Veganism: A Flawed Solution

Will Appleton • December 8, 2019


Will Appleton

3 December 2019

Veganism: A Flawed Solution


My mother is a functional medicine physician who treats her patients by examining the

root causes of their disease and pain. Her holistic approach seeks to explore the internal and

external factors which could be causing harm to a human. In doing so, she has found that the

food which we consume is vital for both treating a wide variety of diseases and supporting lifelong

health. While it may be shocking, patients who come to her already on a vegan diet are

often the least healthy. This personal experience of hers is contrary to much of the media rhetoric

surrounding veganism. A strict vegan diet excludes consumption of all animal-based products,

and many claim that it is a solution to the declining health of Americans and the environment.

This conflict between my mother’s clinical experience and the media portrayal of veganism calls

into question the true impacts of a vegan diet. This paper examines the effects of veganism on

health and the environment to portray how it is an unsustainable long-term diet. Thus, a more

diverse plant-based diet including animal proteins, also known as a “pegan” diet, is healthier and

more environmentally sustainable.


Abstaining from meat has been a dietary choice of people since early times. However, the

first modern vegans were established in November of 1944 when Donald Watson met with five

other non-dairy vegetarians to further delve into vegetarian diets and lifestyles. The group

decided to coin the term “vegan” to replace what had been commonly referred to as “non-dairy

vegetarians” (“History”). These pioneer vegans defined their mission as “[seeking] an end to the

use of animals by man for food commodities, work, hunting, vivisection, and by all other uses

involving exploitation of animal life by man” (“History”). In the early 2000s, there was a rise in

media coverage of the environmentally damaging, unhealthy, and inhumane practices of the

United States meat industry. Expository works such as Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the

All-American Meal, a novel published in 2001, and Food, Inc., a documentary released in 2008,

displayed the horrors of the meat industry. Increased awareness of American food practices

combined with the media coverage of declining human and environmental health led to an

increase in the popularity of veganism as it promised a solution to health and environmental

problems associated with the meat industry. This rise is displayed by a six-hundred percent

increase in the number of American vegans from 2014 to 2017 (Forgrieve). Vegans have chosen

to modify their diets to follow the founders of modern veganism to reduce animal suffering,

improve their health, and support environmental change. Although this appears to be well

reasoned, it is essential to examine veganism’s impact on a national and individual level.


The absence of dietary animal protein can cause many vegans to struggle with nutritional

deficiencies leading to long term health consequences. A study of adult females in Northwest

England found that vegans have a significantly lower intake of the critical micronutrients of

vitamin D, vitamin B12, selenium, and iodine when compared to the general population (Fallon,

et al. E38). These nutritional deficiencies have also been found in Danish vegans who have

statistically significant deficiencies in vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B12, vitamin D, iodine, and

selenium. In contrast, those consuming an omnivorous diet do not have such deficiencies

(Kristensen, et al. 6). Vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness, dry and scaly skin, and

decreased immune health in the respiratory tract, gut, and urinary tract. Furthermore, severe

deficiencies of Vitamin A can lead to cancer in these areas of the body. Riboflavin (B2) has been

found to negatively impact the reproduction of intestinal cells leading to malabsorption issues in

the gastrointestinal tract. Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to pernicious anemia, a deadly

condition characterized by low red blood cells, and polyneuropathy, a form of nerve damage or

disease (Kristensen, et al. 6-7). A deficiency in vitamin D can decrease the body’s ability to

absorb calcium and phosphorus which can impact bone metabolism. The replacement of mature

bone tissue with new bone tissue is a dynamic and vital process to ensure bone health, especially

at later stages in life (Gani and How 433). Based on the potential for these micronutrient

deficiencies to lead to serious health problems, it is clear that a vegan diet is not sufficient to

adequately support optimal human health.


In a vegan diet, soy, corn, and wheat are staple products and are often necessary for

vegans to receive adequate daily protein and other macronutrient intakes. As a result, the food

industry has begun to create plant-based meat substitutes that provide crucial protein. For

example, a recent innovation in vegan alternatives is the Impossible Burger, a soy-based

substitute that tastes and bleeds like beef, thus appealing to those focused on making plant-based

ethical food choices. Impossible Foods Inc., the producer of the impossible burger, aims to

reduce the destructive impact of the meat industry on the environment. However, the production

of staple vegan crops like soy is not conducive to sustaining the planet. Insects are vital players

in the Earth’s ecosystem, and Francisco Sánchez-Bayo, an environmental scientist and ecologist

at the University of Sydney, headed a study examining the extinction of insects worldwide and

found that “over 40% of insect species are threatened with extinction.” The primary drivers of

this decline are “habitat loss and conversion to intensive agriculture and urbanization… [which

increase] pollution, mainly that by synthetic pesticides and fertilizers” (Sánchez-Bayo and

