Symptoms, Protection & their Impact on your Gut Health
Parasites are more common than you think! Parasites can cause a range of symptoms, depending on the type of parasite and the severity of the infection. We all have them, they are part of our terrain. Their egg laying process is a regular part of our body process. It’s your immune system health that determines the severity of the outcomes. Your gut health plays a major role in keeping these critters under control.
How do you contract a parasitic infection?
Contaminated water, soil, insects, person to person contact, blood transfusion or sharing needles, bare foot around pool deck and in public showers, shaking hands, poor hygiene, insect bites, and lets not forget our PETS! Letting pets lick your face is a surefire way to let those pesky parasites in.
Foodborne Parasites
What? Parasites come from food? Yes. A diet high in sugar, gluten, dairy, fish (undercooked), meat (primarily pork), processed foods, and alcohol creates the ideal environment for parasites to thrive. Feeding parasites their favorite foods gives them an environment that they will never want to leave!
For proteins, the cooking process generally takes care of anything that may be harmful.
Some things to watch for:
- undercooked fish, crabs, and mollusks;
- undercooked meat;
- raw aquatic plants, such as watercress; and
- raw vegetables that have been contaminated by human or animal feces.
Food is often contaminated by food service workers who practice poor hygiene or who work in unsanitary facilities. Always wash your fruit and vege well. Soap and water is perfectly fine, but some prefer to use products made specially for food prep.
Holiday advice? Don’t eat anything raw.
Symptoms
Too many to list, but most commonly a parasitic infection can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscle pain, chronic cough, skin lesions, malnutrition, weight loss, neurological and many other symptoms depending on the particular organism and burden of infection.
Identifying Parasites
Identifying specific parasites infections is difficult at best. Available tests in Canada prove to be less than accurate, and protocols for solving the issue of parasites generally involves antibiotics. Can you say “pesticide.” That’s essentially what antibiotics are. What? No one has ever said that to you? Well, why would they.
By definition, a pesticide is a substance used to kill, repel, or control certain forms of plant or animal life that are considered to be pests.
Diagnostics Methods
If a parasitic infection is suspected, several diagnostic methods can help confirm it:
- Imaging Tests: In some cases, imaging techniques such as ultrasounds or CT scans are used to identify parasitic cysts or lesions within the body.
- Stool Tests: These tests examine stool samples for eggs or larvae and are commonly used to diagnose intestinal parasites.
- Blood Tests: Certain blood tests detect antibodies produced in response to specific parasites, often used to diagnose conditions like malaria.
Varieties
Below are some fascinating slides that showcase the wide variety of living organisms that humans often carry.
Sugar Cravings
These unwanted guests can also cause sugar cravings. It’s true! If you heed to cravings you can fall victim to a whole host of other symptoms associated with a high-sugar diet, giving parasites the energy they need to proliferate in your body, making your troubles much worse.
Still don’t think parasites are a big deal? Think again – check out this video! NOTE: VERY GRAPHIC!
Chronic Illness
Have you been struggling with chronic issues that no one can pinpoint? Chances are, you may be providing a physical home to some of these critters. Parasites wreak havoc on your body functions such as sleep, elimination, natural detox capabilities, not to mention, they literally steal your nutrients!
Hygiene Practices
As if we haven’t heard this enough… wash your hands! Keeping our hands clean is so important because our hands touch our faces more times in a day than we can count. Soap and water for handwashing is your best bet for keeping yourself in good health.
Hand Sanitizer? Not for long term use! Use it ONLY when soap and water are not available. Hand sanitizers can weaken our natural skin barrier, leaving us more vulnerable.
Purging
Once you’ve confirmed the presence of parasites, it’s important to make mindful dietary choices and focus on cleansing the colon, upper GI tract, and liver regularly until the parasites are gone. It’s a good idea to consider seasonal parasite cleanses. A typical cleansing protocol usually lasts around 3 months with full commitment, though it can take longer depending on the severity.
Antibiotics and Parasites
Medically, parasites would be treated with antibiotics. Sadly, the side effects from overuse of antibiotics can be more serious than the infection itself, and the infection generally doesn’t go away. Side effects include Clostridioides difficile infection (also called C. difficile or C. diff), which causes diarrhea that can lead to severe colon damage and in severe cases, death.
Antibiotics fight infections caused by bacteria in humans and animals by either killing the bacteria or making it difficult for the bacteria to grow and multiply. We call this “the kill method”. We do not believe that kill methods are always the best, especially in the case of parasites. Slow and steady wins the parasite race.
Controlling parasites is best done by balancing your gut bacteria levels, and balancing gut bacteria levels takes a lot of patience and a lot of work.
Colonics and Parasites
However you choose to go to battle, seek help from a professional and make sure you book in with your colon therapist. Elimination is essential when taking proactive measures against parasites! Either in the clinic or by using at home solutions, elimination is key to a successful parasite cleanse routine.
Book your appointment for a consult and a colon cleanse.
Other Cleanses and Liquid Enzymes we would recommend in connection with a parasite cleanse.
ZenCleanz Kits: ONE, FORGIVE
Liquid Enzymes: AMBROSIA, AZTEC AND BLACK VACUUM
