Parasite Infections and Overgrowths: How to Identify Them and What to Expect
Gastrointestinal parasites are quite the rage this year. But it’s not just “trendy” to want to test for and eradicate parasites. They can truly be a huge problem, and there’s a lot to consider.
Origins + Exposure
Parasites exist in all countries, all over the world. It's a common misconception that they can only be found in third-world countries — this is simply not true! We can get exposed to them through our pets, by walking barefoot in the grass, getting bug bites, consuming raw or undercooked foods, swimming in local lakes and rivers, on contact surfaces like toilet seats, and from food and water contamination. After initial exposure, they can be transmitted person-to-person, such as in utero, via breastmilk, and through sexual contact. The infection is not by consuming big "worms," but by consuming their microscopic eggs in these common sources.
They range in size and type as well — some are actual worms (helminths) that can be up to 10 feet long, and others are microscopic protozoan or liver flukes that can invade the craziest of places, like all types of organs and blood cells. Some can even cross the blood-brain barrier!
Don’t be alarmed — this a normal part of being an animal on the face of this planet.
Parasites ARE everywhere and we will never NOT be exposed to them. The sooner we all accept this fact, the better.
In fact, we evolved alongside these microorganisms for a reason. They do provide SOME benefits, indirectly. They are sponges for toxicity, and harbor other pathogens and toxins on their body, such as yeast, bacteria, mold, viruses, heavy metals, environmental contaminants, and more. This sponge-like behavior keeps those nasty things from circulating within our bodies or ending up in our own fat cells for storage. Obviously this helps the parasites themselves, because the less toxicity we have circulating in our bodies, the healthier a host we are to them. There is a tipping point, however. As we become inundated with toxic exposures and our digestive function decreases, our immune system then gets weakened and overgrowths of these parasites can occur. These usually manifest in a wide variety of symptoms, which we will get to shortly.
The problems arise when we become too toxic to function, and parasitic overgrowths come into play to try and manage this toxicity. So now there’s a toxin problem AND a parasite problem! This is becoming ever-more important since, at this point in human history, we’ve never been exposed to more toxic burden than we are now.
Modern life allows for overgrowths to occur frequently and, as a result, for symptoms to develop. We have issues today that were not as relevant in more primitive times, such as:
Chronic stress
Frequent alcohol consumption
The overuse of antibiotics
Highly processed diets
Leaky gut
On-the-go lifestyles
Reduced stomach acid
Living/spending more than 90% of our time indoors
Over-sanitizing, yet still having poor personal hygiene
Different Types of Parasites
As you could guess by its name, a parasite is anything that thrives at the expense of its host. For the kinds of parasites we are thinking about here, there are three different types:
Protozoa — single-celled, usually microscopic, and can invade any cell in the human body. They operate by hijacking our cellular machinery and making many copies of itself. After a sufficient time, it lyses or bursts the cell, killing our own cell and releasing tons of copies of itself into our body. This kind operates very similarly to bacterial or viral infections.
Helminths — these are worm-like parasites that can live in the digestive tract, liver, lymphatic system, and other bodily tissues. These include roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, pinworms, and flukes, and are usually visible to the naked eye.
Ectoparasites — these are parasites that are transmitted via bug bites from ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, lice, mites, etc. They first live on our skin and feed from us that way.
Truly, it actually doesn't matter so much as to what type of parasite you have or test for, especially when given a comprehensive protocol. Not only is it time-consuming and expensive, but due to the presence of biofilms, you may not get a full report on the types of parasites present. Frankly, not all parasitic infections appear on even the best of testing methods. Symptoms reign king here, and the right natural remedies will come at parasitic infections from all angles and provide a well-rounded approach.
How the Gut + Toxicity Go Hand-in-Hand
Digestion gets impacted by any one of those bullet points above. My guess is you have one or two of those that are true in your own life, too. This means stomach acid, originally designed to help us sterilize our food, is no longer adequate and our first line of defense against parasites and other pathogens becomes weakened. This is when damage to the GI tract occurs, inflammation increases, and overgrowths develop. Since we also know that parasites soak up other infections and toxins like a sponge, our bodily burden of these things increases as well. So while we have co-evolved with parasites, our modern life puts us at more risk for vulnerability to these issues. Reducing parasitic and toxic burdens on a semi-regular basis could be helpful.
And of course, some of us are more susceptible to infection than others. The very young and very old obviously have less robust immune systems. Certain medications that lower immune function can increase susceptibility as well. The biggest at-risk populations are generally those eating refined foods, not sleeping well, running on cortisol, using conventional cleaning and self-care products, and overall functioning at ~70% or less. Sometimes parasitic infections can be asymptomatic for years, but slowly altering the stability and health of the body in smaller, less obvious ways.