Wyckhuys 8). Intensive agriculture and synthetic pesticides and fertilizers relate directly to the

production of the infamous Impossible Burger and other soy plant-based protein substitutes.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 94 percent of soybeans in the United

States are herbicide-tolerant (“Recent Trends in GE Adoption”). Thus, the soybeans which

almost all vegans are consuming are genetically engineered to be resistant to toxic chemicals like

Roundup. Clearly, the production of these “eco-friendly” burgers has a more significant

environmental cost than initially perceived, as their production eliminates insects that are

essential in ecosystems as these insects are food for other organisms, pollinators, and recycle

nutrients back into ecosystems.


Veganism does not optimally utilize all of the Earth’s land to feed growing populations.

The land which is used to produce food is different in its biological make-up; therefore, the

assumption that intensive agriculture is environmentally sustainable on all lands is false and

actually leads to inefficient and potentially harmful food production. There are three primary

types of land: grazing land where animals are raised in open pastures and grass-fed; perennial

cropland where longer growth crops are harvested multiple times before they die; and cultivated

cropland where vegetables, fruits, and nuts can be produced (Purdy). When examining the land

impact of 10 different American diets in the study “Carrying capacity of U.S agricultural land:

Ten diet scenarios,” the vegan diet was found to be less efficient in food production than a 40

percent omnivorous diet, a 20 percent omnivorous diet, an ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet which

includes egg and dairy products, and a lactovegetarian diet which only includes dairy products

(Peters, et al. 11). The vegan diet was found to be capable of utilizing approximately 71 percent

of the available cropland in the United States and completely fails to use any perennial cropland

or grazing land (Peters, et al. 10). While one may assume that decreasing land usage is positive

and will allow vegan food production to flourish in the future, it is important to understand that

the lands which vegans currently do not use cannot be utilized for healthy sustainable vegetable

production in the future. While open pasture animal grazing utilizes “the largest fraction of land

… [they] are often grown on non-arable land. Thus, reducing the most land-intensive products in

the diet does not necessarily equate to freeing up land for cultivation” (Peters, et al. 2).


Veganism’s ability to sustain high levels of food production is contingent on healthy croplands

which must yield high amounts of produce. This lack of diversity and ability to expand vegan

crop production makes matching increasing food demand associated with the United States and

world population growth difficult and unpredictable. If farming techniques are not properly

controlled and lands are over-plowed, crops are not properly rotated, or there is a natural disaster,

food production would significantly decline and negatively impacting large populations. Also,

the impact of herbicides and pesticides on food production is relevant when examining quantities

of vegan food production. The use of dangerous chemicals is widespread in the United States,

and food production has become dependent on these chemicals to maintain high crop yields (“A

Look at Fertilizer and Pesticide Use in the US”). Since vegan food production cannot efficiently

or sustainably occur on these differing land types, more pesticides, herbicides, and genetically

modified food sources must be utilized to meet demand. If this diet is adopted on a widespread

basis, food production could fall below demand, requiring an increase in the production of

unhealthy genetically modified foods to match demand.


Veganism is not the solution to improving human and environmental health. However,

the meat industry in the United States is also not environmentally sustainable or healthy.

Livestock production in the United States is dominated by large corporations that prioritize

profits over human and environmental health. The primary environmental impacts which are

associated with the production of meat are greenhouse gas emissions and water usage.

Worldwide livestock production accounts for approximately 14.5 percent of the total emissions

of these harmful gasses (Grossi et al. 69). Meat production consumes around one-third of all

water used for agriculture. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations from 2013 to 2017, the agricultural sector in the United States accounted for 40 percent

of overall water withdrawal in the United States. This means that approximately 12 percent of

the water used in the United States is for livestock (AQUASTAT). While there are many other

negative environmental impacts associated with the meat industry, it is important to understand

how consuming the meat produced in the United States is damaging to human health.

High consumption of factory-farmed red meat and processed meat is associated with

increased rates of cancer and chronic disease. In the United States, 58 percent of U.S meat

consumption is red meat and 22 percent is processed (Daniel, et al. 5). Due to the production of

mass volumes of meat, these products are more likely to carry dangerous foodborne illnesses. In

addition, antibiotics are used aggressively to produce more meat and decrease production time.

The use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance which can lead to the development of

deadly human pathogens. (Godfray, et al. 4). The damaging environmental and health effects of

the meat industry are apparent and must be addressed fundamentally at a national level.

However, to facilitate much-needed change, an initial solution to this problem is one rooted in a

diet that promotes long term sustainability and prioritizes human and environmental health.

