Dr. Frank Aieta, ND

Lyme Literate Doctor

West Hartford CT

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was in my late 20’s with occasional phases of remission, but for the most part I dealt with daily symptoms of muscle weakness, visual problems and painful muscle spasms. Traditional medicine would help slightly with these symptoms but never really got rid of them completely. For the past 2 years I have been working with Dr. Frank Aieta and have been in complete remission for the longest stretch since being diagnosed over 20 years ago.

Dr. Aieta’s treatment started with dietary and lifestyle changes specifically removing processed and allergenic food from my diet. He ran extensive blood work that revealed numerous nutrient deficiencies and hormonal imbalances. Dr. Aieta treated my deficiencies with natural supplements and balanced my hormones through natural hormone replacement. Dr. Aieta was the first doctor to look at the hormonal connection to my disease. I recounted to Dr. Aieta the times in my life when my M.S. was the most manageable and it was only during my pregnancies.

Dr. Aieta explained to me that during pregnancy there is a dominance of the estrogen called estriol and that there is quite a bit of research out there demonstrating that this estrogen can be very helpful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, especially M.S.

Dr. Aieta put me on natural bio-identical estriol and progesterone in conjunction with the other natural supplements. It took a few weeks for the supplements and natural hormones to build up in my system before I started to see an improvement but once it did my M.S. symptoms gradually got better and better until they were almost non-existent.

I am very grateful to Dr. Aieta in helping me manage this terrible illness and for bringing me to a greater level of overall health through proper diet, supplementation and hormonal balancing.

I just recently had my latest follow up appointment with Dr. Aieta. He has been treating me for the past 9 months for Type II diabetes and will monitor my blood work every 3 months. I am happy to say that at my last appointment he informed me that I was no longer considered a diabetic!

When I first came to see Dr. Aieta about 9 months ago I was on about 6 different medications for blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Despite being on all these medications my blood work was still terrible, my 3 month lab marker for blood sugar ideally should be less than 6, according to Dr. Aieta, and mine was around 8.6. My blood pressure was still elevated and I had virtually no energy what so ever. I had been following a diet that was given to me by my endocrinologist yet I couldn’t lose a pound, in fact it seemed like I was gaining more weight on a daily basis. Granted I wasn’t perfect with my diet but even my endocrinologist couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t losing weight, I was barely eating at all. He was ready to put me on more medications at our last visit.

After speaking with Dr. Aieta on my first visit, he told me I was eating completely wrong and that the diet that my endocrinologist put me on was actually making my problems much worse. The diet I was on contained way too much starch according to Dr. Aieta. All the fruit and grains that I was consuming were making my blood sugar much worse. He dramatically changed my diet and had me eating much more protein and vegetables as well as more often. He actually eliminated the fruit and grains from my diet altogether.

With in 2 months I had lost almost 16 pounds, had much more energy and at 3 months my blood work showed that my blood sugar dropped an average of 60 points. It is now 9 months since starting my diet and natural supplement treatment plan and I have lost a total of 60 pounds and am on no medications at all and have nearly perfect blood work. I eat all organic foods at this point (mostly protein and vegetables), exercise every day and am on a regimen of vitamins and herbs, prescribed by Dr. Aieta, that I take faithfully. Dr. Aieta changed my life for the better in so many ways.

I am no longer a diabetic, have normal blood pressure and plan on continuing my present lifestyle forever. 9 months ago when I first saw Dr. Aieta I was a 49 year old man who felt 80, now I’m a 49 year old man that feels 29. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me, Dr Aieta. I just can’t understand why the so called expert in the field of diabetes (my endocrinologist) had no clue how to treat me, he just knew how to put me on more useless medication instead of getting to the root of the problem like Dr. A.

When I first came to Dr. Aieta, I had been to various specialists trying to get my thyroid under control. I had been placed on the thyroid medicine, Synthroid a few years back but still seemed to be suffering from symptoms of low thyroid. My symptoms included extreme fatigue, water retention and an inability to lose weight despite intense daily exercise and following a strict diet. Every doctor I would go to would look at my blood work and tell me that my thyroid was working properly and there was nothing more they could do. They would tell me I should just stay on the Synthroid because there were no other options. After meeting with Dr. Aieta he explained to me that some patients just didn't respond well to Synthroid and that there were indeed other options. The first thing Dr. Aieta did was run some more blood work to check for something called free T3. Apparently this is the more active of the 2 types of thyroid hormones and that Synthoid was just T4, the less active one. He explained how the body needs to convert Synthroid or T4 over to the more active T3 hormone. He said that some people had a harder time doing this and despite being on thyroid medicine they still would have symptoms of a slow thyroid.

