Die-Off

Die-off is a type of Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction, which is a transitory reaction resulting from the administration of antibiotics. This is quite different from our experience on GAPS, but you will hear “Herxheimer” or “Herx” from time to time in reference to die-off.

The addition of a healing food or supplement will cause the death of opportunistic pathogens. They often release gasses and toxins which make us feel bad. Dr Sarah Myhill groups¹ these experiences into four main categories:

• Inflammation
• Fatigue
• Foggy brain
• “Sickness behavior”

Inflammation includes both systemic symptoms such as fever, malaise, aches and pains, depression, and fatigue, as well as more localized symptoms such as catarrh (inflammation of mucous membranes), acute cold, and diarrhoea. The work the immune system is doing robs the rest of the body of energy, resulting in us feeling tired. Our brains are inflamed as well as our bodies, and the system that delivers energy to our brains is compromised, giving us brain fog, depression, and malaise. “Sickness behavior” refers to the desire to be left alone and conserve energy.

What causes die-off?

When we ingest healing foods like sauerkraut, raw fermented kefir, and kombucha, the probiotics we are consuming can be much more powerful than supplements. The repopulaton of the gut with beneficial microbes leads to the depopulation of the harmful microbes and pathogens. Experiencing the die-off reaction which subsequently occurs can trick us into thinking that the food itself is making us sick. While this may be true in a sense, the reality is that the pathogens in our body, which have built up over time, are finally being killed off by the healthy foods which we have only just begun to consume.

Detoxification Reactions

Supplementing with iodine or chelating with Emeramide can cause reactions similar to those experienced with die-off. As our bodies rid themselves of harmful heavy metals and toxic chemicals by passing them through the skin, the rashes that they can cause are a type of allergic reaction, and many of these metals and chemicals are themselves immuno-toxic, meaning they cause inflammation in our bodies.¹