The Lyme Solution

December 1, 2017

These two works speak to a need for ongoing discussion of Lyme disease, even if it is no longer considered newsworthy. In Conquering Lyme Disease, colleagues (Columbia Univ. Medical Ctr.) and coauthors Fallon and Sotsky push readers to grapple with some underlying scientific principles. Readers will have a better sense of where the research is today, where treatment falls short, and what the future may hold. Although the book is meant for both a general audience as well as practitioners, it seems more appropriate for lay readers. There are sections on how doctors deal with chronic illness, a FAQ, and listings of other diseases that have similar symptoms to Lyme. Optimistic in tone, this book predicts a positive outcome against the illness in the near future.

Naturopathic physician, former health journalist, and Lyme disease patient Ingels's The Lyme Solution is geared to those who have tried all the standard Center for Disease Control Guidelines for Treatment and are still suffering. Much like Fallon and Sotsky, he explains that science, and medicine in particular, are about progress. His personalized approach is patient focused and uses minimal jargon. Ingels sees Lyme disease as something to mitigate, if not cure. For readers amenable to naturopathic healing, he provides actionable items--recipes, lifestyle changes, supplements--and explicitly states that this may not work the first time around. In appendixes, Ingels also discusses other tick-borne diseases readers might have and other autoimmune disorders that could be caused by chronic Lyme disease. This is an interesting juxtaposition when compared to the section in the Fallon and Sotsky book on conditions that may have similar symptoms but are not Lyme. VERDICT Chronic Lyme sufferers may find either work helpful. Readers looking for a more science-focused discussion will prefer Conquering Lyme while readers looking for a more actionable course will prefer The Lyme Solution.--Rachel M. Minkin, Michigan State Univ. Libs., East Lansing

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