The diet which best promotes human health and environmental sustainability is the pegan

diet. This diet is a mix between a paleo diet and a vegan diet and was crafted by Dr. Mark

Hyman, an American physician who is the Head of Strategy and Innovation at Cleveland

Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine and is the founder of The UltraWellness Center. The

pegan diet incorporates the benefits of vegan and paleo diets. Paleo dieters eat primarily animal

proteins and attempt to follow the pre-agriculture diets of our ancestors. A vegan diet is absent

animal product consumption and relies on vegetables, legumes, grains, fruits, soy, nuts, and

seeds. The pegan diet combines these two diets but does not split them directly down the middle.

The pegan diet consists of 75 percent low glycemic vegetables and fruit, which promote a

gradual rise in blood sugar as the food digests. The other 25 percent of the diet consists of

naturally and sustainably sourced animal-based protein and healthy fats such as olive oil, coconut

oil, and avocados. This diet allows for small portions of low glycemic grains such as black rice,

and quinoa. Gluten consumption is limited as it has been shown to cause inflammation,

autoimmunity, digestive disorders, and even obesity. Pegans avoid all diary as it is difficult for

many to digest, and soy is eliminated from the diet as it is highly processed and genetically

modified. The pegan diet calls for natural, organic, grass-fed, and non-genetically modified food

to provide the body with an optimal nutritional balance and eliminate non-natural products that

are commonplace in our current diets such as chemicals and additives (Gold 17-18).

From an environmental perspective, the pegan diet utilizes the varied types of land to

which a vegan diet fails, providing a more sustainable future for food production. An

omnivorous diet which is based on consuming 20-40 percent animal meat used between roughly

88% and 97% of available cropland in the United States and makes use of grazing land,

perennial cropland, and cultivated cropland (Peters, et al. 10). The ability to utilize more of the

available land allows this diet to yield a higher amount of produce. Food production is not

currently an issue as the U.S Department of Agriculture estimates that between 30 and 40 percent

of the food in the U.S is wasted (“Food Waste FAQs). However, diversifying the sources of food

production and land used allows America to match its growing population and food demand

better. By having a more diversified food production system, the United States is better able to

adapt to unpredictable environmental events, as the varied food sources on different types of land

can provide food if other lands are negatively impacted.


The positive impact of consumer demand drives the environmental benefits of adopting a

pegan diet. Pegans focus on eating natural, real foods and seek to eliminate chemicals and highly

processed human-made foods. In addition, the diet itself eliminates all processed grains and soy -

staple crops in the current American diet, which are predominantly genetically modified and

utilize pesticides and herbicides. 94 percent of the soy and 90 percent of the corn produced in the

U.S is genetically modified, and, as a result, pesticides and herbicides are sprayed on all of the

acres of land which are used to produce these products (“Recent Trends in GE Adoption”). These

herbicides and pesticides are often more environmentally damaging than perceived. According to

a study headed by Dr. Wasim Aktar, an employee of the Department of Agricultural Chemicals,

“pesticide residues are found in soil and air, and in surface and ground water… [it also] poses

significant risks to the environment and non-target organisms ranging from beneficial soil

microorganisms, to insects, plants, fish, and birds” (Aktar, et al. 8). The study also found that

herbicides can be especially problematic and environmentally damaging because of their use in

large quantities. The pegan diet eliminates the demand for genetically modified foods such as

soy and corn, reducing the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides. This change in food

production is vital to maintaining the environment and reducing the damage caused by current

pesticide and herbicide use in food production.


Peganism can also reduce and reverse many of the negative impacts of the current meat

industry. The pegan diet uses meat products as a complement to a varied plant-based plate which

would decrease the demand for mass production of meat in the United States. With a reduction in

demand for meat, water overconsumption and greenhouse gas emissions would reduce. Also,

reducing overall meat demand would allow meat production to focus less on volume and more

on quality. This is consistent with the pegan focus of only eating meat which is naturally and

sustainably sourced. Meat production would ideally become completely grass-fed, allowing meat

producers to focus on humane practices that promote optimal grazing of animals. According to

the journal, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, “implementing moderate grazing intensity can

sequester substantial amounts of atmosphere C[arbon] in grassland soils” (Conant & Paustian

95). By properly grazing animals on open grassland soils, carbon is pulled out of the atmosphere

and stored in the soil. Storing carbon in the soil provides vital nutrients for soil fertility, and

proper grazing of animals improves the biodiversity of these lands (Conant & Paustian 98).

Reduction of meat in the everyday pegan diet drives demand for meat production down while the

consumer focus on natural and organically sourced meat will drive the industry to focus on

proper grazing and feeding practices.


