What Is Lyme Disease?

What Is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease can be a crippling condition for many individuals. It is difficult to diagnose and difficult to treat. Knowing what it is is step one toward preventing it. Heiko Barth/Shutterstock
Ashley Turner
By Ashley Turner, BCDHH
Updated:
This is part one of a three-part series exploring Lyme disease—how to test for it, treat it, and prevent it. 
Lyme disease can be a crippling condition for many individuals. In fact, many patients who seek functional medicine care at our wellness center often struggle with Lyme and the commonly associated co-infections. Our family has even dealt with both acute and chronic Lyme disease.

What Is Lyme Disease?

The origins of Lyme disease, or borreliosis, are widely disputed. From what we understand, it was first recorded in the 1970s in Lyme, Connecticut. In 1982, the spirochete bacteria that causes Lyme disease was discovered by Willy Burgdorfer and was named Borrelia burgdorferi. Since then, the rate of Lyme disease has grown, and now Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne illness in the United States.
Ashley Turner
Ashley Turner
BCDHH
Dr. Ashley Turner is a traditionally trained naturopath and board-certified doctor of holistic health for Restorative Wellness Center. As an expert in functional medicine, Dr. Ashley is the author of the gut-healing guide “Restorative Kitchen” and “Restorative Traditions,” a cookbook comprised of non-inflammatory holiday recipes.
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