P A R A S I T E S

It’s the new year so I thought I’d start us off with the grossest subject I could possibly think about.

Parasites.

I realized the other day that I talk to nearly everyone I come into contact with about parasites, yet I haven’t done a blog on them. How rude! (channeling my inner Stephanie Tanner there).

Let’s do a little 4-1-1.

If you have any familiarity with parasites, usually it involves the “big guys”, tapeworm and ropeworm. These guys are big and wreak havoc on the body. Their effects are obvious.

We are going to go beyond these…yes, there are MORE parasites. And they like to hide. There are hundreds of different species (if not more than that). Cestodes, nematodes, protozoa, etc. The type isn’t actually THAT important.

What is important is that they get into your system via contaminated food, contaminated water, swimming in lakes, soil, travel, and from our pets. I’ve even read that some microscopic eggs can be in the air. GROSS.

When these little buggers get into our body they get realllll cozy. They lay eggs. The eggs hatch. Babies grow. The cycle starts again.

DOUBLE GROSS.

Parasites can co-exist in our bodies for a while. But the bigger they grow or the more of them that populate your body, the sicker we get.

Before I go on and talk about how these little bugs can harm our entire bodies (not just our GI tract), I want to let you know that they actually do serve a purpose in the body. They eat toxins. Especially heavy metals. Candida too. Mold. All of these nasty things co-exist together.

If you have a parasite, you likely have other toxins in your body too. Parasites can’t live if they don’t have food. Their food just happens to be toxins we are ingesting or absorbing.

Parasites strain the immune system. As any foreign critter would. BUT they are also smart. They don’t want to die. They want to repopulate and grow a family inside your body.

(This is SO gross I know, but stay with me).

And while these bugs are brainless (at least I assume so), they are smart and will hide in something called biofilm, in order to escape being detected. Many things, in fact, hide in biofilm, including fungus (especially Candida).

As parasites continue to grow within the body, they get bored of being in your gut and will hop into the lymph system or bloodstream and take a short trip to your brain, your nasal passages, and/or joints. They can clog the bile ducts where bile moves through in order to help digest the fat you are eating. Gallbladder pain? Trouble with digesting fatty foods? You want to consider parasites.

It really rewarding to start a parasite cleanse and see the critters come out, however, most people won’t see anything. So many of these little guys are microscopic and can’t be seen by the naked eye. The only indicator is improvement in symptoms.

And remember when I mentioned those eggs they lay? Multiple parasite-killing protocols need to happen before you can feel confident your body has pushed those bad boys out.

The Symptoms

So let’s talk about some of the symptoms you might have that may indicate you have parasites:

• Bloating, gas, IBS, SIBO, constipation, diarrhea

• Autoimmune disease, particularly thyroid

• Arthritis

• Brain Fog

• Fatigue

• Weight gain

• Nutritional deficiencies

• Iron deficiency anemia

• Depression and/or anxiety

• Insomnia, nighttime bruxism (teeth-grinding)

• Anal itching

• Acne, skin rashes, psoriasis

• Sugar cravings

• Muscle and joint pain

• Food sensitivities

• Any symptoms that worsen during the full moon

If you have one of these (or several) and have been trying other treatments with no results, you haven’t gotten to the root cause yet-which may be a parasite.

Convinced there’s no way you could have a parasite? Over a billion people each year have some sort of parasitic infection. So yeah, you probably have a parasite.

The Cleanse

I want to give you a quick overview so you know what to look for in doing a parasite cleanse. I do recommend working with a qualified practitioner because the side effects if done incorrectly or too fast can be rough.

1. First, you want to make sure your drainage pathways are open. This means that you are urinating, sweating, and pooping on the daily.

2. You need to provide the right balance of herbs (and varying it monthly for several months) to kill the parasites.

3. You need something to bind the little guys and help them get bound in your stool and excreted.

4. I also like to use kidney and liver support and sometimes lymph support because parasites can hang out in there too.

Remember how I mentioned that parasites like to eat the toxins in your body, well, we need to clear that out too, which will make a reoccurrence of parasites in your body less likely. Part of the final steps of the cleanse I do with clients includes addressing heavy metals, mold, and fungus.

The key is to do this process strategically, varying the products each month for 4-6 months. After that, I recommend bi-annual cleanses on the full moon because we will continue to be exposed to parasites daily. This ensures that we can keep your body operating optimally.

I could go on and on about parasites. As gross as they are, addressing them has been key for so many of my patients.

I’ve seen a chronically amenorrheic patient have her period return after only 2 months of a parasite cleanse.

I’ve seen patients with severe bloating and digestive pain go into remission after evicting these bugs.

I’ve witnessed children improve their immune systems (chronically ill kiddos) with cleanses.

And I personally have been able to add foods back into my diet that I couldn’t tolerate after completing multiple cleanses.

Parasites could be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Happy New Year! Here’s to you and your health this year,