Honeychick Homestead

Homestead, Health, and Happiness

Category Archives: Be Healthy!


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My 5 Year Stem Anniversary Update!

FIVE YEARS…..5 YEARS! 

WOW, time has flown by! 

I cannot believe it has been over 5 years since my stem cell, thymus, and supportive therapies for Lyme and co-infections. The five year mark seems like a perfect reason for an update!

I have been doing well since my last update 2 1/2 years ago. 

Over the past 2 1/2 years I’ve:

  • I graduated with honors from the nutrition consultant program from Bauman College. 
  • Started my nutrition consulting business, Flourishing Health.
  • Continued building our urban homestead. 
  • Tent camped numerous times, without concern for tick bites
  • Got to the root cause of our unexplained infertility.
  • Took vacations to far away places like Bali, without fear being bit by ticks or getting sick.
  • Worked with a mindset coach to help release negative emotions/thought patterns, and post Lyme stress.
  • Stayed healthy and no relapse’s, even through a very stressful few months in fall 2018.
  • Had my first podcast interview, more to come in 2020!

I found myself on vacation in Germany during my 5 year ‘stem anniversary’ and took the opportunity to take a quick visit to see the wonderful Michael Wittstadt at his clinic Villa Medigrun in Otzberg, Germany. 

It was super fun to see Michael again! I feel extremely fortunate that he was still working with Infusio when I had my treatments in 2014. I am very happy he decided to open his own clinic, which has allowed him to provide high quality, attentive, and individualized care to this patients.

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My 5 year stem anniversary photo with Michael Wittstadt

Here’s a snippet of Villa Medigrun’s ‘About’ section on Facebook

“First of all: We are naturopaths in our practice, and we work together with MDs in other practices and towns. We offer stem cell therapy since 2016, but our experience with stem cells goes back to 2013, especially in the treatment of tick borne disease. We opened this place to offer patients blood stem cells from peripheral blood or bone marrow because we believe that these stem cells have the biggest impact on the immune system and can also trigger repair in distant areas like the brain or in muscles. We are working together with experts in their fields to give you the best chances for a positive outcome and to limit side effects to a minimum. We just like to cooperate and learn, therefore we also share our protocols with your home care provider if necessary and we are always open about our procedures and what we are using. Transparency is the foundation for trust!”

Villa Medigrun is located in the village of Otzberg, 31 miles from Frankfurt Airport. It took me about a hour to get to the clinic via Deutsche Bahn, the German public transportation system. I was easily able to find my way using the DBB app on my phone and even purchase my tickets via the app. I believe if you are a patient booked for treatment, Villa Medigrun will arrange for staff to pick you up from the airport. 

Otzberg is a quiet village, there is a grocery store and a couple restaurants within walking distance of the clinic. My understanding is most people stay at Airbnb’s near the clinic during their treatment. Michael said he picked this location because it was more peaceful than Frankfurt and has better air quality. Apparently, Frankfurt has some of the worst air quality in Germany! 

One of Michael’s main reasons for opening Villa Medigrun was his desire to provide more comprehensive treatment post stem cells. The minimum treatment time at his clinic is 3 weeks, instead of the 2 weeks that was standard at Infusio. He feels  working with patient’s an extra week for supportive therapies allows his patients to be more stable upon returning home.

The clinic is located on the 2nd floor in a beautiful stone building. It feels warm, inviting, and peaceful. The ceilings are tall and the color scheme of the clinic is white, light gray, and complimented by green accents. Every treatment room has a picture of nature or trees. There are separate rooms for IV’s, colon hydrotherapy, massage, and yoga.

During my visit, Micheal was “kind” enough to let me try the infamous “green drink,”  also know as  artemisinin. It was intense but a bit easier to drink than some of the bitter Chinese herbal formulas I’ve taken over the years! This green drink is used as the “killing agent” instead of IV dioxychlor treatment that I had at Infusio.  I also was finally able to meet the famous Elke, who was off when I had my treatments at Infusio. 

Micheal and I talked a bit about diet and we both agreed there is no “ideal’ diet for Lyme. Everyone’s body is different and we both also agree it is most important that people do what feels right for their body. My diet is drastically different today than when I was actively treating my infections. I also changed my diet as needed while treating. I think it is very important to remember that dietary flexibility may be required to recover. Be willing to try new things if your current diet isn’t working, even if a particular diet seems to be working for everyone else!

Near the end of my visit, I was kind of bummed I hadn’t schedule a week of supportive therapies. Guess I’ll need to take a trip back to Germany!