When we got my results back, my T3 levels were indeed very low. Dr. Aieta had me switch over to a natural thyroid medicine that had both T3 and T4 in it. He also put me on a natural adrenal supplement because he said I had very low cortisol and a hormone called DHEA, and he said that these needed to be corrected in conjunction with treating the thyroid.

It was amazing, after only a few days of being on the new thyroid medicine and adrenal supplement I felt so much better. Once I started feeling better, Dr. Aieta said we should investigate a little further to determine why my thyroid was not functioning properly. He explained to me that in order for the thyroid to make thyroid hormone it needed the mineral Iodine in adequate amounts as well as other minerals like selenium and zinc. He had me do a specialized test to check my iodine levels through a urine sample. He had me take a specific dose of iodine then collect my urine for 24 hours, then send a sample to the lab. Dr. Aieta explained that if I had enough iodine in my body then I would eliminate majority of the dosage through the urine but if I was deficient I would retain it.

When we got the results back, Dr. Aieta was very shocked by the results. I apparently only eliminated about 20% of the iodine I took in, indicating a severe iodine deficiency. I began taking iodine on daily basis and an amazing thing happened after only 3 months, I was actually able to get off of the thyroid medication because my thyroid was now working again on its own because it had enough Iodine now to make thyroid hormone. I can truly say that I have never felt better in my life and it’s all because Dr. Aieta actually uncovered the root cause of my problem and addressed it.

For many years I suffered with very erratic blood pressure levels. I had been to numerous cardiologists and tried dozens of blood pressure medications and nothing seemed to regulate the pressure for too long. I would go through times when my pressure would go too low and I’d have to go off all medications and it would run perfect for a while then it would go through the roof, to the point of severe headaches. I finally decided to seek an alternative and went to see Dr. Aieta. I came to see him in the winter time and my pressure was running quite high at the time, despite being on 3 different medications.

Dr. Aieta took a very thorough history and did an exam. He asked me if I noticed if my pressure changed during different seasons. I thought for a minute and told him that it tends to run much lower in the summer oppose to winter, but that I just attributed that to me being more active in the summer and less so in the winter. I actually worked outside all summer long doing landscaping and was much more sedentary in the winter. Dr. Aieta went on to explain that the variation in my blood pressure was probably due to low vitamin D in the winter due to the lack of sunlight. He then went on to read me numerous studies that showed how low vitamin D can severely affect blood pressure. He decided to check my levels through a blood test and when the results came back he found my level to be 4, he stated that the optimal level was around 60...Wow!

Dr. Aieta started me on a high dose of vitamin D for the next 4 months and my pressure started to gradually come down. It has been almost 2 years since I first saw Dr. Aieta and my pressure has been perfect all year round, without medications, as long as I maintain my vitamin D levels within a good range.

Dr. Aieta also taught me how to eat properly and corrected numerous other deficiencies which have helped a lot with my other health concerns. I am amazed that no other doctor ever thought of checking my vitamin D levels, even the so called blood pressure specialists. I think that all they specialize in are expensive drugs that don’t work! Thanks Dr. Aieta for caring enough to look for the actual cause of my problem instead of just giving me a band aid treatment.

I had been suffering from digestive problems my whole life it seemed. I had been to numerous doctors over the years and was subjected to many unpleasant tests and procedures. The doctors kept telling me that there was nothing wrong with my digestive tract; it was just irritable bowel syndrome. I was prescribed many different drugs including an anti-depressant despite me not feeling depressed. I took all these medications for a number of years and my symptoms were still the same but now I was getting new symptoms due to the side effects of the drugs. I was tired of living with constant digestive problems; always worrying when I left my home, where the nearest bathroom was located.