One of the big features of parasitic infections are biofilms. This is a gel-like matrix of vitamins and minerals that fuel the health of microorganisms — both the beneficial kinds and the opportunistic pathogens. These films form between a hard surface and a liquid when they’re always in contact with one another. I often liken this to buoys found in open waters or pylons on docks, if you’ve ever swam up to and touched either of those: the part exposed to air feels normal, but the part that’s always submerged is slimy and difficult to grab — that’s a biofilm in action! Plaque on teeth is also a type of biofilm, for a smaller-scale example.
When thinking about the gut, our organs and gut lining serve as the hard surface, and the inner space that’s always dealing with liquids and digesting our food is the “water” part. Biofilms grow in the contact surface between these two media. Parasites hide well in these matrices and this process helps them evade the immune system AND often turn up undetected on stool tests.
Why Don’t We Hear About This More?
In many other countries, and throughout the history of humanity, "de-worming" was (and still is) a common practice — at least once a year, but overall it occurred on a regular basis. This preventive strategy fell by the wayside as modern Western medicine and the focus on pharmaceuticals and sub-specialties developed. We traded generational wisdom for a pill for every ill. Don’t get me wrong, there are medications that are life-saving and even antiparasitic medications that can be helpful, but we lost the inherent knowledge of nature over time. Patents — and, therefore, financial benefit — cannot be gleaned from natural compounds such as herbal antimicrobials that are most effective against things like parasites.
We "de-worm" our pets on an annual basis, so why would we not also assume that our bodies need this kind of cleansing?
Mainstream medical professionals oftentimes outrightly dismiss these claims as quackery, or even swinging in the opposite direction — pummeling the body with medications to aim for “absolute zero” population size of parasites within the body (which is not the appropriate goal). I’ve had many clients come to me discouraged, that their families and medical providers are constantly shaming them for wanting to address this or “believing” in it to begin with. It’s disappointing that this is the “medical” world we live in, but we need to accept it and find ways to pivot to get the help we truly need.
How Can We Keep Parasite Issues to a Minimum?
Outside of regular antiparasitic maintenance, there are other things you can do to reduce exposure risk as well:
Avoid consuming sushi or raw/undercooked meat
Avoiding pork products, since heat-resistant parasites can thrive in pigs
Do not drink water straight from the tap — this is a big one!!
Do not walk barefoot in contaminated areas
Give your fresh fruits and veggies a vinegar bath prior to consuming them
Use non-toxic bug spray and check for bites/ticks on a regular basis that can carry and transfer parasites
Wash your hands after using the restroom, especially public restrooms, and before eating
Do not let pets lick your face and make sure they are regularly de-wormed. Keep pets off your bed as much as possible. If you have a pet, do parasite cleansing more frequently is often recommend (it’s estimated that at least 46% of cats carry at least one parasite, for example)
Keep fingernails short and clean
Clean all cooking utensils thoroughly, or surfaces that come in contact with food, especially cutting boards
Full Moons + Parasites
The moon's gravitational pull affects the tide, so it should be no surprise that it plays a role in other biological rhythms as well. Around the full moon, our bodies produce less melatonin and more serotonin — this was historically adaptive for our own reproduction, since less melatonin naturally reduces our ability to sleep, coupled with more nighttime light (with the full moon), thereby increasing chances of conception. If you’ve ever tossed and turned in the days surrounding the full moon, this is why!
The problem with this hormonal shift in US, is that melatonin helps naturally fight off and sedate parasites within our bodies, so they are now more active with the full moon as well. That, and serotonin increases parasite motility and reproduction as well. Serotonin also helps them create more biofilms in which to hide and proliferate. Depending on your level of infection, then, it's possible you may experience an uptick in symptoms or symptom severity around this time. It could begin as early as seven days prior to the full moon and last as long as seven days after the fact, but more often, people notice symptoms increase in the three to five days on either end of the full moon.
And note — the same is true for kids! So if your kids get more emotional, rowdy, or sleepless around full moons, hormones play a role but parasites should also be considered!
This might sound like bad news, but due to their increased activity around a full moon, it's the best time to hit the eradication strategies hard and kill as many as possible. A "full moon protocol" is also a strategy that can be used in the future, as a "spot targeting" approach, once a formal eradication protocol has ended. Note that it's recommended to have a month or two of eradication under your belt before attempting a full moon protocol, so that your body has already tolerated the agents to be used.
Symptoms Often Associated with Parasitic Overgrowths
Parasites do not want to be detected. They don't want to disturb the life of their host too much, because this threatens their own survival. However, if gut dysbiosis and/or any of the risk factors for overgrowth are present, you are likely to experience any number of the potential symptoms and require addressing the infection. This can cause deterioration of health over time. You might expect things such as:
Digestive issues (constipation, diarrhea, alternation of both)
Gas, bloating, abdominal pain
Mucus in stool
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
Intestinal permeability
Allergies
Chronic ear and sinus infections
Rashes or other skin issues such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, hives, etc.
