Longevity Interventions for Chronic Tick-borne Infections & Mold Toxicity

Longevity Medicine Meets Chronic Tick-borne Infections and Mold Toxicity*

We can learn a lot from longevity medicine that can change the health of people living with chronic tick-borne illnesses or mold toxicity.

There are twelve hallmarks of aging. Some of these hallmarks occur in chronic infections and mold toxicity too. Laboratory or human studies show lifestyle, nutritional, pharmaceutical or supplements can improve longevity and health by targeting these areas.

Chronic tick-borne infections and mold toxicity cause oxidative stress and intestinal microbiome disruptions that also negatively impact these aging hallmarks.

The twelve hallmarks of aging are:

1. Genomic Instability. Over time, damage to DNA accumulates from both environmental and internal factors. This genetic deterioration compromises cellular functions and increases vulnerability to age-related diseases.
2. Telomere Attrition. Telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, shorten with each cell division. When they become too short, cells can no longer divide, leading to genomic instability and cellular aging.
3. Epigenetic Alterations. Aging causes changes in gene expression through modifications in DNA methylation and histone structure. These epigenetic shifts can disrupt normal cellular function and contribute to conditions like cancer and neurodegeneration.
4. Loss of Proteostasis. The balance of protein production, folding, and clearance deteriorates with age. This leads to the accumulation of damaged or misfolded proteins, a hallmark of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
5. Disabled Macroautophagy. Autophagy, the process of recycling damaged cellular components, diminishes with age. Without proper recycling, cellular debris accumulates, impairing cell function and health.
6. Deregulated Nutrient Sensing. Nutrient-sensing pathways, such as insulin/IGF-1 signaling and mTOR, become imbalanced. This affects metabolism and growth while contributing to aging and related diseases.
7. Mitochondrial Dysfunction. Mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses, decline in efficiency with age. This leads to reduced energy production and increased oxidative stress, which accelerates cellular damage.
8. Cellular Senescence. Senescent cells stop dividing and release inflammatory molecules that harm neighboring cells. Their accumulation disrupts tissue function and fuels chronic inflammation, exacerbating aging.
9. Stem Cell Exhaustion. Stem cells lose their ability to regenerate tissues over time. This decline in regenerative capacity contributes to reduced tissue repair and a greater susceptibility to age-related issues.
10. Altered Intercellular Communication. Aging changes how cells communicate with one another, often triggering chronic inflammation. This disrupts tissue maintenance and contributes to organ dysfunction.
11. Chronic Inflammation (Inflammaging). Low-grade, persistent inflammation increases with age and drives many age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disorders and neurodegeneration.
12. Dysbiosis. The gut microbiota changes with age, leading to an imbalance of beneficial versus harmful bacteria. This shift negatively impacts metabolism, immunity, and overall health.

Longevity Anti-aging Interventions That May Help Chronic Tick-borne Infections and Mold Toxicity 

Cellular Senescence

• The oxidative stress of chronic tick-borne infections and mold toxicity can cause cellular senescence. In senescence, cells stop dividing. These “zombie” cells upregulate enzymes that stop the immune system from clearing them out.  A hallmark of these zombie cells is the production of excess inflammatory chemicals like cytokines seen in Lyme disease. These inflammatory cells then trigger more senescence in adjacent cells spreading even more inflammation.
• Your lack of improvement could be due to zombie senescent cells. There is no research on tick-borne infections or mold toxicity and cellular senescence. However,  it’s fair to say when treatment for a year or more is not working well, that the problem could be zombie senescent cells perpetuating excess cytokine inflammation and immune dysfunction.
• Fortunately there are ways to remove these zombie cells using diet or supplements or both. A prolonged 5 days fast using a fasting mimicking diet, like the Prolon 5-Day Diet, can trigger removal of senescent zombie cells. Additionally, the bioflavanoid supplements quercetin and fisetin act as senolytics to remove these zombie cells.

For more information about the full benefits of a fasting mimicking diet see Revitalize Your Health with a Fasting Mimicking Diet in Chronic Tick-borne Infections & Mold Toxicity.

Disabled Autophagy

• Through autophagy, used and damaged cell parts are recycled to improve cellular function.
  This process occurs in all cells including immune cells, brain cells, nerve cells and muscle cells.
• In chronic Lyme disease, tick-borne infections and mold toxicity, due to oxidative stress, autophagy may not occur or occur less efficiently.
  Thus cell garbage builds up leading to immune dysfunction, weak muscles, and even poor brain function. In other words, impaired autophagy, and the build up of cell garbage, could be a leading reason people with chronic infections or mold toxicity do not improve.
• Your lack of improvement could be due to accumulated cell garbage.
  There is no research on tick-borne infections or mold toxicity and impaired autophagy. However,  it’s fair to say in chronic conditions, where a year or more of treatment is not working well, that the problem could be impaired autophagy perpetuating excess cytokine inflammation and immune dysfunction.
• Fortunately there are ways to turn on autophagy using diet or supplements or both.
  A prolonged 5 days fast using a fasting mimicking diet, like the Prolon Diet, can trigger autophagy and cellular rejuvenation. Additionally spermidine, a synthetic from natural compounds or from wheat germ, triggers autophagy too.