In addition to the wide range of positive environmental impacts of pegansim, it is also

beneficial for human health. While scientific studies are relatively limited, the pegan diet is

similar to a Mediterranean diet that prioritizes vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats with

small portions of fish, beans, eggs, poultry, and limited amounts of red meat. A study published

in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found the Mediterranean diet provides important

“vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids (from fish) and monounsaturated

fatty acids (from olive oil), whose beneficial effects on health have been widely demonstrated”

(Sánchez, et al. 364). A different article published in the Oxford journal, BioFactors, pooled

together the results of various studies of the Mediterranean diet and found it significantly

reduced cardiovascular disease, slightly reduced neurodegenerative diseases such as

Alzheimer’s, reduced obesity, and reduced overall mortality (Sofi 336-341). Although pegans

avoid dairy products and the Mediterranean diet is more limiting in the consumption of red meat,

the total nutrient consumption is similar in both diets. Red meat and dairy have nearly identical

nutrient properties, and therefore pegans higher consumption of meat balances out their lack of

dairy consumption, especially considering that Mediterranean dairy consumption is relatively

low. Ultimately, these studies demonstrate the evident benefits associated with following a pegan

diet and improving one’s health.


Though veganism appears, particularly through media coverage, to be the one-stop

solution to declining health and environmental issues in the United States surrounding meat

production, it has many flaws that offset the potential benefits of the diet. Given that vegans no

longer consume meat, which contains a variety of pertinent vitamins for human health, many

vegans experience significant vitamin deficiencies. Secondly, given that crop demand, when

applied to the economics of scale, significantly increases the use of pesticides, many insects face

global extinction, thus causing more environmental harm than the benefits associated with

veganism. Next, the lack of optimized land use prevents veganism from being a global-scale diet

alternative. Unfortunately, the current meat industry, regardless of providing vitamin-rich

products, is one of the most environmentally devastating industries on the planet. While no diet

is perfect for everyone, peganism offers a general outline of eating habits and consumer choices

which can lead to improved human health and drive food production in America to be more

environmentally sustainable. It is essential to understand that while the vegan diet is wellintentioned,

the media portrayal overemphasized its positive impacts and fails to explore the

damaging results of eliminating meat consumption. As consumers, our choices at the market

heavily influence food production nationwide; accordingly, all consumers must be informed

about the individual and nationwide impacts of diets that they choose to adopt. The

consequences of poorly informed consumer choices can have devastating consequences for

everyone. Although the situation may appear to be helpless, as consumers, by being conscious

about the actual impacts of our diets we can make the necessary change to create a healthier and

more sustainable future.


“I pledge my honor that I have neither received nor provided unauthorized assistance

during the completion of this work.”

______________________________________

Will Appleton

Appleton 12

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Appleton 13

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Four Easy Ways To Build A Healthy Immune System

