"WTF?! Parasites? I don't have those?!"
Sorry to break it to you, but they are more common than you think.
It's possible even, that most people have at least one.
Don't believe me? Here me out.
Parasites are common. They are actually the most common life on earth, outnumbering other life 60:40, although some estimate that ratio to be much higher in favor of parasites. (1) This study claims at least 3.5 billion people (almost half the worlds population) globally have intestinal parasites, and that's not even factoring the limitations with current testing methods. (30)
They can actually be found often in developed countries. For example, toxoplasma gondii, a microscopic parasite found in cats, can be detected in at least 12% of people (2.)
Some doctors find them to be widespread. One of the leading authorities in detoxification, Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD, states:
"We have not found anybody who does not have parasites. When you actually look, and you put the medical trials on it and some animal trials, we find parasites in pretty much everyone."
Another expert in the field, Dr. Todd Watts, describes how to know if you have them in a rather comical way:
"Take the pads of your index and middle finger, and place it on the inside of your wrist. If you have a pulse, then you have parasites!"
The increasingly polluted environment plays a big role in this parasite problem, as various toxins weaken human defenses and encourage parasitic activity. (4) (more on this later, the story gets interesting!)
Parasites can trigger a wide range of health issues, and in many cases are the root cause of chronic issues like gastrointestinal disorders, autoimmunity, and even mental health conditions (5,6,7)
Even if they are not directly triggering a chronic condition, they are known to impair neurotransmitter balance (causing symptoms like anxiety & depression,) worker productivity, and even have an negative impact on socioeconomic status (which essentially means parasites are draining your bank account) (8).
and that's why it can be life-changing to get them out.
However, there's a right way to do it, and a wrong way.
When you do it correctly, they can come out before you even take "killing herbs."
but 90% of what I've seen online, is the wrong way. The "wrong way", usually through blasting them with a bunch of herbs, is how people end up with worse issues after they cleanse (like what happened to me.)
In this article, we'll dive deep into understanding exactly what they are and how they impact us mentally & physically. We'll also touch on testing limitations and how to eliminate them naturally & safely, (the right way.)
Let's dive in.
Bloating
Anxiety
Constipation
Fatigue
Hypothyroidism
Nocturnal waking
Anal itching
Food Intolerances
Allergies
Nail Biting
Teeth grinding
Bet wetting (kids)
Anger
Brain Fog
Skin Issues (Rashes, Sores, Eczema)
Blood Sugar Imbalances
Food cravings
Body Odor
Irritability
Zinc, B6, Iron Deficiency & Other nutritional imbalances
How parasites can influence mental health
The parasitic mushroom Cordyceps actually has the ability to completely hijack the nervous system of ants, causing it to climb to the top of plants, sink it's jaws into the leaf it's on, and essentially commit suicide. This is such that the mushroom can grow out of it, and release it's spores, as pictured above.
That's an extreme example, but the fact remains: parasites in humans influence behavior, mood, and psychology. Some helminths (intestinal worms) eat, inhibit, or alter various neurotransmitters such as GABA, serotonin, & acetylcholine (13). Some can increase your dopamine to slow bowel motility & increase impulsivity (14), others steal nutrients like zinc & B6 that are crucial for mood regulation, yet other release biotoxins causing cravings and influencing behavior.
Another example, but now in humans: Toxoplasma Gondii is a single-celled parasite that comes from cats. It Infects rats, and causes them to gain an odd affinity towards cats, causing them to charge towards (a obviously risky thing to do.)
What is interesting is that it also infects humans, increasing risky behavior and interestingly, affinity for cats. It's associated with an increased risk of a variety of mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar, and ADHD (maybe this is what's behind the "crazy cat ladies?") (15)
Ways people contract parasites
Food: undercooked meat & seafood can be sources. Raw fruits and vegetables can also be tainted at times. If one is unsure how their produce was handled, they can use grapefruit seed extract (GSE) diluted in water to clean it. GSE is effective against many microscopic parasites. (17, 18, 19)
Soil: People can pick up parasites from the soil, for example by walking outdoors barefoot. Hookworm, ascaris, and whipworm contaminate soil, and can infect people by burrowing up through the feet. (20) Wearing shoes in questionnaire areas, especially where animals poop, is a good idea.
Toilets: Parasites such as pinworms can spread through toilet seats. (21) Using seat covers is generally a good idea for this reason.
Water: Various parasites such cryptosporidiosis can be found in freshwater lakes, rivers, creeks, or even some swimming pools (22)
Other people: Infected restaurant workers may spread parasites like giardia (23) Others can be spread by unclean hands after using the restroom, or by sexual intercourse such as T. Vaginalis (24)
Pollution adaptation: Parasites may actually be serving an adaptive role to environmental pollution, even if they cause health issues in the process. More on this below. (16)
Parasites are pollution sinks (why most parasite cleanses fail?)
In Biology, a common phrase you hear in relation to parasites is that they are "Pollution Sinks" (16)
Turns out, various helminths can concentrate various environmental toxins such as heavy metals in their bodies, potentially sparing the host from death. (25) Parasites in fish for example, contain dozens to hundreds of times more heavy metals than the fish themselves. This study found cadmium was 194x higher in the parasites than the fish. (26)
This is important to understand; most parasite cleanses are too focused on killing, and neglect detoxification and keeping drainage pathways open. When you kill a parasite inside a toxic person, it often only makes the situation worse.
How accurate is parasite testing
Unfortunately, testing for parasites is notoriously difficult.
