Cowden Support Program (CSP) - antibiotics

Q:  Do I need to add antibiotics to the Nutramedix herbals if I have had only moderate improvement by the 4^th month of the Cowden Support Program (CSP)?

Dr Cowden’s Answer:  Most pharmaceutical antibiotics are fairly toxic & usually not necessary to add if one gets to high enough doses of the Nutramedix herbs twice daily for at least 6 months (but for some individuals, the doses of all 6 of the Microbial Defense herbs in the CSP need to be doubled from months 4 through 6). If someone with Lyme fails to get well on the CSP, instead of insufficient antimicrobials being the cause, it is much more likely because they have a concomitant condition causing their symptoms. These include adrenal and/or thyroid insufficiency, mold and/or mycotoxin exposure, nutrient deficiencies, toxic and/or allergenic foods, toxins in air and water, heavy metal toxicity, kryptopyrroluria, parasitism, electromagnetic pollution, emotional trauma, candidiasis or gut dysbiosis, opportunistic viruses and bacteria, foci of infections (sinuses, teeth, tonsils, etc.), and major structural misalignments.  A 2-part webinar on this topic of comorbid conditions is archived on www.acimconnect.com .

Many of these techniques & principles used by me & other integrative medicine doctors to help patients get well, when allopathic medicine fails, are described in video courses on the website for the Academy (www.acimconnect.com)

Parasite Treatments

Q:  Do the treatments you suggest for parasites give equally good results as pharmaceutical treatment and are there any benefits doing these compared to pharmaceutical ?

Dr. Cowden’s Answer:  Overall, I have had better results treating parasites with herbs rather than pharmaceuticals (but sometimes I do resort to pharmaceuticals).  


What allopathic medical doctors usually fail to recognize is that worm parasites lay eggs & protozoal parasites produce dormant cysts, either of which can “hatch”, thus producing another crop of potentially-invasive adult parasites. The therapy, therefore, must be cyclical for long enough for all eggs/cysts to “hatch”.  Doing that with pharmaceuticals usually creates an unacceptably high level of drug toxicity, especially in the liver.  With herbs, it is not uncommon to do cyclic therapy for more than a year. 

In my experience, parasite eggs/cysts tend to “hatch” near full-moon.  So I treat parasites for 5-12 days on and 2 days off for several cycles, then treat from 2 days before each full-moon day until 2 days after each full-moon day for many additional months.  If a patient being treated this way says that they are getting back parasite symptoms at other times of the month, I have them immediately restart the antiparasitic herbs for at least 3 cycles of 5 days on & 2 days off, before resuming the full-moon cycle.  Or if a patient starts a full-moon cycle & experiences a Herxheimer reaction, then I ask them to do at least 3 cycles of 5 days on & 2 days off, before resuming the full-moon cycle.

Many of these techniques & principles used by me & other integrative medicine doctors to help patients get well, when allopathic medicine fails, are described in video courses on the website for the Academy (www.acimconnect.com). 

Peppermint & Homeopathic Remedies

Q: Is it ok to use a peppermint toothpaste when taking homeopathic remedies? 

Dr Cowden's Answer: It is OK to use this toothpaste if you dose the homeopathics on your skin & rub them in a few minutes AFTER you thoroughly rinse the toothpaste out of the mouth.

Q: There is an article from the "American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists" explaining that waiting 10-15 minutes before/after taking the meds will be ok. 

Dr Cowden's Answer:  I disagree with them because brushing with peppermint toothpaste a few minutes after a homeopathic dose often quenches its action before it can work fully.

Q: Another option is just using baking soda + sea salt to brush. Would that be OK?   

Dr Cowden's Answer:  That would work also. Or one could dilute 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide (which is stored in the freezer) to 1% or 2% hydrogen peroxide solution in pure water, then store that diluted hydrogen peroxide in the refrigerator in a 1 ounce dropper bottle and immediately before brushing each time add a few drops of it to the aluminum-free baking soda to make the toothpaste.


Many of these techniques & principles used by me & other integrative medicine doctors to help patients get well, when allopathic medicine fails, are described in video courses on the website for the Academy (www.acimconnect.com).