If that’s what you’re thinking…maybe it’s time to look at the facts.

According to Dr. Ross Anderson, parasites are one of the most undiagnosed health challenges in the U.S. — a statement based on his 20 years of experience with over 20,000 patients.

Hulda Clark, Ph.D., N.D. states in her book, “The Cure for All Diseases” that all illness comes from only two causes – parasites and pollutants. And that parasites are as rampant as pollutants in today’s modern society.

Hardly anyone has escaped from parasites in some form or another. They usually go unnoticed until they begin to cause digestive distress, fatigue, poor health, chronic diarrhea or constipation, blood pressure issues, and a host of other common symptoms including but not limited to cancer. Unfortunately, these health problems are usually attributed to other causes. But the truth is, parasites and their accompanying fungal overgrowth are the most common causes of digestive problems and chronic diarrhea.

It would seem that this would be an easy problem to find and treat, but just the opposite is true. Parasites come in all shapes and sizes and stages of development, and are very hard to diagnose – most lab tests miss them. Frankly, most American doctors are not trained to look for them or even know the symptoms.

The reason is that the prevailing perception is that these types of problems only occur in third world countries. I’ve even heard doctors say, “We don’t have these problems in this country.” But nothing can be further from the truth. In actuality, they are commonplace and are found nearly everywhere in our environment.

In fact, coming into contact with them is unavoidable because they’re all around us — some types float around in the air we breathe, some are ingested with the food we eat, and others are found in soil and water. And countless American families own and have daily contact with the one greatest source of parasitic contamination there ever was – their pets! Once any pet or family member has parasites, it is nearly impossible to keep them from passing back-and-forth between family members and especially from pets to family members. And most of the time, they are completely unseen, unknown … except for those irritating symptoms.

In his book, “Parasite Rex,” author Carl Zimmer discusses the complex strategies parasites use to insure their survival. They can mimic their hosts biochemically so that they go undetected and slip past normal defenses. They then fool the host into providing protection. They are not affected by vaccines nor do they behave like other diseases. Their life cycles are very complex and their defenses too complete to be treated easily.

Carl Zimmer and other scientists who study parasites are amazed at the complexity and resourcefulness of parasites. There seems to be no limit to how quickly these creatures can spread, how easily they can jump from host to host, and how they can complicate their life cycles to avoid detection or eradication. Most people can’t begin to imagine the many kinds of bizarre and devastating effects that parasites can have on the hosts and organisms they colonize.

What are the symptoms of parasites?

Listed below are the most common symptoms of parasites. Some of these symptoms may be indicative of other ailments. But these symptoms, as listed in “The Medical Advisor” (Time/Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia) can be a strong indication of parasites. They can include any combination of the following:

  • All types of cancer
  • chronic diarrhea
  • chronic diarrhea or/alternating with constipation
  • skin disorders: eczema, psoriasis, acne, unhealed or slow healing sores and pimples
  • irritability, aggression, uncontrolled anger, depression
  • weepiness
  • over excitability
  • negative/toxic thinking
  • itchy ear drums
  • cysts anywhere inside or on the body
  • eye issues
  • blood pressure issues
  • loss of hair on body and scalp
  • nausea
  • intestinal cramps
  • dizziness, problems focusing
  • changes in appetite
  • vomiting
  • fowl-smelling gas
  • indigestion
  • bloating
  • multiple food allergies
  • loss of appetite
  • weakness and fatigue
  • itching around the anus – especially at night (indicating pinworms)
  • restlessness and difficulty sleeping
  • sore and aching intestines
  • weight loss (although not necessarily)
  • difficulty losing weight
  • itching on the soles of the feet – sometimes accompanied by a rash
  • coughing bloody sputum in some cases
  • fever followed by loss of appetite
  • palpitations (indicating hookworms)
  • anemia
  • fatigue
  • muscle pain/joint pain
  • fibromyalgia or lupus symptoms
  • conjunctivitis
  • facial swelling around the eyes (indicating trichinosis).
  • Wheezing and coughing, followed by vomiting, stomach pain and bloating (suggesting ascariasis or threadworms).

What types of parasites are there?
And where do they come from?

According to “The Medical Advisor,” the most common parasites that infest humans are pinworms, roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms. There are also smaller parasites such as flukes, protozoa, amoebae, and fungi. Pinworms tend to live in people’s lower intestinal tracts and lungs. To deposit eggs, the female worm leaves the anal area at night. This causes an irritating itch that, when scratched, transfers the eggs to the host’s fingers and to whatever those fingers touch — throughout an entire household. The eggs are so tiny; they even float through the air! If inadvertently inhaled or ingested, the eggs hatch in the intestines and start a new cycle in a new host.

The roundworm that causes ascariasis enters the body in unwashed or contaminated raw food. It may also be picked up from soil. If you’re wondering how they got into the soil — it’s usually because a pet or animal deposited infested feces into the soil. And be sure to wash the salad mixes that come in plastic bags. These have often been found to be contaminated by cow manure when the salad mix is prepared near a pasture.

Hookworms and threadworms enter the body in contaminated drinking water or through bare feet (yes, they pass right through the skin into the soles of the feet)! Then the larvae migrate to the small intestine, where they may live for several years, taking nutrients from the intestinal walls. And while they live in the small intestine, they lay more and more eggs. What happens to these eggs (also called ovum)? Some of the eggs are passed in the feces (and whatever those feces touch becomes contaminated). The rest of the eggs either hatch right there in the intestines to become mature worms that lay their own eggs or incubate to hatch at a future date. Research has shown that ovum can incubate 10 years or more before hatching! This is why it’s important to do seasonal cleanses along with parasite and yeast cleanses regularly!

