Evaluating Science Behind Parasite Protocols

If you've spent any time on health focused social media lately You may have noticed a lot of chat about parasite cleanses Could your bloating, fatigue, or brain fog actually be explained by a hidden parasitic infection But before you head down that rabbit hole, let's take a closer look at what the science actually says about parasite cleanses, who needs them, whether they work, and whether they're safe And fair warning, Discussions of parasites can get a little gross, so if you're eating lunch, maybe save this one for later Hello, I'm Monica Ryle and you're listening to the Nutrition Diva podcast, a show where we take a closer look at the latest nutrition news, trends, and research and answer your food and nutrition questions. And today's topic was suggested by Patty, who wrote to ask Does a parasite cleanse work? And is it safe to do or is it just the latest thing Well, parasite cleansers are actually not new. When I first started in nutrition over twenty years ago Herbal parasite protocols were already a staple of the natural medicine world They were never really mainstream, but They sure had a devoted following there are a couple of reasons that this topic seems to be Trending once again Ivermectin, which is a legitimate anti parasitic drug It became more of a household name during the COVID pandemic when it was promoted without evidence as a treatment for that virus And in fact, several large trials were conducted to test that hypothesis and they found no evidence of benefit And at this point, that matter is largely settled. at least in the mainstream In view of those clinical trial results, the NIH, the World Health Organization and the European medical authorities all recommend against Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID nineteen. Even Merc The pharmaceutical company that developed Ivermectin released a statement in february twenty twenty one, stating that there is no scientific basis for its use against COVID nineteen But Perhaps that episode somehow planted the idea parasites were more relevant to everyday health than most of us had thought In any event Parasite cleanses have recently gone viral on TikTok. as a solution for symptoms ranging from bloating to brain fog Now it's not hard to understand why this type of content has proliferated on social media It offers A simple explanation for symptoms that can be frustratingly vague And conveniently, the same influencers raising the alarm are often selling a solution And this type of content tends to follow a predictable pattern. We see dramatic before and after stories sometimes, including reallyally yucky images of what they claimed came out during a cleanse as proof that they had a parasitic infection. Doctors who have looked at this content note that the material that's being shown in these photographs is usually mucus or fiber or undigested food, not parasites. But you know by the time that correction makes the rounds The cleanse kit has already sold out. While these parasite cleansing protocols may be bogus, Parasites themselves are not fake news. There are three main categories of parasites that can and do afflict humans. parasites Protozoa and helelmets. Pop parasites live on the body rather than inside it. So this includes things like lice, scabies, mites, ticks, and fleas And their effects are mostly external. They cause itching, rashes, skin irritation, although some, notably ticks, can transmit other serious infections. Protozoa are microscopic single celled organisms Things like jardia and cryptosiridium, both of which are typically picked up through contaminated water So maybe a stream that you drank from on a hike or a pool with inadequate sanitation or in some cases, contaminated produce Giardia and cryptosiridium generally cause intestinal symptoms. Pxoplasma is a protozoone that can be acquired from eating undercooked meat or contact with cat feces. This one's often asymptomatic But it can be quite serious in immunocompromised individuals or during pregnancy. Heelmyths, the third category, include things like round wororms, hookworms, pinworms. worms And these types of parasites are transmitted in a variety of ways, including contaminated water, undercooked meat Even just walking barefoot outside Symptoms from this type of parasite can include diarrhea and abdominal pain, but they can also lead to malnutrition, anemia or even impaired growth And this is the category of parasite that is most often featured in parasite cleanse claims Maybe because it conjures such viscerally disturbing visuals. Ag, in reality, What might be shed in your stool is generally microscopic and would be invisible to the naked eye. So the dramatic worm imagery in that cleansse content is rarely what it's made out to be. and parasite infections are also Not as common as social media would have you believe The claim that sixty million Americans have parasites, which I see circulating on social media is very misleading. In fact, the CDC estimates that around forty million Americans are infected with toxoplasma, but the vast majority of those infections are asymptomatic. They do not require treatment Here's what matters for our purposes Effective treatment depends Hirely on identifying the specific organism tapeworm and Gardia are not treated the same way, which is why the idea of an all purpose parasite cleanse doesn't really make sense. Just for the sake of argument, let's take a look at what's typically in these kits and protocols Most herbal parasite cleanse products combine ingredients like wormwood. walnut Cove, oregano, garlic, papaya seed and various other botanicals Many of these have a long history in traditional medicine And some do show activity against parasites in laboratory settings, but there's a big difference between something that upsets parasites who live in test tubes, and ones that can eradicate a parasitic infection in a living human being Now these products aren't sold as dietary supplements rather than drugs, which means that manufacturers don't have to prove efficacy before bringing them to market And in fact, there are no well designed human trials demonstrating that commercial herbal cleanse products reliably treat parasitic infections Even if they did An herb that has some effect against one organism may do nothing against another So whether you're using herbs or pharmaceuticals Effective treatment would be dependent on matching the treatment to the specific parasite you need to treat, which in turn, requires actually confirming the presence of and identifying the organism. Natural also doesn't necessarily mean harmless. Some of these ingredients can cause GI upset, allergic reactions, And at higher doses, even potential liver or kidney stress Some of them interact with other medications, including blood thinners And perhaps The most underappreciated risk is what might happen when the cleanse doesn't seem to be working because the temptation is to conclude that you have a really stubborn case and so you do another round or you escalate to a stronger protocol. But repeated or prolonged use is going to increase the risk of any adverse effects from those ingredients And meanwhile The symptoms that have prompted this cleanse in the first place, whether that's bloating or fatigue or brain fog, They may have a completely different cause That's going unxamined and untreated So the bottom line is that there really is very little evidence that these parasite cleanses are effective in reading the body of parasites. which is a bit ironic because there's even less evidence that most people have parasites in the first place Now, if you have genuine reason to suspect a parasitic infection Maybe you've traveled internationally or you've had exposure to untreated water and you're experiencing persistent diarrhea or unexplained weight loss, definitely ask your doctor about getting proper medical testing to rule out infection direct to consumer parasite test kits which lack the oversight of validated medical testing are definitely not recommended here And if it turns out that you do have a parasite, then your doctor's going to be able to prescribe effective, well studied treatments for it. And in the more probable events that you don't Well, then your doctor may be better positioned to identify what's actually behind your symptoms. becausecause the symptoms that frequently drive people toward parasite cleanses, the bloating, fatigue, brain fog, digestive problems are more commonly caused by things like Irritable Bowel syndrome Food intolerances stress, sleep disruption, or medication side effects But Parasclens doesn't address any of those And it may really delay you from finding out what's actually going on and what you really need. I hope you found that helpful. If you have a food or nutrition question you'd like me to answer on an upcoming episode, you can email it to me at nutrition at quick and dirtytips. com I also want to send out a special thanks to several listeners who have suggested me as a presenter to their HR directors or their conference planning committees If you'd like to find out about having me present at your next live or virtual event, you can learn more at wellnessworksheere dot com Nutrition Diva is a quuick and dirty Tips podcast. Holly Hutchinings is our director of podcasts. Steve Rickerberg is our audio engineer. Morgan Christensen heads up podcast operations and advertising. Rebecca Sebastian is our manager of markarketing and publicity Matt Hoops is our marketing and operations assistant and Maram Al Nagib is our podcast associate. Thanks to all of them But most of all, thanks to you for listening