By Jacob Appleton, INHC - Integrative Nutrition Health Coach • April 8, 2025
Immune health has been all the rage lately, and rightfully so. With the Coronavirus circulating it is more important than ever to keep yourself healthy and strong. Having a healthy, robust immune system can prevent you from getting sick at all or ending up in the hospital if you do happen to get infected. There are many interventions that can help immune function. Some are well known like taking Vitamin C. I am going to focus on some that are completely free. That’s right, you don’t even need Amazon to have access to these remedies. 1. Mindfulness Meditation: Studies show that after an eight week meditation trial period participants had lower Nf-Kappa Beta (NFKB) levels. For those of you who haven’t been following the biochemistry of disease, having high levels of this stuff is bad and low levels is good. The fact that these participants showed reductions in NFKB means that their immune systems were working more effectively. If you are new to starting a meditation practice I would recommend trying an app; Calm, Headspace and 10% Happier are all great FREE options (See, still no Amazon necessary). For those who don’t want to use an app, you can start by finding a comfortable place to sit where you can rest your back and head. Keeping your head up is important because you want to stay awake during your meditation. Once you are comfortable, start to focus on your breath, let it flow in and out of your lungs as naturally as possible. The first few times you do it, it will feel more forced than natural but that is OK. As you focus on your breath, notice if thoughts start to come up. Thoughts will appear and if they don’t on your first try at meditation, you should quit your job and become a monk. The key to mindfulness is noticing that you have started to think (about food, sex, work, your favorite TV show) and keep bringing your attention back to your breath. That is the essence of mindfulness. You are supposed to think, it is like doing bicep curls for your brain. Each time you bring your thoughts back to your breath, that is a rep. 2. Sleep: It is well established that sleep is a major factor in supporting a healthy immune system. Did you know how important light is in getting good quality sleep? The answer: Very important. Light regulates your circadian rhythm which basically tells you when you should wake up and when you should go to sleep. Your immune system functions in this same way. If you don’t sleep, the natural rhythms of your immune system can become disrupted. Light modulates all of this. Getting exposure to good quality light in the morning and avoiding bad light a few hours before bed can help you sleep better and help your immune system stay more balanced. “Bad” light is the highly concentrated blue light that comes from your phones, computer and TV screens, and even LED lights. This kind of light tells your body that it is time to be awake which throws your circadian rhythm off. The most important thing you can do to address this is to get sunlight as soon as possible after waking. Actually, you don’t even need sunlight, just light from outside will do. So, first thing in the morning, open up your window and let some of that natural light in. Even better, you can go outside (I know, crazy right). The simplest way to eliminate blue light exposure at night is to turn off all your screens a few hours before bed time. For people who need to work or who like to watch TV at night there are a few options. An app called f.lux modulates your computer’s light making it darker and warmer so you are being exposed to less blue light. If you want to go the extra mile there is a company called TrueDark that makes red tinted glasses. These glasses block out all of the blue light and other junk light allowing you to use screens later without the strain it causes. You can get these directly from the True Dark website. 3. Food: I could call this section Eat Your Veggies because that is the simplest way to put it. In the interest of giving complete information, let’s go even further. You should avoid gluten, dairy, soy and processed food like the plague. These are pro-inflammatory foods and unless you are eating 100% organic the pesticides Four Easy Ways To Build A Healthy Immune System they come with add even more fuel to the fire of inflammation. These foods cause reactions in the body similar to that of a foreign invader. And who has to deal with that reaction? You guessed it, your immune system. The more taxed your immune system is from dealing with what you eat, the less resources it has to fight off real invaders like viruses and bacteria. I want to focus on gluten because it can cause the release of a protein called zonulin which regulates the amount of space between the cells lining the gut. When there is excess zonulin these cells pull apart causing a leaky gut. A leaky gut allows proteins from your food to get into the bloodstream. Large food proteins do not belong in the bloodstream so when the immune system sees them there it treats them as it would a foreign invader. This reaction can trigger the body to go into attack mode and begin to attack itself. An extreme oversimplification, but this is the basis for developing autoimmune disease. Having an autoimmune disease where the immune system is already working overtime can potentially lead to complications from any viral exposure. Having a healthy gut is extremely important because 70% of the immune system is housed in your gut. The type of food you eat can determine the health, or lack thereof in your gut. When you eat, you are not only feeding yourself, you are building your immune system. If you build your immune system with high quality veggies, healthy fats and clean lean proteins, you will build a strong immune system. If you are feeding your gut with processed foods, sugar, gluten, dairy, and soy, it will likely become dysfunctional and lead to poor immune health limiting your ability to fight infection. 4. Exercise: Light to moderate exercise is another way to boost your immune system. Hormesis is the main point of exercise. It is a small controlled stressor that makes us grow stronger and build endurance and resilience. Taking a walk in the forest has been shown to increase natural killer (NK) cell levels in the bloodstream. NK cells are important immune cells involved in killing viruses. Another important benefit of exercise is its ability to stimulate nitric oxide production. Nitric oxide (NO) dilates blood vessels, increasing blood flow which is very important when we are trying to fight infection. We want those immune cells to get to the site of infection as quickly and efficiently as possible. NO also plays a huge role in cardiovascular health which we know is an important predictor of susceptibility to the Coronavirus. While the theory that prolonged intense exercise leads to infection has been proven faulty, the immune system does take longer to recover and strengthen with the stress of high intensity exercise. If you have trouble sleeping stick to light exercise so as to not stress an already stressed immune system. The lymph system is our body’s “waste tract” where all the things we don’t need get moved through and out of the body. Walking is the most effective way to increase and stimulate lymph flow in the body. Other types of gentle exercise to consider are: Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and stretching. With these four strategies, you can improve your immune health with minimal to no cost at all. Implementing one strategy can also help with the others. For example, when you exercise you are likely to sleep better. If you focus on eating healthy, you may have more energy to exercise. All of the body systems are connected, improve one and you improve the others. Stay safe, healthy, and strong! Jacob Appleton, INHC - Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Resources : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4940234/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3256323/#Sec7title https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007165.htm Four Easy Ways To Build A Healthy Immune System (cont.)