I finally heard about Dr. Aieta through a friend, whom Dr. Aieta cured of her longstanding digestive problems. I quickly made an appointment, hoping for a miracle. When I first met Dr. Aieta, the first thing he asked me after listening to my history was, “Out of all the doctors that you have seen over the years, has any of them talked to about diet?” I had to think for a minute and I replied, “maybe one doctor mentioned that I should try eating more fiber, but that was the extent of it” Dr. Aieta then asked me many questions regarding my present diet, my ability to deal with stess, sleep patterns and energy level. He inquired about things that these other doctor never even thought about asking. By the end of the visit he prescribed some dietary changes which included the elimination of wheat, dairy and corn.

Dr. Aieta noticed I had been eating large amounts of all three of these foods on a daily basis. He suggested good substitutes for these things and put me on some herbs and supplements that would help with my digestion. He also ran a very complete panel of blood work to rule out nutrient deficiencies and a possible wheat allergy. I noticed after only 2 days of following Dr. Aieta’s recommendations and taking the supplements that my symptoms had improved dramatically, I was totally amazed but at the same time angry at the other doctors who failed to treat me properly and simply discuss diet with me.

I had suffered for over 30 years with digestive problems and Dr. Aieta practically cured them in 2 days without drugs or surgery. Apparently I had a wheat allergy as well as an intolerance to dairy and corn and all that needed to be done was eliminate these foods from my diet. In thinking back, the doctor that gave me the advice to eat more fiber also suggested that I consume more whole wheat because he said it was a good source of fiber… Unbelievable!!

When I first came to see Dr. Aieta over 2 years ago, I was in bad shape. I had been diagnosed several years back with a form of rheumatoid arthritis that affected mostly my hands and arms as well as my ankles and feet making it difficult to walk. I had been to numerous specialists and had been put on countless drugs from pain killers to anti-inflammatories as well as several steroid injections. The medications would barely touch the pain at times and it seemed like my pain would never really improve, just get worse and worse. Finally fed up with it all I decided to go see Dr. Aieta out of desperation that he could come up with some alternative treatment for my condition.

At my initial visit with Dr. Aieta, he spent over an hour with me discussing the history of my illness and doing a complete exam on me. At the end of our interview Dr. Aieta said, “Based upon your history and physical exam findings I really think you have Lyme disease, have you ever been checked for it?” I told him that my rheumatologist ran a Lyme screen test twice and both times it came back negative. I told him that I do remember pulling multiple ticks off of myself in the past but never recalled a rash. Dr. Aieta told me that the ELISA test (Lyme screen) can be unreliable in diagnosing many cases of active Lyme disease and that you don’t need to see a rash to be infected with the Lyme bacteria

He recommended I do something called a Western Blot test through a specialty lab which end up came back positive. I was infuriated with my rheumatologist for never thinking of running this test and allowing me suffer for so many years. Dr. Aieta decided to send me to a Lyme specialist for further evaluation and possible antibiotic treatment. I started on the antibiotics but started to feel much worse and wasn’t able to tolerate them at all so I decided to stop them for now. I went back to Dr. Aieta and he started me on an aggressive herbal treatment plan to address the Lymes disease. I initially developed a slight worsening of my symptoms but nothing like with the antibiotics.

Dr. Aieta added in some nutrients and another herb that really lessened what Dr. Aieta referred to as the “die off reaction” from killing off the Lyme bacteria. After about a month of continuous treatment on Dr. Aieta’s plan I noticed about a 50% reduction in my pain symptoms and was now having more good days than bad ones. It took almost a year of off and on treatments with Dr. Aieta but I can honestly say that I am 100% better and have not had any relapses.

I’d like to thank Dr. Aieta for everything that he has done for me over the past few years and if it wasn’t for him diagnosing and treating my Lyme disease I don’t know where I’d be in terms of my health right now.

Over the course of two years Dr. Aieta helped me so much and I feel fortunate that I was refereed to him. I met Dr. Aieta two years ago in January 2006. I came for my first visit trying to evaluate if I can avoid laparoscopic surgery to remove benign cyst on my right ovary. After my third child my menstrual cycles were very chaotic, with periods returning every 10 days. My ob/gyn doctor kept convincing me that changing birth control pills will regulate this problem.

At the same time she found a benign cyst on my ovary that was a source of this unusual bleedings. She suggested that laparscopic surgery will resolve the problem.