Genetic Instability and Epigenic Alterations

• Oxidative damage from mold toxicity or chronic infections can injure your genetic material and how the genes are interpreted.
  Impaired gene interpretation decreases effective proteins and enzymes. These enzymes and proteins are critical for immune function and even energy production by our cell mitochondria energy factories.
• Sirtuins repair damaged DNA and genetic expression.
  In longevity medicine, there are a group of enzymes called sirtuins that fix damaged genes and improve the epigenetic interpretation and expression of those genes. If the genes are expressed correctly, the enzymes and proteins they make turn out and function correctly. This means better immune function and even energy production.
• NMN activates sirtuins.
  Sirtuins are turned on and activated by NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and its precursor NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide). NMN is more stable and better absorbed from the intestines than NAD+. Some longevity protocols call for daily supplementation with NMN to lift NAD + and improve sirtuin activity.
• As a side benefit NMN could also improve mitochondria cell energy production.
  NMN is a precursor for NAD+ which is used by mitochondria to produce cell energy called ATP. Additionally, NMN turns on mitochondria sirtuins leading to improved energy production.
• Ca-AKG decreases genetic methylation.
  When our genes and genetic material are injured, methyl chemical groups are added to the genes. These methylated DNA areas are turned off. They do not get interpreted. Activating sirtuins can help repair these areas. Another way to reverse this methylation and to limit it from occurring is to supplement calcium alpha ketoglutarate (Ca-AKG).

Mitochondrial Dysfunction

• The oxidative stress of chronic infections leads to damage to the mitochondria.
  There are two steps to improving this condition. One step is to use liposomal glutathione to limit or stop oxidative damage. The other is to repair the damaged mitochondrial structures using a phospholipid mitochondrial nutrient complex supplement with phospholipids and various micronutrients that make mitochondria run.

For more extensive information on mitochondria repair see Power Up Your Mighty Mitochondria & Get Energy.

Dysbiosis

• Correct and prevent intestinal dysbiosis.
  Take a look at Part 3. Healthy Intestinal Microbiome in The Ross Lyme & Tick-borne Diseases Protocol where I outline dietary steps plus probiotics and nutritionals you can take to maintain and improve dysbiosis in tick-borne infections and mold toxicity.

If you need more extensive information about this important topic see Your Guide to a Healthy Intestinal Microbiome—Even on Antibiotics.

Chronic Inflammation

• Remove tick-borne infections and mold toxicity—leading causes of inflammation.
  Additionally, zombie senescent cells create inflammation too as I noted above. To correct this problem, follow the full Ross Lyme & Tick-borne Disease Protocol. Pay particular attention to Part 5. Cytokine Control and Parts 11, 12, and 13 regarding Candida intestinal yeast, Lyme, Babesia and Bartonella infection control.

Timing of Longevity Interventions in Chronic Mold Toxicity or Tick-borne Infections

I know this is a lot to consider. Here is my suggested approach based on where you are in your treatment journey.

Step 1. Support Healthy Intestinal Microbiome and Improve Chronic Inflammation

At the beginning and throughout treatment, follow The Ross Lyme & Tick-borne Diseases Protocol to address dysbiosis and chronic inflammation. Pay attention to the following sections:

• Part 3. Healthy Intestinal Microbiome
• Part 5. Cytokine Control
• Part 11. Yeast
• Part 12. Lyme Infection
• Part 13. Bartonella and Babesia Infections.

Step 2. Repair DNA and Improve Gene Expression*

If you are ill for one or more years before you start treatment, there is a high probability of harm to your DNA or genetic expression. Consider taking NMN and Ca-AKG at the beginning and throughout treatment.

• NMN 500 mg 2 pills 1 time a day. I recommend Pure NMN by DoNotAge.org.
• Ca-AKG 400 mg 2 pills 1 time a day. I recommend Pure Ca-AKG by DoNotAge.org.

Step 3. Repair Mitochondria Dysfunction*

At six to nine months of treatment, add in liposomal glutathione and the phospholipid mitochondrial nutrient complex if you are not seeing good overall improvements. Try these for a minimum of two months to see improvements. If you are having improvements, then continue both supplements four more months.

• Liposomal Glutathione 450 - 500 mg 1 time a day. I prefer Tri-Fortify by Researched Nutritionals due to clinical research showing high absorption and clinical benefits from this product.
• Phospholipid Mitochondrial Nutrient Complex 3 pills 1 time a day. I prefer ATP 360 by Researched Nutritionals 3 pills 1 time a day for this product.

Step 4. Remove Senescent Zombie Cells and Trigger Autophagy*

At 1 year of treatment, if you are not seeing good improvements, consider a fasting mimicking diet for 5 days every 3 months and/or quercetin plus fisetin as senolytics or spermidine to induce autophagy.

Senolytics to Remove Zombie Cells

For maximum benefit do both the fasting mimicking diet and the quercetin plus fisetin. Or you could do the diet or the supplements alone.

• Fasting Mimicking Diet 5 days in a row every 3 months. For this I suggest the Prolon 5 Day product.
• Quercetin 400 mg 2 pills 1 time a day plus Fisetin 400 mg 2 pills 1 time a day on day 3 days in a row two times a month. One way to do this is to take these two supplements together on days 1, 2, and 3 plus 15, 16, and 17 each month. Add them to your calendar so you do not forget. For their senolytic activity I prefer the Pure Quercetin product by DoNotAge.org and the Pure Fisetin product by DoNotAge.org. If you cannot do both products, the fisetin is much more potent than quercetin.

Autophagy to Rejuvenate Cells

For maximum benefit do both the fasting mimicking diet and the spermidine. Or you could do the spermidine and the fasting mimicking diet alone.

• Fasting Mimicking Diet 5 days in a row every 3 months. For this I suggest the Prolon 5 Day product.
• Spermidine 8 mg 2 pills 1 time a day. For this I suggest Pure Spermidine from DoNotAge.org. The DoNotAge.org product is gluten free because it is synthetically derived from natural sources.

Disclaimer

The ideas and recommendations on this website and in this article are for informational purposes only. For more information about this, see the sitewide Terms & Conditions.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.