Cowden's program is structured around a fixed schedule of nine twenty-eight-day rotations. Where Buhner reaches for one antimicrobial herb at higher dose, Cowden cycles several at moderate dose, banking on rotation to prevent resistance and avoid plateau.
“Resistance is a function of monotony. Rotate, drain, and the body will do most of the work.”
Schedule
The Nine-Month Rotation
Months 1–3
Microbial defense
- Samento (TOA-free Cat's Claw)
- Banderol
- Cumanda
- Burbur-Pinella (drainage)
Months 4–6
Rotational broadening
- Quina
- Houttuynia
- Mora
- Sealantro (heavy metals)
Months 7–9
Tissue & lymphatic
- Serrapeptase
- Pinella
- Burbur
- Stevia (biofilm)
Stevia and biofilm
A 2015 University of New Haven study (PMID 26716015) found that whole-leaf stevia extract reduced Borrelia burgdorferi biofilm more effectively than tested antibiotics. Stevia is a late-rotation cornerstone of the Cowden program for this reason.
Drainage as discipline
Burbur-Pinella drops, taken three to six times per day, are non-negotiable in the Cowden framework. The premise is that herxing is mostly a drainage failure: clear the pathways and most patients tolerate the full dose.