After in depth review of my laboratory results, Dr. Aieta recommended two different supplements, and to stop my birth control pills. To my surprise, my cycles completely returned to normal within two months, I gained more energy and I haven’t had a problem in 2 years.

In December of 2007 another problem arose. I started to experience left shoulder pain and intense headaches. These headaches were an intense stretching pain pulling at my ears, nose and top of my head. I wasn’t even able to wear hair pins or elastics because the intensity of the pain was so overwhelming. I was unable to sleep at night because as soon as I placed my head against the pillow the pressure in the head, neck, and shoulder irritated me and increased the intensity of the headaches. I was exhausted and scared about the possible source of this constant headache.

My primary care physician gave me two prescriptions, one for muscle relaxation and another for depression. I was beside myself that this doctor would prescribe an antidepressant without even discussing it with me. I decided to go see Dr. Aieta at the end January 2008 after e-mailing him my concerns. He explained to me that source of my headache was a tight muscle in my left shoulder and neck. He discussed treatment options with me, and now at the middle of March 08, my headache is almost completely gone.

During the course of treatment I was taking a homeopathic muscle relaxant, receiving ultrasound and acupuncture treatments on my neck and shoulders, and my spine was realigned every two weeks. My sleep returned to normal and I’m now able function normally during the day. Yes, I have to be aware when tightness in my shoulder starts to increase and keep up with stretching exercises that Dr. Aieta suggested and continue with acupuncture on a prophylactic basis.

These two examples demonstrate how I gained my health back through simple, natural, noninvasive measures. Also I was enriched with new knowledge how to care and prevent my health problems. As a health care educated person I strongly support science and research based findings. I also believe that we here in the USA have advanced resources and technology that can safe many lives. At the same time I’m quite often disturbed how licensed health care professionals apply these resources and how poorly they educate their patients about preventive health care choices. I greatly value gaining my health back thanks to Dr. Aieta's natural approaches of health.

When I first met Dr Aieta I was very skeptical. I was very unhealthy and had been seeking help with my primary physician for several months. My chiropractor suggested I make an appointment to see Dr Aieta. I will to this day, be forever grateful for that suggestion.

On my first appointment with Dr Aieta, I told him what had been going on with me. The high blood pressure, overweight, swollen hands, acid reflux, ulcer, hot flashes, joint pain, tired all the time and no energy. He spent over and hour with me taking a very detailed history and physical exam and he sent me for blood work. When the blood tests came back it revealed that I was borderline diabetic, my cholesterol was 252, my liver and kidneys were very overworked and the uric acid in my blood was very high indicating the early stages of gout. I have been troubled with migraines and acid reflux syndrome all my life. Recently I had undergone surgery, which left me with hot flashes. I was also just diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Basically, I was falling apart.

Dr Aieta had already suspected some of what was going on with my body before the blood test results, however this confirmed it. He immediately put me on the blood type diet and some natural herbs and nutrients to start opening things up with my kidneys and liver. I immediately lost 12 lbs in 10 days from all the fluid I had been retaining. I no longer needed the medicine that was prescribed for me by my primary physician for the high blood pressure and water retention. My joint pains had also dramatically improved.

Secondly, Dr Aieta started working on my acid reflux and ulcer. I took his naturals herbs and no longer needed my Acifex for this problem. As long as I followed the diet, I felt fine.

Now it is 5 months later, I have lost a total of 40 pounds, I have more energy and pain free (joint and migraine), my cholesterol is at 211 and I have dropped 2 prescriptions.

I know, I still have some more work to do to be back to healthy status fully; however I have made so much progress. I call Dr Aieta my miracle worker. My primary care physician probably would have never had seen all this coming or would have had me on more meds. They cover the problem up and Dr Aieta solves them. It's like he shook me and woke me up from this nightmare and showed me the right way to live.

With Dr Aieta's knowledge and determination (and my own), I will live a happier and healthier life. Thank you just doesn't seem enough for giving me back my livelihood.

If you are not feeling well and have had it with traditional medicine, Dr. Aieta is the physician for you. His approach to better health is very refreshing and it works. He does comprehensive blood work and a complete history to find the deficiencies your body may have. In my case, there were many. Dr. Aieta develops a plan, when followed, gives you great results. I followed his plan and haven't felt this well in years.

