacteria and supports so many functions in the body, using natural antimicrobial herbs like Japanese knotweed in a protocol is essential, especially when you’re fighting multiple infections.
What is Japanese knotweed?
If you Google “Japanese knotweed,” you’ll quickly find out it’s both a nuisance and a godsend.
While it’s listed as an invasive species, it’s also a wonder herb containing resveratrol, other polyphenols, and various compounds that support the heart, brain, skin, liver, digestion, and immune system.
How Japanese knotweed may support individuals with long-term effects
Thanks to its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, Japanese knotweed provides incredible support for patients while also offering ample ammunition against infections. Its antimicrobial properties make it an effective killer for infections like Lyme and Bartonella.
Since Lyme, Bartonella, and other tick-borne infections can cause intense long-term symptoms, the extra support Japanese knotweed provides for various areas in the body makes it a vital asset to most protocols.
The anti-inflammatory properties of Japanese knotweed
Anyone with chronic Lyme or Bartonella knows what systemic inflammation feels like. With a chronically inflamed immune system, one part of it is underactive, which is why you’re unable to clear the infection on your own. However, another part of your immune system is overactive, creating massive inflammation.
One of the most important aspects of Japanese knotweed is its ability to shut down many of the pathways bacteria use to generate inflammatory cytokines in the immune system. Containing resveratrol and other important polyphenols, Japanese knotweed has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that protect against oxidative stress and reduce inflammation.
This herb can support healthy immune system function and can inhibit both the LOX and COX pathways that drive inflammation and pain. It can also regulate NF-kappa B (NF-kB). If it’s too low, it can raise it. If it’s too high, it can lower it.
Lyme often gets confused with autoimmune diseases. Although the primary therapy in medicine for autoimmune diseases is to suppress the immune system, we don’t want to suppress the immune system. We want it to help us fight the infections. We want to rebalance the immune system, and Japanese knotweed helps restore this balance.
Japanese knotweed for vascular support
Japanese knotweed supports cardiovascular health by promoting healthy blood vessel function, circulation, and heart health. Along with the heart, this also benefits microcirculation in the brain, eyes, knees, and skin.
While Lyme can create inflammation in the circulatory system, Bartonella is famous for it. Bartonella prefers to live in the endothelial lining of blood vessels, which creates cardiovascular inflammation. Heart palpitations, lightheadedness, chest pain, and shortness of breath are common problems for those suffering from tick-borne illnesses, especially Bartonella. While Babesia is most associated with shortness of breath, Bartonella can commonly cause this miserable symptom as well. Thankfully, Japanese knotweed can counteract some of this inflammation and has been shown to benefit the entire cardiovascular system.
Whether it’s inflammation in the eyes, knees, skin, brain, or heart, Japanese knotweed is an excellent aid.
The neuroprotective properties of Japanese knotweed
In my practice, 99% of the patients I’m working with have tick-borne infections, and 75-80% of these patients are dealing with neuroborreliosis, aka neurological Lyme. I rarely have a patient who just has Lyme in the joints and mitochondria without it affecting the brain. Japanese knotweed’s ability to reduce inflammation inside the brain makes this herb a perfect pairing for Lyme patients.
Japanese knotweed has been shown to reduce brain and central nervous system inflammation, which is extremely important when we're dealing with neuroborreliosis.
Studies have demonstrated its ability to protect against motor neuron degradation in Parkinson's disease models and to reduce beta amyloid plaquing in the frontal cortex (which enables you to remember things and focus). Shown to improve cognitive function and mood, it can also protect against other neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s.
An additional bonus is Japanese knotweed’s ability to increase BDNF, a brain growth hormone that helps your brain heal and reconnect after damage has been done.
These benefits are perfect for Lyme patients who often have issues with memory, focus, and word recall.
Another study showed that when you put stress on the brain, you negatively affect three specific areas: the frontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus. Japanese knotweed has been shown to protect all three of those parts in the brain.
Hippocampus: Memory, Stress, & Sleep
The hippocampus is responsible for stress, timing, your sleep-wake cycle, and memory. These factors are where so many symptoms manifest. When this area is affected, stress tolerance becomes low, sleep issues persist, energy cycles start to change, and brain fog makes it incredibly difficult to think.
Frontal lobe: Brain Power!
The frontal lobe is in charge of executive functions, such as thinking and processing. It’s where your brain makes decisions and controls your mood.