I personally feel that Michael and the team at Villa Medigrun are the best option for those considering thymus, stem cell, and supportive therapies for Lyme and co-infections. I believe thymus therapy is a huge asset to those with immune dysfunction and I do not know of any other clinics, besides Villa Medigrun and Infusio, that offers this helpful therapy. Michael is very aware of the potential for histamine issues post stems cells and I believe only one patient since the clinic opened 2 years ago has experienced histamine issues. Besides keeping his patients an extra week, Michael also runs a full blood and stool panel on every patient, this allows him to further customize treatments. Michael has also had success treating people with COPD and Hashimoto’s.

Here’s the list of treatments offered at Villa Medigrun as of October 2019.

  • Autologous bone marrow and fat stem cell therapy
  • Ozone treatments in blood, anally, sinuses, or on the skin
  • Oxygen therapy according to Regelsberger
  • Hypersound therapy (sophisticated TENS)
  • BEMER treatments
  • Intravenous laser therapy
  • IV therapies that include:
    • Cats claw
    • EGCG,
    • Licorice
    • Alkalizing IV’s
    • Chelation
    • High dose vitamin C 
    • B-vitamins, including methylated versions
    • NADH
    • Germanium, 
    • Myers cocktails can be modified with choline, zinc, etc.Thymus and other peptides
  • Injections
    • Homeopathic’s like Metavirulent or HEEL products
    • Thymus and other peptides
  • Neural therapy in trigger points
  • Massage
  • Yoga
  • Oral supplements – too many to list!

I can say with confidence that if you are considering stem cell and supportive therapies, that Villa Medigrun should be on the top of you list!

Currently, for English speaking inquiries, the best way to contact Villa Medigrun is via their Facebook page. The clinic does have a website that is currently only in German, the English version is coming soon.

If you are in the United States, Michael typically makes a two trips a year to have consultations with potential patients. He often makes stops in New York and Dallas, Texas area. He is hoping to add the California Bay Area on his next trip in 2020. I recommend following Villa Medigrun on Facebook to keep with his travel schedule.

If you want to learn more about stem cell therapy in general, the Facebook group, Stem Cell and Exosomes Focus Group is extremely informative.  

I do not plan on reviving this blog, however I will try to update occasionally as the years go by.  If you want to keep up with me follow me on Facebook or Instagram. I host several online classes and offer remote nutrition consulting.

Wherever you are in the your Lyme journey, know that you can get better and life a healthy and full life. Do not doubt your body’s amazing ability to heal! I wish you an amazing new year and new decade!


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An Important Story – Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation

One thing at the 2015 National Heirloom Exposition that left a lasting impression was Mathieu Asselin’s photography display – Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation.

When I first learned about GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) in the late 1990’s, I didn’t know much about real food, but what I did know is that GMO’s didn’t sound “right” to me. The idea of fish DNA being injected into a tomato sounded weird, and definitely didn’t seem like it was a good thing. Thankfully, that tomato never made it to the supermarket, but all other kinds of genetically modified foods have, and are still being sold and consumed today.

I don’t think many realize Monsanto was the manufacture of PCB’s and Agent Orange and I think most know how horrible those chemicals were! It doesn’t make any sense to allow a  company responsible for making such terrible, poisonous products to make chemicals that are sprayed a majority of U.S. food supply, genetically modify our food, and patent seeds. They say their products are “safe” but their behavior in the past makes it difficult for me to believe they are being 100% transparent about their products.

I tried my best to get good pictures but some Mathieu’s photo displays were tall, so I’m sorry if the quality isn’t that great!  There were also captions for every picture, which I’ve retyped them for the few photos I’m sharing.

I hope after seeing these photos, you’ll think twice buying food at grocery stores and other retailers that sell conventional, non-organic food. It almost always contains GMO’s and the fruits and vegetables have been sprayed with Round Up, or another pesticide.

I wrote two posts that can help you access healthy, quality food throughout the United States, to read them click here and here. You can also visit Environmental Working Group’s page to view their very helpful dirty dozen and clean fifteen shopping lists.

I truly believe we can make a difference by voting with our dollars and support local farmers who grow food with integrity without using GMO’s or pesticides. It’s so important for your health, the health of future generations, and for the health of the planet.

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This is a magazine ad from 1943 touting the benefits of saccharin. Notice it says one of the main ingredients of saccharin is coal-tar. No wonder it was pulled from the market for being carcinogenic

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Wheat – What’s good about it? What’s bad about it?

My first presentation at The 2015 Heirloom Exposition was an interesting talk by Robert M. Quinn, who is a farmer with a PhD. He is passionate about ancient wheat and sharing why he believes we need to get back to growing wheat that focuses on high nutrition, instead of high yields. He believes our society is well fed but not well nourished. I totally agree!

He previously used conventional farming methods to grow modern wheat and realized he was spending his entire  farm subsidy check on herbicides. When he switched to organic farming methods, he saved money! He believes it’s important that we return to building healthy, mineral rich soil that feeds the plants and makes the food more nutritious for us. You can find out more on his website kamut.com

He posed some good questions, like, “Why daily bread become deadly?” and “Are wheat and gluten-free diets a fad?”