I was a 50 year old, insulin diabetic, who was a slave to injecting insulin 4 times a day for 5 ½ years and my A1C (my 3 month marker for blood sugar) just kept going up. My A1C was 8.2 when I first went to Dr. Aieta and after 4 months on his plan, it dropped to 6 and I have been off insulin for 2 months now. I was also gaining weight due to the insulin use, and had extreme high and extreme low glucose readings at unpredictable times that just left me feeling drained and shaky. I was so disgusted with checking my blood sugar 4-6 times a day because I felt so lousy and was willing to do whatever it took to make me feel better.

I am so grateful to have met Dr. Aieta. I followed his diet and have been off insulin for 2 months now and I want everyone out there to know that it is possible to feel better and have better glucose numbers if you follow what Dr. Aieta says. It is not that difficult to eat whole foods that are unprocessed when they actually make you feel better. I don't miss the bread, pasta and cereals because I never felt good after I ate them anyway. It was only a momentary pleasure but I always paid the price in higher glucose numbers and the enormous crash afterwards which led me to seek more starches to help regulate my blood sugar. I have lost 40 pounds in the process and it really keeps me motivated. It is so great not having to use insulin or any other medication to regulate my blood sugar. No traditional physician ever checked my pancreas to see if it was even producing insulin. Fortunately, my pancreas was working and with the change in diet and supplements my own insulin is now working more effectively to move nutrients into my cells.

I am also very disgusted with the Diabetes Association because their diabetic diet really does nothing to regulate glucose throughout the day. Counting carbs used to drive me crazy and the really frustrating part is it never worked and made me feel awful. It is horrible that the pharmaceutical companies advertise their new products for diabetes which have so many awful side effects when you can, in most cases, change your diet and not need them in the first place.

In addition, I have also gotten off prednisone which I have been taken for many years due to breathing problems. Due to the long term use of prednisone my adrenals are really burned out and I now take natural cortisol in it's place with other supplements and have no breathing problems, whatsoever, and no more side effects from the terrible prednisone. The traditional physicians I have seen never took me off of anything and only added more medications. I have also stopped using my Lanoxin after 20 years because I no longer have any arrythmias, which were apparently due to my poor diet and all the nutrient deficiencies.

After Dr. Aieta ran an allergy profile it was found that I don't even have the allergies I was told I had so I stopped taking my singulair, zyrtec and have been perfectly symtom free. Dr. Aieta's wholistic treatment of my condition resulted in all of those symptoms going away. I also had elevated liver and muscle enzymes due to taking lipitor, which promply returned to normal once I stopped taking it. The severe hand and leg muscle cramps also went away. The best part is that I'm off the cholesterol med. (lipitor) and my cholesterol reading remained low with Dr. Aieta's diet/supplement plan.

Are you feeling like you cannot drag yourself out of bed, can sleep for 24 hours a day and still feel like a dish rag, have NO energy at all, walk around feeling like a zombie, very depressed?…so did I-and the problem is very real and not in your head…

It is close to the 1 year anniversary when I was blessed to meet Dr. Aieta and get the most thorough evaluation of my health history-EVER. At our very first meeting, Dr. Aieta spent way over an hour talking to me and going over a very detailed questionnaire about my entire health and family history. He really listened to me explain about my numerous problems at 47 years of age. Every other doctor just filled me with drugs, never explained why or what they would do to me and kind of dismissed me, as if all of my problems were all in my head. They made me feel like I was wasting their time and I was feeling very depressed and very hopeless. My life felt very grim and my life and marriage were suffering-basically I felt like crawling under the covers and never getting up!!!

Actually that is what did happen. Some of you reading this may feel the same way-so extremely tired that you simply cannot get yourself out of bed. A few years ago, at the age of 45, I developed severe asthma-out of the clear blue-severe chronic fatigue, high blood pressure and severe depression. I was put on several medications, and still had to make several visits to the e.r. due to severe asthma attacks. After one visit to Dr. Aieta, he recommended I eliminate all dairy products from my diet. I thought to myself cut out milk and I'll have no asthma-yeah right-well, well, well it did just that. People-I am so sincerely telling you asthma sufferers that it absolutely, positively works. Apparently, the dairy products produce a great deal of phlegm and congestion-contributing to the asthma attacks. I tell you I have been asthma free for one year now-just by cutting all dairy products out of my diet. I have also tested it by having a great piece of chocolate moose cake and have started wheezing shortly after. It is so hard-but so worth the benefits.