The Seven Best Medicines: Clean Air, Clean Water, Sunshine, Real Food, Movement, Sleep & Relaxation

By Dr. Cherrone • April 8, 2025
We are spending more and more time indoors these days and we have come to learn that the indoor air we are breathing in is very unhealthy. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde from buildin materials, the off gassing of furniture, paints, rugs, personal care and cleaning products, gasoline from an attached garage, pesticides used in and around the home, improper venting of appliances and exhaust/bathroom fans to the outside, even cooking and toxins from mold and bacteria can create these unhealthy compounds which we are breathing in. Making sure that we have adequate air filtration in our homes and workplaces is a very important part of staying or becoming healthy. We are encouraged to drink more water as a way to improve our health but is that water free of impurities? There are many contaminants in our water today that we do not want to be putting in our bodies. These include chemicals, bleach, heavy metals like lead, pesticides, micro-plastics from plastic water bottles, glyphosate from round up, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites and the toxins produced by these micro-organisms as well as many medications. Having adequate water filtration to make sure that we are not ingesting these toxins is also another piece of the puzzle of maintaining and/or achieving health. Ideally want to be drinking out of glass or stainless steel NOT plastic! Sunshine gets a bad rap! We lived outside for millennia and were not plagued with skin cancer. Could it actually be all of the chemical sunscreens that we lather on our bodies that are contributing to the increase in skin cancers we are seeing? We also know that many people suffer with seasonal affective disorder when they do not get enough exposure to light so sunlight can definitely help with mood and mental health. There is also a study showing that sunlight can reduce blood pressure by increasing levels of nitric oxide which helps blood vessels to dilate improving circulation and heart health. Sunlight is also what allows for the production of vitamin D which has so many health benefits in the body. Bone health, immune health and blood sugar regulation are just a few of the perks of the sunshine vitamin D! So…if you can’t get outside then make sure to take vitamin D. REAL food that comes directly from nature is one of the best medicines. I think we can safely say that the Standard American Diet (SAD) is not providing us with the nutrients that we need to keep disease at bay. 87% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy! These processed manmade foods are laden with refined sugar, flour, salt and unhealthy fats. We definitely cannot outsmart mother nature by making foods in a plant or a lab and expecting them to provide what we need for optimal health. We want to be eating mostly plants with some healthy animal protein sources grass fed beef, lamb and bison, pasture raised poultry and pork and wild caught fish. Limit large fish which are more likely to have higher levels of mercury in them. Eat organic as much as possible to reduce exposure to pesticides/chemicals. Look for Paleo or Keto recipes online to replace favorite recipes. I also like Mark Hyman’s new book The Pegan Diet = a combination of paleo and vegan - the best of both worlds - lots of plants with clean, healthy animal protein sources. Movement is essential for all of us. We are not meant to be sedentary beings but for some who are struggling with more energy depleting illnesses their ability to do exercise may be limited. Therefore, the “no one size fits all” is important even when we talk about exercise. It is important to listen to our bodies. Getting exhausted or ill after a certain amount of exercise tells us that we are overdoing it and need to cut back on the amount of time spent doing the exercise and/or the intensity of the exercise. It is also important to get a mix of cardio, strength training and stretching in our daily exercise routine. I tell my patients to schedule exercise into their day every day. Put it in your calendar! It might be 5 minutes or 50 minutes but every little bit counts. Exercise can help control weight and blood sugar, reduce risk of heart disease and Alzheimers, improve mental health and mood and help us to manage stress in a better way. Deep restorative sleep for 7-10 hours per night is essential. This means sleeping through the night and waking up in the morning feeling refreshed and rested. Getting natural light into our eyes as soon as possible after waking is a great way to reset our circadian rhythm to get more sleep. Natural light directly affects the pineal gland to produce more melatonin which affects sleep quality. It also increases the production of serotonin which can reduce stress and improve mood. Keeping your room completely dark and cool - 68 degrees - while you sleep is another way to help you get a good night sleep. Stress is here to stay so we need to learn how to mange it. Each of us has different ways that we relax. For some it might be exercise, reading a good book, taking a walk in nature, doing deep breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, knitting, fishing or even washing the dishes. The list is endless which is great news. All it requires is that whatever we choose to do we do it mindfully, with full attention and focus on what we are doing. When we do this we get out of the mental chatter in our heads and into our bodies lowering the stress response and increasing the relaxation response in the body. Personally, I start my day with a gratitude meditation in which I go through a list of all the things that I am grateful for in my life. It is a great way to start the day and it reminds me of what is most important in my life. Laughter is a great way to lower stress so find ways to bring more of this into your life. Healthy Resources: For air and water filtration systems to meet your specific needs please contact Wright Way Environmental Technologies at 586-677-1650 for a free consultation. https://pureairpurewater.com/ The sunshine vitamin - take D3 with K2 - doses for optimal levels are in the 2000-10,000 IU range per day depending on the person. For the best chicken and lamb - Circle C Farm - https://www.circlecfarmfl.com/ For the best beef and lamb - Aldersprings Ranch - https://www.alderspring.com/ For the best bison - Wild Idea Buffalo - https://wildideabuffalo.com/ For the best wild caught fish - Vital Choice - https://vitalchoice.com/ Thrive Market is a good place to shop online for Paleo and Keto items if you must eat processed foods. https://thrivemarket.com/ Helpful food lists: https://mastcell360.com/low-histamine-foods-list/ https://gundrymd.com/dr-gundry-diet-food-list/ Peloton - has a great monthly subscription for yoga, pilates, strength training etc. that you can do at home even if you don’t have a bike. https://www.onepeloton.com/bike True Dark glasses to keep out junk light from overhead and lighting and lamps, computers, TVs, and other electronic devices. https://truedark.com/ Sleep Cycle app - to monitor your sleep patterns Sleep sounds app - to help you fall asleep Calm - a magnesium powder that can help you get to sleep For stress management: DNRS = Dynamic Neural Retraining System - https://retrainingthebrain.com/ The Gupta Program - https://www.guptaprogram.com/ The Emotion Code is a book and they do have practitioners who can guide you through the process if you would like - https://discoverhealing.com/ Brain Tap - https://braintap.com/healing-with-sound/ Safe and Sound - https://integratedlistening.com/ HemiSync - https://hemi-sync.com/ Vagal Nerve Exercises https://www.arcvic.org.au/34-resources/402-vagus-nerve-exercises Wishing you the best in health! Dr. C

