What if the missing piece in your Lyme recovery isn’t another antibiotic — but a cellular process your body already knows how to do?
In our latest episode of the Lyme Time Podcast, “Autophagy x Tickborne Illness: How Fasting and Cellular Cleanup Can Speed Your Recovery,” we sat down with Dr. Bill Rawls for one of the most eye-opening conversations we’ve had on this show.
Episode Synopsis
Dr. Rawls breaks down autophagy — your body’s built-in pruning and recycling system — and why it may be the key to understanding why so many of us get stuck. When autophagy is working, your cells clean house, renew immune function, and keep inflammation in check. When it’s not? You get the exact conditions that allow Borrelia and other stealth microbes to thrive.
He explains how these slow-growing, intracellular pathogens have essentially evolved to exploit a broken system — hiding inside cells, evading antibiotics, and waking back up every time your mitochondria are under stress. It’s a cycle most doctors aren’t talking about.
But here’s the good news: you can turn this around. Dr. Rawls walks us through what’s suppressing autophagy in modern life, which common medications and treatments interfere with it (this one surprised us), and the sustainable tools that restore it — herbs, red and infrared light, sauna, movement, sunlight, low-dose naltrexone, and time-restricted eating.
He also shares practical starting points: an ~8-hour eating window, more vegetables and lean protein, and what to watch for if you’re already underweight. Plus a look at his 180-day RESTORE 180 PROGRAM for those ready for a structured path forward.
This episode is for you if:
- You’ve done rounds of antibiotics but still don’t feel well
- Fatigue and inflammation keep cycling back
- You want science-backed, sustainable strategies — not just more prescriptions
New episode is live now. Hit play on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube and let us know what resonates.
With love,
Ali