Dr. Aieta does a complete blood evaluation on his patients-no doctor I've ever known does that. I would beg my regular doctor to do some blood work-they'd say your fine just get more exercise. After receiving the results of my blood work, Dr. Aieta informed me of my blood type-which I never knew and would always ask for. He also informed me of the most valuable information of my life-there WAS something really wrong with me-it was not in my head. I'll tell you I could have kissed him right then and there. I had what is called severe Adrenal Fatigue-a very real and dangerous condition. (Please read Dr. Aieta's article on Adrenal Fatigue on his web site). Through my blood work, Dr. Aieta found out my cortisol levels were extremely low, thus causing my extreme fatigue, depression, high blood pressure, etc.

Dr. Aieta put me on a diet according to my blood type, put me on natural supplements and now it is one year later as I sit here writing this wonderful testimonial about the man who literally saved my life. I am feeling like my old self again-able to enjoy and embrace life. Dr. Aieta still continues to monitor my health and does blood work every few months. Every time I have a question or concern I can e-mail or call Dr. Aieta and he gets back to me so fast it amazes me. I feel he truly cares about me as a person, and I cannot begin to tell you how priceless that it is.

Anyone reading this who is hesitant about seeing a naturopathic phyiscian-please please call right now and make an appointment to see and meet the most amazing doctor-Dr. Aieta. My family and I are truly indebted to him forever...
Very, very sincerely,

“I’ve got my life back.” That's what I told Dr. Aieta at my third appointment after just one month of treatment. I came to Dr. Aieta out of desperation. For over a decade I’ve sought help from doctors to gain relief from extreme fatigue, insomnia, brittle, cracked nails, dry, itchy scalp, swollen extremities, extreme weight gain, cravings for sweets and carbs, overall achiness and painful joints and memory loss. I was put on medication that seemed to make my symptoms worse and was told there was no correlation among my symptoms. Dr. Aieta listened to me, did extensive blood work and based on both my description of my issues and the blood work results, gave me a customized vitamin, mineral and hormonal regimen that address the root causes of my symptoms.

So how is my life now?

I can now go up and down stairs and get out of my car without my body aching. I get tired at night when I am supposed to and am awake and energized during the day. I sleep through the night! When I take my walks I no longer feel like I am sloughing through wet cement. My hands and ankles no longer swell by the end of my walks and I can actually make a fist, which I couldn't before because my fingers were so swollen. My back, arms and legs don't ache (in a debilitating way) when I exercise. My scalp no longer itches. My skin is no longer dry and flaky. My nails actually grow. I'm not constantly hungry and my carb and sweet cravings have decreased dramatically. I have lost weight and my short term memory is returning. I no longer feel like I am living in a fog. It's miraculous. If you feel miserable and 'traditional' medicine hasn't helped, please don't wait as long as I did to take charge of your health—make an appointment with Dr. Aieta.

For perspective, I am a 77-year-old Ph. D. - qualified engineer who has always striven to maintain optimum health with an eye to extending my longevity. I have researched human physiology and self-healthcare since the early 1970’s. My wife and I have been seeing Dr. Aieta since 2016. We went to him mainly for guidance with wife’s diabetes and dementia, and cardiovascular disease for both. He is by far the best doctor we have ever had! He is very polite and respectful, listens to all of our symptoms and questions, and teaches us what we need to know towards solving our health problems. I also love that he always seeks to find the root cause(s) of our health problems and recommends natural solutions like diet changes, exercise, and supplements. He also is well acquainted with Functional Medicine for treating the whole person (body, mind, and spirit). He has even helped me significantly with heavy metal detoxification and introduced me to “practical” genetics by recommending Dr. Ben Lynch’s “Dirty Genes” book.

His new book “Taking Back Your Health” is excellent! His several hours of videos, accessible through the book, are a wealth of immensely helpful and highly educational information adding immense value to the book while giving you the flavor of his office setting and his pleasant personality. I highly recommend this book – and Dr. Aieta to anyone!