If you are a frequent traveller to distant, more exotic lands and you aren't afraid of street food, it might be worth doing a parasite cleanse once or twice a year.
On Valentine's Day this year, I found a parasite in my stools. An unmissable earth-worm sized thing was just there. I am an avid traveller and intrepid eater, so I knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. But it was still horrifying! This said, I'm never one to turn down the opportunity to test herbs out on myself. I had to wait 2 weeks until my appointment with a doctor so rather than freak out while I waited, I hit the herbs hard.
Step 1: Don't freak out
After some pretty horrible internet research, I identified it as a "roundworm" which is quite common in tropical countries. An infection is easy to pick up as the water is often riddled with microscopic eggs which then gets onto food or onto your hands and then into your mouth. They can grow up to 2meters long! By the look of mine, I had been kindly hosting it for about 18months.
The symptoms depend on the types of roundworm causing the infection. Many affected people have no symptoms. Some affected people may develop one or more of the following:
Bloating
Tiredness
Allergic rash (urticaria)
Abdominal pains
Feeling sick
Vomiting and/or diarrhoea.
The larvae in the lungs can sometimes cause symptoms such as wheeze, cough, and other chest problems
The more you read however, the more you come across articles that blame parasite infections for everything from depression and weight gain to cancer.
In my case, I had been experiencing extreme tiredness some evenings and a couple of months before I had been to the emergency room because of an acute pain near my appendix.
Step 2: Become a terrible host
Everyone wants to be known as a great host - but obviously not to parasites.
Diet
For 2 weeks, make it your mission to cut out the food worms love and to eat the food they hate. If it looks like food a student might enjoy (e.g. pizza) don't eat it.
Make as much of your food yourself at home to avoid temptation
Stop eating all raw fish, dairy, meat, sugars, alcohol and bread.
Eat lots of garlic
Eat lots of leafy greens like kale and spinach
Make smoothies with whole pineapple (remove the skin but keep the core)
Make smoothies with papaya (include a tsp of the papaya's black seeds)
Herbs
Humans have long had to co-exist with parasites and there are some great herbal parasite killers, otherwise known as vermifuges or anthelmintics notably Wormwood (Absynthe), Black Walnut and Clove.
Treatment plan:
For 2 weeks, I combined PARAGONE which includes a tincture as well as a herbal supplement to eliminate parasites in the gut with GAIA's Supreme Cleanse Kit to support colon elimination and liver detoxification. It is very important that your colon is also being cleansed as eggs and worms can hide in all the cracks in crevices where mucoid plaque has built up in your intestines. I also took an extra garlic supplement with every meal.
If you are sure you have parasites, the true protocol is to repeat this cleanse 21 days later in case you have any dormant eggs left inside of you.
Results
Straight away: some very rubbery stuff came out in my stools which made me realise how important it is to gift your body with a cleanse once or twice a year.
2 weeks later: I had a colonoscopy along with a bunch of stool tests: I HAD NO REMAINING TRACES OF PARASITES!
6 months later: I lost weight which never came back and now I don't really get bloated anymore
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DISCLAIMER:
The content provided is for information purposes only and is in no way intended to be a substitute for medical consultation with a qualified professional.