Robert pointed out that many can’t eat modern wheat but they tolerate ancient wheat; and when you look at the data, truly only 1% of the population has Celiac disease and roughly 12-20% have wheat sensitivity. Some studies suggest the issue may really a sensitively to glyphosate, the main ingredient in Round Up, which is used heavily on conventional wheat. This all made sense, since I’ve learned similar information during my first session at Bauman College.

Here’s a few of the things that have changed in the past 50 years when it comes to growing and producing wheat, he believes these issues also could be contributing to wheat and gluten sensitivity.

The seed, the way it’s grown, they way it is processed, and how we eat it is now all based on high-speed, low-cost production. He shared that beginning in the 70’s the goal for wheat farming was increased yields, more resistance to disease and bugs and to quickly increase the size of the bread loaf.

We now have harder bran with more protein but antioxidants have been subtracted, so it is a less resistant starch and it seems modern wheat now causes inflammation.

He suggested that one of the main problems is the changes that were made to the modern wheat  seed, and also believes high-speed processing is an issue. Modern bread is made very quickly and usually has fast rising yeast and/or extra gluten added to quickly produce a loaf of bread. Fifty years ago, bread making was a slower process that often used a sourdough starter that helped pre-digest the flour making it easier for us to digest. This process does take longer but the result is a healthier and more nutritious bread.

His recommended solution is that we avoid modern wheat and change focus from high yield to high nutrition

Robert felt it was important to address some criticism regarding his decision to trademark the name “kamut” because many people claim he’s doing the same things as Monsanto. Here’s how their trademark is different from Monsanto.

They claim no ownership of grain take full responsibility of product

They charge farmers nothing to use the product

They requires farmers to be organic to use the product

They provide an organic field advisor as no cost

They will show organic agriculture will feed the world

The will show their organic farms will help heal earth

His farm has partnered with two universities in Italy, The University of Bologna and University of Florence. They spend roughly $300,000 of their budget on research, which is a very small amount compared to most major research firms. Their research efforts look for small subtle differences in the grain that make huge differences to the body.  They’ve completed 1 rat study and 5 human studies, you can read more about their studies here.

He briefly shared some of the surprising findings of their research comparing ancient wheat (kamut) to modern wheat (a mix of white and wheat bread). Their human studies typically use 30-40 people and the results are consistent, even though they use a small pool of people.

Their first human study focused on a group at risk for cardiovascular disease but otherwise healthy.  This was a double-blind study that lasted 16 weeks, for 8 weeks the subjects ate recipes prepared with modern wheat and then the following 8 weeks ate the same recipes prepared with ancient wheat.

What they found was ancient wheat reduced cardiovascular disease risk, lowered their LDL cholesterol by 8%, and their blood contained threes times as much potassium and magnesium. It also showed oxidative stress reduced by ancient wheat and their cytokines markers showed signs of decreased inflammation.

Another human study involved people who had Irritable Bowel Syndrome, they chose IBS because it affects roughly 20% of US population, this was another 16 week, double-blind study.

While consuming ancient wheat they experienced less abdominal pain, less bloating, with these two symptoms almost disappearing after 6 weeks. Their bowel movements improved and at the end of 6 weeks all participated had at least one bowel movement a day.

The last study he shared included individuals with cardiovascular disease, all participates had a history of at least one heart attack, and all were taking statins to lower their cholesterol.

The professor conducting the study didn’t think they would see any improvements because of their health history. They were surprised to see reductions of cholesterol, glucose and insulin levels. The magnesium levels in their blood increased by 3%, tests showed less oxidative stress, and significant reduction of TNF cytokines by 34%.

The reduction in TNF cytokines is amazing!  TNF cytokines are cell signaling proteins that are involved in systemic inflammation in the body, and the disregulation of TNF production which has been suggested to cause many diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, IBS and depression.

Robert and the research team recently completed diabetic study, are currently working on a study of gut microflora and microbiota, and are planing future studies of dementia and obesity. The research team believes it’s more that just wheat that is causing issues and that modern grains, even in small amounts, can switch certain genes on or off, creating inflammation.

Robert’s goal is to encourage farmers to replace modern wheat with new land made of mixtures of anti-inflammatory ancient wheat and grains, plant new land worldwide with ancient wheat, and to no longer plant patented seed.

He feels strongly that gluten isn’t the problem and believes replacing modern wheat and high-speed food production with ancient wheat and slower food production would be a major help to those suffering from wheat and gluten intolerance and sensitivities. He ended his presentation by encouraging everyone to “Go organic!”

What do you think? Is modern wheat the real culprit of increased sensitivities or are other things to blame? Share with me in the comments.