You can contract the roundworm that causes trichinosis by eating raw or undercooked pork or game – which may contain living worm larvae encased in cysts. After your digestive juices dissolve the cysts, the larvae circulate through the blood and lymphatic system before digging into muscle tissue and forming a cyst with new larvae.

Tapeworms also enter the body in raw or undercooked beef, fish, or pork. In some cases, children swallow tapeworm-infested fleas or lice that live on small animals or household pets. And flukes are so tiny that they can pass through skin if you swim in a lake containing the small snails which harbor them.

Then there are the even smaller kinds – the protozoa, amoebae, fungi – that exist in water and food. If you have ever been to Mexico and suffered from Montezuma’s Revenge you know exactly what I’m talking about!

I once returned from another trip from a developing country with a painful, unbearably urgent case of Blastocystis hominis (an intestinal protozoa causing horrible diarrhea) that I picked up in either the food or water. To give you an example of the current level of medical treatment for this miserable condition, here is what my doctor actually told me . . .

“We don’t really have anything to give you for that – we don’t see much of it in this country. Hope you feel better soon. . .Goodbye.”

Eight months later, my health was destroyed. My diarrhea, nausea, cramps and dizziness were as bad as the day I got off the plane. And my energy was completely depleted. Thanks a lot, Doc.

It was nearly a year later, after an exhaustive search, that I found a doctor who knew what to do about it. By then, my immune system was nearly completely destroyed.

But these menaces are not limited to foreign countries. Many of us read about and saw the TV specials about the outbreak of Cryptosporidium in the water supplies of many major cities in the U.S. The truth is — our country’s water systems are getting older and many are not able to keep out the smaller protozoan and bacteria when the water systems are over-stressed. Nor do I need to remind you of the recent (and continuing) outbreaks of Salmonella and E. coli in fast foods and other common sources. Believe me, my experience has shown the medical profession’s resources are very limited in these situations.

Even travelling to a place as innocuous as Hawaii may expose you to a variety of tropical funguses your system may not be accustomed to, or able to fight off without help.

What Kinds of Problems do
Parasites Create in the Body?

One thing is certain — parasites are not conducive to one’s health.

While it’s sometimes hard to trace the causes of diseases, evidence has been found that parasites can be the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Diarrhea, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, poor eyesight, organ malfunction, heart attacks, skin problems and many, many other problems. They eventually drain one’s vitality and weaken immunity.

How can they do all that?

Because those pesky parasites can migrate to any part of the body – to any organ and/or system, and do a great deal of damage there. And they seem to always exist in partnership with fungal infections – most commonly Candida – a debilitating, systemic yeast infection that affects both males and females (systemic means it lives in the blood and cells of the entire body).

In the perfect situation, the body manages to get rid of most of these parasites or ovum as intruders. But, if the body is weakened or has toxic accumulation in any organ or system, parasites can thrive there. And fungi, such as Candida, are hard to eradicate by traditional methods. Most doctors aren’t aware of how to test for systemic Candida nor what to prescribe for it. And as for parasites, if you somehow manage to find a doctor who knows the most effective medications to prescribe, expect to pay a few hundred dollars a bottle for most of them – because they’re patented.

Of course it’s best to prevent the problem in the first place. By keeping your body and digestive system in good health, you’re less likely to harbor parasites. An excellent way to do this is by keeping the colon clean and regular.

Not an Easy Problem to Solve

The bad news is that parasites are NOT an easy problem to solve. After all, they’re very happy with the steady stream of nutrients, accommodations, and warm cozy breeding ground their hosts provide. Their survival depends upon robbing you of nutrients. Naturally, they are going to put up a fight if you challenge them! The truth is, they tend to die slowly and cause much distress as they go, no matter what method is used.

According to Dr. S. Scott, an infectious disease expert, as parasites are dying off, they release loads of extra toxins (through their excrement). Wanting to escape the now unfriendly environment, they try to burrow deeper into the intestines, causing sharp pains and cramps. And when they do die, their dead carcasses create a toxic burden that your body has to work extra-hard to eliminate. Obviously, this causes quite a bit of discomfort until the situation is cleared out.

Parasites also harbor their own smaller parasites, germs and infections (protozoa, amoebae, bacteria, viruses, etc). As they are dying, they release the microbes and germs they harbored into your body and bloodstream – giving your body even more to fight off.

Research shows that some of the ovum can survive in the body up to 10 years or more before hatching! What does this mean to you? It means that if your diarrhea showed improvement, but then recurs, this may be because more ovum have hatched.

Remember, according to Dr. Ross Anderson, parasites are one of the most undiagnosed health challenges in the U.S. They account for a slew of mystery ailments and misdiagnoses every year. Our ancestors knew about parasites and used folk remedies to cleanse themselves of them. Most of that knowledge is lost these days.

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In closing, this is why I work with others to help rid the body of parasites, yeast and more because once the body’s terrain is clear of pathogens, then the healing process is much easier to work with and heal. (And too, pathogens of this nature typically do not go away on their own, as they need much encouragement!) So if you are currently on one of my cleanses, continue to have patience with yourself and trust that you are on the right path to wellness!

May you continue to be aware of all of your many blessings with every breath you take!

Much Love,

Tammy Fish, Naturopathic, Holistic Nutritionist