Hypothalamus: The neuro-hormone connection
When neuro-inflammation affects the hypothalamus, it messes up its ability to send proper nerve signals into hormone signals. The hypothalamus is in charge of communicating with the pituitary gland, and the pituitary gland then communicates with your endocrine system. This is why around 75% of my patients with chronic Lyme have hormonal imbalances. It’s the domino effect of inflammation.
Japanese knotweed can help support and heal all three of these areas.
Many of my patients with chronic Lyme say they feel like their “brains got old overnight.” From poor word recall and brain fog to major short-term memory issues, inflammation has affected their brains, impairing these necessary functions. But study after study shows that Japanese knotweed can help the parts of the brain affected by Lyme and Bartonella.
In one study conducted on 46 people, Japanese knotweed was shown to help patients with word recall, a huge issue for patients with chronic Lyme. Imaging from the subjects showed a significant increase in the size and function of their hippocampi, which is immensely important for improving short-term memory.
Another study showed that Japanese knotweed can significantly help cognitive impairment in mice, preventing brain decay that happens with aging.
Japanese knotweed protects mitochondrial health
On a cellular level, your mitochondria produce energy. When the mitochondria aren’t able to function as they should, your energy and every function in your body are affected.
Japanese knotweed has been shown to help alleviate the oxidative stress that happens to mitochondria and can improve mitochondrial membrane and energy potential. It supports the health of mitochondria, so we can produce energy without the system breaking down.
Japanese knotweed provides endothelial support
Endothelial cells line blood vessels, and many of the symptoms that occur with Lyme and Bartonella infections (especially Bartonella) come from damage to connective tissue. Bartonella, in particular, loves to set up house in endothelial tissue, causing a cascade of symptoms.
When you have neurological symptoms, it should immediately sound off the alarm that there could be a compromised blood-brain barrier. Inflammation can break down the blood-brain barrier, leading to leaky gut, leaky brain, and the major neurological symptoms that follow.
This is yet another major area Japanese knotweed can defend and support. It’s been shown in studies to reduce specific inflammation, like CD40 (an immune system receptor) expression in endothelial cells caused by Lyme and Bartonella. It can also help block the inflammation created by TNF-alpha, a chemical messenger that can instigate inflammation.
Since the blood-brain barrier is comprised of endothelial cells, Japanese knotweed’s support can be a crucial step in recovering from ongoing inflammation.
This incredible herb has also been shown to promote healthy angiogenesis, which is the formation of new blood vessels. Japanese knotweed helps regulate blood flow by promoting healthy blood flow to places we need it and inhibiting blood flow to places we don't want it (which suppresses tumor formation).
Individuals living with long-term effects of Lyme disease
There are various reasons why I prefer herbs and nutraceuticals over antibiotics for helping patients with Lyme and co-infections, and Japanese knotweed is the perfect example. It not only kills bacteria, but it also supports various systems in the body. From improving nerve, brain, and circulatory issues to helping digestion, lowering inflammation, and supporting mitochondrial health, Japanese knotweed is an incredible aid in Lyme and Bartonella protocols.
While you can't take Japanese knotweed alone and expect it to cure every tick-borne infection, it's an essential piece of our protocols and is generally tolerated well by most patients.
You can get over Lyme and co-infections
You can get over chronic Lyme, co-infections, and help your immune system become more balanced with a comprehensive, functional approach. Your body can heal once the right pieces are identified and addressed.
At Restorative Health Solutions, we specialize in uncovering root causes and helping patients rebuild from the inside out. We would love to help you in our clinic heal and live a healthy life. Reach out to our clinic and set up your free consultation with one of our team members. They will go through your history, symptoms, and next steps with you.
To learn more about Lyme disease and co-infections, check out our Lyme page and blog.
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Sources
Feng Jie , Leone Jacob , Schweig Sunjya , Zhang Ying. Evaluation of Natural and Botanical Medicines for Activity Against Growing and Non-growing Forms of B. burgdorferi. Front. Med., 20 February 2020. Sec. Infectious Diseases – Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment. Volume 7 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.00006
Ma, Xiao1; Leone, Jacob2; Schweig, Sunjya3; Zhang, Ying4. Botanical Medicines With Activity Against Stationary Phase Bartonella henselae. Infectious Microbes & Diseases 3(3):p 158-167, September 2021. | DOI: 10.1097/IM9.0000000000000069
