(WTNH)-New research from a local professor found that Stevia kills Lyme disease better than Doxycycline. Dr. Eva Sapi talked about her research on Good Morning Connecticut at Nine. An estimated 300,000 people are infected by Lyme in the United States every year by deer ticks and black-legged ticks, according to the CDC. The infection can ravage the health of an individual for years on end. First discovered in Lyme, CT and thousands of cases in Connecticut each year. But also throughout Northeast and some parts of Midwest and other places. It’s a big problem because it can be misdiagnosed very easily and in some of the cases the treatment is not effective. Dr. Sapi’s previous research shows that the Lyme bacteria, — Borrelia — forms a biofilm (think slime) in the body. That biofilm allows it to hide out from antibiotics, making it very difficult to kill. This alternative form for Borrelia was shown not just in test tubes but in human infected skin by the University of New Haven research group. They also showed that Borrelia is very resistant to standard antibiotics or even their combinations and to date, the researchers here have not found any effective antibiotics which can eliminate this form.
This new study published in the European Journal of Microbiology and Immunology shows that Stevia extract, the common sweetener you put in your coffee, is more effective in killing Lyme disease bacterium than doxycycline which is the standard antibiotic for Lyme disease as well combination of antibiotics suggested for resistant forms recently by John Hopkins researcher such as doxycycline, cefoperazone and daptomycin. What worked was not the powder but rather Stevia liquid extract, most often in an alcohol suspension. The idea to test this came about because Dr Sapi found a research study that revealed sugar was used with antibiotics to kill E coli, so she decided to try every sugar substance she could come across on Borrelia, finding Stevia to be most effective. Dr. Sapi believes the Borrelia is mistaking Stevia for food and is taking it in, which is in turn, killing it.