Vector Borne Illness 

By Dr. Cherrone • April 8, 2025
Vector borne illnesses are diseases caused by infectious pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and protozoa that are transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected vector. Common vectors include mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, lice, bedbugs, sandflies and black flies. Mosquitoes are the most common vector and transmit malaria and other illnesses such as Zika virus, Yellow fever, Dengue fever and West Nile virus. Lyme disease is the most common vector borne illness transmitted by ticks in the United States and will be the focus of this discussion. The CDC estimates that there are more than 300,000 cases of Lyme disease diagnosed each year. The expansion of animal reservoirs is one of many reasons for the increasing rates of tick borne illness (TBI). International travel has increased the risk because ticks can be transported by both people and pets. Also, greater awareness of the disease and better diagnostic tools are responsible for the uptick in diagnosis. For ticks to thrive in nature, they need to have an animal reservoir - a mammal that can harbor the pathogen. On the U.S. east coast, deer and white-footed mice are the most common animal reservoirs. In California, the Western gray squirrel carries the bacterium. Horses, dogs and other domesticated animals can also carry ticks. Different ticks carry different illnesses so depending on where you live or travel, the TBI can vary. Black legged ticks can transmit Lyme disease as well as Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Borrelia miyamotoi and Babesiosis, a few of the more familiar Lyme co-infections. Fifty percent or more of patients with Lyme disease are found to have co-infections when tested. The American dog tick and the Rocky Mountain wood tick carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Tularemia is a potentially serious illness that occurs naturally in the United States and can be transmitted by American dog ticks, as well as by biting flies or infected animals. Bartonella, not known to be transmitted by ticks, can be passed to humans via cat bites or cat scratches and infection with it is known as Cat Scratch Disease. Dogs carry a different type of Bartonella. Mosquitoes, sand flies, fleas, exposure to flea infested animals and the human body louse can all transmit Bartonella. Bartonella is difficult to detect on testing and it is not included in the CDC surveillance data for tick testing so we really do not know the true prevalence of this disease. Black legged ticks have a two to three year life cycle with four life stages: egg, larva, nymph and adult. Larval ticks feed on rodents and then become nymphs. Nymphs feed on small animals and humans and then become adult ticks. Adult ticks feed on deer. Larvae are the size of a grain of sand. Nymphs are the size of a poppy seed and adult ticks are about the size of an apple seed. When a tick bites, it swells so much that it sometimes can become unrecognizable. Ticks also secrete an anesthetic when they bite so many tick bites go unnoticed as a result. Many people mistakenly believe that Lyme disease cannot be transmitted when a tick has been attached for less than 24 hours. This is incorrect. Several animal studies have documented that although the risk of Lyme disease is low for attachment times less than 24 hours, the risk is not zero. Also, people with weakened immune systems can be at increased risk of disease when bitten. Symptoms of tick borne illnesses are many and varied and involve multiple systems depending on the specific disease. Anxiety, depression, headache, sleep disturbances, numbness, tingling, brain fog and cognitive dysfunction can result. Also, cardiac symptoms such as an irregular heart rhythm, chest pain and heart failure can all be due to TBI. Because the most common symptoms are fever, fatigue, and body aches it is difficult to diagnose and distinguish from other illnesses, especially the flu. The flu typically presents in the fall, winter or early spring so any “summer flu” always warrants investigation into TBI as the underlying cause. Early detection and early treatment are crucial in managing these illnesses effectively. Some signs and symptoms can develop months to years after the initial time of exposure adding to the complexity of diagnosis. Chronic or recurrent injury, illness or infection should also alert one to the possibility of TBI. Borrelia burgdorferi also has a wide range of survival mechanisms once it is inside the body to avoid and evade the immune system. These tactics contribute to the difficulty in diagnosing and treating this disease. One such strategy is the proteins found in tick saliva have been shown to inhibit the complement system which is the first line of defense implemented by the immune system to protect the host against pathogens. The organism is also pleomorphic which allows it to change its form based upon various environmental conditions. Its most common form