Insomnia, waking up multiple times during the night, other restless sleep
Teeth grinding at night, jaw pain or clenching
Joint pain
Anemia
PMS
Chronic candida
Endocrine disruption, hormonal imbalances
Poor nutrient absorption
Food sensitivities
Muscle and joint pain
Twitches
Eye floaters
Headaches, migraines
Seizures
Always feeling hungry, bottomless pit
Sugar cravings
Foul smelling stools
Anal itching, especially at night
Bed wetting (in potty-trained kids)
Mood issues (anxiety, depression, hyperactivity)
Abnormal blood work makers: low iron, ferritin and/or B12, elevated eosinophils and/or basophils
Wheezing and coughing
Unexplained dizziness, weakness
Brain fog, memory issues
Fatigue, flu-like symptoms
Heart palpitations
Unexplained weight gain, difficulty losing weight
Other Infections + Links to Disease
Parasitic infections can be the root cause of many illnesses, but can also harbor other pathogens and toxins that also play roles in the development of many conditions. As we’ve discussed, they can harbor six to eight times their bodyweight in things like glyphosate, other pesticides and environmental toxins, bacteria, viruses, yeast like candida, heavy metals, and mold mycotoxins.
Parasites also migrate to different locations throughout the body over time, in order to continue finding new sources of food. This migration also helps them escape detection by the immune system and remain elusive. Part of their mechanism of action is to suppress the host's immune system, which not only helps ensure their survival, but creates inflammation and changes the ways our cells can signal to one another. Being opportunistic, they thrive in this weakened immune state, which is why illnesses that weaken our constitution can sometimes come with recurrent parasite symptoms.
They also operate on a principle known as "antigen variation," whereby the parasites can change what proteins and carbohydrate receptors are on the surface of their bodies — again, to evade detection by our immune system cells and avoid destruction.
Many parasites enter the body in "cyst" form. When encased in a cyst, they may be able to live outside of a host for a very long period of time. The cyst also protects them from our immune systems (again!), and this allows the parasites to move around the body freely and grow larger, undisturbed. Their links to other conditions and diseases are also related to the toxins and co-infections they harbor.
Cancer — According to research, parasites can mimic cancer, contribute to cancer growth, or cause cancer. Researchers speculate about different ways that parasites might be involved in cancer inducing interfering with the normal functioning of cells, encouraging cells to divide more than usual — which is a classic presentation for cancer. Parasites (especially long-term infections) cause inflammation which inevitably leads to damage.
Mental health and neurological conditions — Parasites can steal the nutrients required to make hormones and neurotransmitters, which contributes to emotional issues like anxiety or depression. They can also alter the status of the gut microbiome to make someone more susceptible to mental health issues and malnutrition.
Reproductive health issues — Toxoplasmosis is a commonly known parasite due to its risk for unhealthy pregnancy outcomes, such as risk for fetal death in utero, which is why pregnant women are discouraged from cleaning cat litter or doing outdoor gardening, because most cats are infected with at least one kind of parasite and their feces can be a route of exposure.
Iron deficiency and other anemias — Some forms of parasites can present as food sensitivities. Others can disrupt the digestive process so that we can't adequately absorb things like vitamin B12, folate, zinc, etc. which not only puts us at risk for things like anemia and nutritional deficiencies, but makes the act of chemical digestion even more difficult. They can also steal the iron from our bodies and use it to fuel their own life cycles, often showing patterns of anemia in bloodwork.
How is a Parasite Problem Confirmed?
Stool testing is still recommended, despite the risk that we may not catch them due to their protection in biofilms. Because of this risk, we often recommend additional testing, such as bloodwork, as well. There’s a large set of blood markers that can give us a clue if we’re headed in the right direction, such as:
Some markers that might be functionally low: hemoglobin, red blood cells, MCV, MCH, vitamin D, total iron, ferritin
Some markers that might be functionally high: neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils (classic sign), basophils, CRP or hsCRP, sometimes ferritin, liver enzymes (ALT, AST, GGT, alkaline phosphatase)
Finally, we also take symptom burden into account. While symptoms are a more subjective measure, they should definitely not be discounted. Someone’s lived experience, especially when symptoms can be specific, is very important in making a well-rounded clinical picture.
What Would Be a Good Next Step?
Reaching out with any questions you have or, if you’re ready to proceed one way or another, submitting an application to get on the books for testing and an eradication protocol are the two best options. Let’s figure out if this seems reasonable for you and get to the bottom of your health issues.
