Parasite alert! Learn what you can do to protect yourself

Better Nutrition, July, 1998 by Tamra B. Orr

Parasites have been called the "single most undiagnosed health challenge in the history of the human race," and some believe that everyone suffers from them unknowingly.

What are they? A parasite is any organism that lives off another at the host's expense. Parasites are either tiny protozoa and amoebae, or any one of a dozen types of worms. Unfortunately, we are the hosts and we're rarely aware of it even though we may be suffering the consequences.

Where do they come from? Small, microscopic parasites usually function like an infection, traveling through our bloodstream to any part of the body. One of the most well known types is Giardia lamblia, which passes through animal feces into the food and water and is a high risk for campers.

People in institutional settings like nursing homes and day care centers are also at risk from improperly washed hands. They can also be contracted when you're hiking, or camping, and drinking/using mountain-water in heavily visited areas. Giardiasis can result in severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, and fever, easily confused with the stomach flu or food poisoning.

What do they do in my body? Large parasites, unlike the microscopic ones, stay in the digestive tract and lay eggs. They can range from a few inches long to an amazing 30-plus feet! Like their smaller counterparts, they exist only to reproduce, eat, and not be discovered. The most recognized is the tapeworm, but others include pinworms, inchworms, hookworms, and thread-worms. No matter what kind they are, they spell trouble for your body.

Having a parasite can result in any number of symptoms -- or none at all. Sidney M. Baker, M.D., notes that every parasite secretes a toxin which acts as a poison in your body. Low levels can simply put additional stress on your immune system while higher levels can create symptoms like chronic fatigue, itchy nose, ears or anus, slow reflexes, loss of appetite, constipation, rapid heartbeat, heart pain, blurred vision, and bedwetting.

This can send your body into a toxic overload where the four cleansing systems of the body -- the lungs, kidneys, skin, and bowels -- are pushed too far to cope and result in sickness or disease. Researcher Hulda Clark believes that almost all cancer is the result of parasites, especially Fasciolopis buskii.

How does a person get a parasite? C.J. Puotinen writes, "Parasites, once associated with foreign countries or the poor and unhygienic, are a fact of modern American life." The most typical ways to get them are from eating raw meat or sushi, drinking mountain or lake water, not properly washing produce, or letting pets lick you. Other ways involve direct contact with an infected person.

Puotinen writes, "Even antibiotics have been blamed for our parasite problems because they kill beneficial bacteria that help repel parasites from healthy bodies."

Testing for parasites. The traditional methods to test for parasites include examination of stool samples, rectal swabs, or a combination. Unfortunately, medical testing only catches a fraction of some of the parasites, resulting in about 1 percent that are clinically found. Nutritionists stress, instead, that people find a product which kills all kinds at all stages -- from eggs to adult.

What can help me "debug"? Prescription medicine can help, but it's also quite stressful to the liver and the intestinal flora. Natural, medicinal herbs work slower, but are much gentler to the whole body. Experts usually recommend black walnut hull, wormwood, ground cloves, grapefruit seed, garlic, and chaparral leaf or essential oils of cinnamon, tea tree, and eucalyptus.

Avoid foods that attract parasites, such as sugar, refined carbohydrates, dairy products, and grains with gluten, and eat foods that repel parasites like cranberry juice, apple cider vinegar, pumpkin seeds, and onions.

According to the research, parasites can be inside a person for years, even decades. They've even been called "partners for life." No one wants to spend the rest of his life with an "unwanted passenger" which only exists to steal health.

REFERENCES

Baker, Sidney MacDonald, M.D. Detoxification and Healing: The Key to Optimal Health. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, Inc., 1997.

Liopski, Elizabeth, M.S., C.C.N. Digestive Wellness. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, Inc., 1996.

Puotinen, C.J. Herbs forDetoxification. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, Inc., 1997.

Puotinen, C.J. Herbs to Improve Digestion. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, Inc., 1996.