is the spirochete, but B. burgdorferi can exist as round bodies or in a biofilm which protects the bacteria from environmental stresses like antibiotics and the immune system by surrounding the cells with a slime like material. It is important when treating Lyme disease to address all these different forms. There are 3 stages of Lyme disease. Stage 1 is early localized disease which can present within hours, days or weeks after a bite as a flu-like illness with headache, stiff neck, joint and/or muscle pain, swollen lymph glands and a sore throat. Each of these symptoms alone or in some combination can be a sign of early localized disease and because they are nonspecific, misdiagnosis is possible. The classic bull’s eye rash, known as erythema migrans is diagnostic of Lyme disease and only seen in about 27-40% of patients. Rashes from TBI can take alternate forms. Solid lesions, blue-purple hues, and crusted or blistering lesions have all been documented. A rash can appear at the site up to 30 days after the bite, with the average being about 7 days. Stage 2 is known as early disseminated infection and can occur several weeks to months after a bite. It can present with flu-like illness, skin rashes, headaches, fatigue, pain, weakness, numbness in the extremities, facial palsy, and it can cause Lyme carditis with chest pain and palpitations. Stage 3 is known as late disseminated disease and can develop years after the infected tick bite. Patients in this stage can develop Lyme arthritis, neurologic and cardiac symptoms including headaches, migraines, a stiff, aching, creaking, cracking neck, vertigo, dizziness, migratory pains that come and go, sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, abnormal heart rhythms, heart block, brain fog, issues with memory, processing and concentration and peripheral neuropathy. Tick borne illness can mimic a variety of other illnesses and autoimmune disease can be triggered by TBI, therefore, it is imperative that we test for TBI in all symptomatic patients and those with autoimmune illness. If you see a tick bite, or you have unexplained symptoms, please contact a Lyme literate doctor as these clinicians are best equipped to give you the necessary care and treatment. The longer that tick borne illness remain untreated, the harder it can be to treat. The best approach to any vector borne illness is prevention which involves taking precautions to avoid being bitten by infected vectors. This can include using insect repellent, wearing protective clothing, and staying in well-screened areas. The use of mosquito nets while sleeping and eliminating areas of standing water on properties can also help to prevent mosquito breeding and exposure. According to the CDC, Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis which means that symptoms, medical history, history of a tick bite, history of high risk behaviors such as hiking, gardening, landscaping and geographic location are all enough to make the diagnosis. Testing can help to support the diagnosis but should not be the sole determinant of diagnosis. Fifty percent of tests can be falsely negative. As a result, getting quality testing that is interpreted by a Lyme literate doctor is extremely important. Treatment of Tick Borne Illness can vary depending on how quickly it is discovered, how severe the symptoms are and what TBI has been contracted. For every tick borne illness, it is important to support the body by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating nutritious foods that come directly from nature, drinking clean water, getting seven to nine hours of restorative sleep, managing stress, making sure that your physical environment is free of chemicals by choosing “healthy” personal care and cleaning products and doing daily exercise if possible. Some Lyme patients are so severely compromised that they are unable to exercise. There is no one size fits all when it comes to treatment, even therapeutic lifestyle changes. Additionally, filtering your air, addressing any visible mold and looking for mold in areas of previous water damage is also vital to the process as this can slow recovery in TBI patients. The goal is to reduce as many factors as possible that can cause or contribute to inflammation. Doing so gives the body a better chance to fight the infection. Antibiotics are often the standard approach for acute illness, but can be used in chronic illness as well. There are also herbal remedies that are highly effective on their own or in combination with antibiotics to treat both acute and chronic disease. Tick borne illnesses can present with mild symptoms for some, while others can have their quality of life severely impacted. Symptoms can be confusing and difficult to navigate, especially when dealing with an inflamed and foggy brain. Although the journey can be long, overwhelming and sometimes feel bleak, there are ways to improve symptoms and regain your quality of life with the right help. 
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