Health & Nutrition Facts for Bodybuilders

Lyme disease is probably the most common vectored disease in the world. Its causative agent is a spirochete: Borrelia burgdorferi . Borrelia normally requires both a tick host of the Ixodes genus and a warm-blooded host to complete its infectious cycle, but insects may occasionally also be vectors, transmitting Borrelia from one host to another. Spirochetes undergo multiple changes as the ticks are biting their warm-blooded host. But these pale in comparison with the changes that occur inside a human. Inside the Human If left alone once inside a warm-blooded host, spirochetes move through the blood stream, reproduce slowly, produce blebs, change shape, and move into the host's organs and tissues where they give off toxins that often reduce host mobility. Reduced host mobility increases the probability that new ticks will find and bite the infected host and transfer the spirochetes to more vertebrates. Spirochetes Release “Cluster Bombs” Each active bacterium releases int...

Most people have been or know someone affected by Lyme Disease. The ticks that transmit this disease are found in all of the US, Canada, Mexico, European and most Asian countries. When they bite, they can inject the bacteria that cause Lyme disease and other diseases. Early Symptoms of Lyme Disease Lyme disease begins after a tick bite. This is sometimes followed by a bulls-eye rash, becoming exhausted in the middle of the day – totally incapable of continuing without collapsing in bed, flu-like symptoms that may or may not go away, or suddenly developing arthritis. Since any of these symptoms could be something else, diagnosing LD is difficult. Diagnosis Difficulties The bulls-eye rash is diagnostic for Lyme disease and treatment often begins with no further testing, but almost 50% of people affected have no or atypical rashes. When Lyme disease is suspected, doctors send blood samples for testing. This test looks for antibodies in response to the bacterium. If the...

Lyme disease is an illness caused by bacteria from the species called Borrelia. This bacterium can live in the stomachs of deer and mice. When a tick feeds from an infected animal, they can become carriers of this bacterium. These ticks can spread the disease to a person by biting the skin thus allowing the bacterium to enter the human body. The disease cannot be spread from person to person. (Journals.uchicago.edu “Clinical Infectious Diseases,” accessed October 6, 2016). Symptoms of Lyme Disease Early symptoms of Lyme disease develop within days to weeks of the initial contact. The early symptoms include headaches, fever, weakness and fatigue. The area on the skin where the bacterium enter becomes inflamed with a red, circular, non-raised rash that eventually looks like a bull’s eye target. Not all patients develop this rash and the rash, swelling and redness can resolve on its own in about a month. Other early symptoms may include muscle and joint stiffness and swollen glan...