Some reasons why parasite tests might turn up empty despite having an infection are:
Improper storage: If your specimen isn’t handled correctly, you're unlikely to get an accurate result. To detect certain parasites in their active stage, the stool sample must be examined within 30–60 minutes after passing it or be put into a preservative. Otherwise, the parasite will disintegrate before it’s found. (27)
Insufficient training: Is the technician who’s looking at your stool or blood sample highly trained and experienced? The number of truly qualified people to perform these tests is dwindling while the need is going up. (27)
Parasites aren’t being expelled: Stool samples don’t necessarily reflect what’s inside you. Some parasites simply may not be making an exit when they test. For example, they could be hiding in your gut or tissues.
Rapid DNA destruction: Though genetic tests are available to detect parasites in your samples, parasites can destroy their DNA when they die. For example, leishmania rapidly degrades its DNA in almost any death situation. If a sample isn’t appropriately preserved and transported in a timely fashion, the test results could be invalid. (28)
How to properly do a parasite cleanse
Out of 100% power needed to expel a parasite, even with the best antiparasitic, at most you might achieve 15%. The other 85% of the effort comes from one's own immune system. -Dr. Klinghardt (29)
This quote above encapsules the right way to eliminate these buggers. Focus on strengthening your own body & changing your inner terrain, then they come out easily.
A word of caution: common mistakes
When I first discovered parasite cleansing, I right away took a bunch of trendy products and herbs I saw online, proceeding to have terrible die-off reactions like brain fog, fatigue, and inflammation that took me months to recover from.
Parasite cleansing is not a starting point. One must work on their bodies in a variety of ways before to be able to handle that process. It's far too easy to make yourself worse by making these common mistakes:
Not healing the gut & opening drainage first
Not strengthening the bodies immune system against them
Not detoxifying the body to change terrain
Taking parasite killing herbs at the wrong time, or at too high a dosage.
Not working on the mental & emotional component as well
Nothing here is medical advice, and I highly recommend working with a practitioner to navigate this tricky terrain.
Order of operations
One can breakdown parasite cleansing into 5 simple steps.
Open drainage pathways (gut, liver, lymph)
Detoxify & remineralize to weaken parasites and strengthen host.
Anti-parasitic formulas.
Bind up and flush released die-off throughout process
Maintain with nutritional, lifestyle, & detoxification habits.
Step 1 & 2 are the most important.
Drainage First.
Toxins (metals, biotoxins, metabolic waste, etc.) generally will flow from the cells, out into tissues, then lymphatic system, then liver, then colon, as illustrated above. Step 1 is all about optimizing this funnel.
Liver supportive herbs like gentian, milk thistle, & dandelion. My favorite products are Bileflow Plus & KL-Support (Cellcore, to order use code tsXvEkKF)
Toxin Binders like ZeoBind (BioPure), Modified Citrus Pectin (PectaSol-C), or Takesumi Supreme
If not pooping at least twice a day, colon cleansing with things like oxypowder, magnesium citrate, or triphala.
Coffee Enemas can be fantastic for cleansing colon and opening liver.
Don’t forget the basics; plenty of spring or distilled water, plenty of movement, low-inflammatory foods, rest, and time for reflection/meditation/prayer.
Detoxify & remineralize next.
Sauna therapy. - one of the simplest ways to detoxify most pollutants.
The binders listed above can support detoxification profoundly.
Organ meat capsules (I like this brand) are great for concentrated nutrition.
A product like CT-Minerals can be helpful in supplementing minerals, improving nutrient absorption, and transmuting non-usable forms of minerals to bioavailable forms within the body. (to order use code tsXvEkKF.)
Get on a Mineral-Balancing Program to support cellular energy, detoxify various metals, & strengthen immune system.
Often just doing this step properly can cause people to start releasing them without trying.
Cleansing (do not enter this stage until you have worked with drainage for at least 30-60 days and have relatively stable health.)
Hit them for at least 2-3 months at a time. Because of the complexity of this stage, I am only going to list two, generally well-tolerated choices.
Para 1 (to order use code tsXvEkKF.) Mimosa Pudica Seed is a great starting place for most people. It is a gut scrubber that often produces visible parasite releases. It's also known as the "happiness plant" in TCM and often given to uplift the spirit.
Freeze Dried Garlic - freeze dried garlic conserves the allicin, which is one of nature's most powerful anti-parasitic.
Upgraded Coffee Enemas (adding in freeze dried garlic to coffee preparation)
Binding & flushing
Continue to use methods from step 1 & 2 throughout the process. Focus especially on binding & colon cleansing. One can consider getting a colonic locally in this stage as well.
Maintain with dietary, lifestyle, and detoxification habits
Avoiding most intense exposures such as sushi & pork. Reducing sugar intake.
Maintaining healthy boundaries. For some odd reason, having poor personal boundaries in life seems to worsen parasitic infection. More on this here.
Work on the mental & emotional level as well with tools like MFT, Breathwork, and EMDR.
Regularly using things like binders, mineral & organ meat supplementation, and sauna therapy to keep toxin burden low and immune system strong.
Considering biyearly or yearly full moon parasite cleanses for maintenance.
Benefits of eliminating parasites
Pathogens are deeply intertwined with the psyche; so when one eliminates them, there can be huge shifts in terms of how one thinks, feels, and behaves in the world. One can experience
A sharper, more lucid mind
More energy
Less need for food
A deep sense of calm
Clearer skin
Elimination of digestive issues
Release of repressed emotions
Healing of seemingly unrelated ailments
My experience with cleansing felt almost like an exorcism, as crazy as that sounds. Yet, I've similar reports from my clients. The freedom I experienced after eliminating hundreds of them over several years cannot be fully put into words.
I hope this article guides you in your cleansing... be well!
Kyle Peche
P.S. check out my story here of healing from chronic illness, in case you haven't already.
P.S.S. If you need guidance, schedule a free strategy session here.
Disclaimer: This information is educational only and not intended to diagnose or treat a specific individual or patient. Nothing presented here is medical advice.
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