If you’re dealing with complicated health problems – from Lyme disease to chronic pain or GI issues – you may be wondering if it’s time for an herbal parasite cleanse.  In this article we’ll explore how to know if a parasite cleanse is right for you, how to do it effectively, and we’ll share a very powerful herbal parasite cleanse protocol.   

Parasite Cleansing – the basics

Many people have parasitic infection and don’t know it.  Diagnostic testing with a stool sample is often inaccurate.  This means that a negative result may be false.  Plus, most doctors don’t realize that certain symptoms may be a hallmark sign of parasites.  Many people with complex chronic symptoms are left to figure out the cause of their illness on their own or through the help of a knowledgeable alternative medical provider.  It’s a frustrating journey for many! 

Parasite cleansing can be a surprisingly useful strategy for healing from complex chronic illness.

Parasite infection in humans is more common than is currently recognized.  We may contract parasites from many situations, including:

• 

  Salad bars may be a source of parasite exposure.

  Frequent antibiotics, especially in childhood
• Prolonged treatment with antibiotics, as is sometimes used for treatment of Lyme and tick-borne infection
• Foreign travel
• Contaminated water
• Consuming wild meats, raw fish or undercooked meat
• Eating take-out, from salad bars, and restaurant dining in general
• Spending time on a farm or with animals, especially with bare feet or a lot of contact and exposed skin

It is safe to say that all of us may be exposed to parasites, but some of us are more vulnerable to chronic active disease-causing infection.  The more exposures we’ve had, the more likely that parasites could be having a negative impact on our health.  This is especially true if you have digestive issues such as leaky gut, candida overgrowth, or a history of digestive system weakness.

Symptoms of Parasites In Humans

As mentioned earlier, parasite infection is difficult to prove with the stool tests that are currently available.  Therefore, if you suspect parasites but have had negative stool tests, don’t rule it out.  Common symptoms of parasite infection include:

• Gas and bloating, off and on, regardless of eliminating certain foods
• Constipation or diarrhea, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Jaw tension, teeth grinding
• Insomnia
• Muscle spasm
• Chronic fatigue
• Rashes, hives, eczema
• Depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders
• Anemia, nutrient deficiencies
• Intense sugar or carb cravings and lack of satiation
• Muscle or joint pain
• In severe cases, paralysis or nerve pain
• Symptoms that flare periodically, particularly during the full moon

Parasites also trigger activation of the same branch of the immune system (Th2) that is hyperactivated with allergies, mold and mycotoxin illness, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), asthma, and other environmentally triggered health issues.  If you have one of these diagnoses or presentations, parasites may be a hidden underlying cause.

How Parasites Affect Our Health

Parasite can lead to depletion of energy and nutrients.  This in turn can lead to loss of general well-being, and a variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms.  In the immune system, parasites can stimulate chronic inflammation, including IgE antibodies that produce allergic reactions, itching and skin issues.  Parasites can invade the gut, joints, muscles, and many different parts of the body.  They release inflammatory toxins that may cause pain, stiffness, spasm, and restricted movement. 

Parasite infection is a little-known cause of chronic symptoms that do not have another explanation.  If you have a suspicion and the symptom picture fits, it is well worth seeing if your symptoms respond to an herbal parasite cleanse.

Lyme Disease & Parasites

If you have chronic Lyme disease and have not been able to recover fully with treatment, it is important to explore the possibility that other types of infections are the cause of some of your symptoms.  Due to the fact that heavy antibiotic use can make one more vulnerable to parasite infection, this is an important (but often overlooked) contributor to the multifactorial disease condition commonly known as “Lyme disease.”

How To Do A Parasite Cleanse

There are 3 essential elements to an effective parasite cleanse.

1 – Antiparasitic medicines – these are medicines which may be prescription, OTC and/or herbal remedies that cause the parasites to die.

2 – A parasite cleanse diet – It is important to eat a clean, low or no carb diet while parasite cleansing in order to remove their primary sources of energy.

3 – Colon hydrotherapy – This involves receiving colonics with a trained colon hydrotherapist, or doing self-applied enemas at home.  It is very important to help the body fully eliminate the parasites as they die and disintegrate, as their bodies release toxins and trigger inflammation.  For more guidance regarding enemas, check out The Great Enema Debate.

Best Diet For Parasite Cleansing

Diet is an important element of parasite cleansing.  It is best to follow a sugar-free and grain-free diet to minimize feeding of the parasites, which stresses them.  However, this strategy alone will not eliminate them.  Food combining, and other principles of a cleansing diet are also highly recommended.

Juicing, especially a “green lemonade,” or variations of this are also very helpful for eliminating parasites, as parasites do not care for an alkaline environment.  For that reason, lots of dark greens, wheatgrass, lemon juice, and vegetables in general are all very good foods for a parasite cleanse diet.  Pumpkin seeds and garlic are specifically anti-parasitic foods, so incorporate those into your meals whenever possible.

Juice fasting and / or intermittent fasting are also very effective tools that can accelerate the cleansing process if you want to go the extra mile.  Take it slow and experiment with what feels best for your body. 

Herbal Treatment for Parasites in Humans

Herbs have been effectively used to treat all types of human parasites for thousands of years.  They are very effective, have an excellent safety profile, and can be taken long-term if needed. 

The best herbs for parasite cleansing include black walnut hull, sweet wormwood (Sweet Annie), and garlic.  There are also numerous excellent herbs from the Chinese medicine pharmacopeia that are highly effective, including Dryopteris, Melia fruit, Mume fruit, and Quisqualis bark.  These plant medicines kill a range of parasites, which is important since most people don’t know the exact type of parasite that is causing their symptoms.

Many of these herbs have unique biochemistry and are highly aromatic.  In traditional herbalism we understand that these herbs have properties that allow them to “fumigate” the body, similar to the Native American practice of smudging with sage or sweetgrass to cleanse a room to clear away the negative energies.

Essential Oils for Parasite Detox

Essential oils are the most potent antiparasitic and intensely aromatic aspect of certain plant medicines. Antiparasitic essential oils include clove, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, and winter savory, among others.  These essential oils are also anti-inflammatory and have broad-spectrum antimicrobial effects which helps them eliminate other types of microbes (such as Lyme-Borrelia, Bartonella, and candida yeast).

 Bloom & Reveal Botanicals has harnessed powerful essential oil blends into a liposomal form that makes them safe to consume internally.  The liposomal delivery also enables the essential oils to be readily absorbed into the bloodstream and penetrate various tissues of the body where the parasites are hiding.  Learn more about liposomal essential oil remedies and their ability to treat stubborn chronic infections naturally.

Our Recommended Protocol

As clinicians who specialize in the herbal treatment of Lyme and other chronic infectious diseases, we have tried many formulas and products over the years.  Based on our clinical successes (and failures) over the decades, we came to develop the following herbal parasite cleanse core protocol:

• Freedom Essential Oil Remedy

This liposomal essential oil formula contains potent anti parasitic oils from medicinal plants to support the elimination of unwanted guests. This blend supports a healthy gut and microbiome, and aids with the elimination of worms, helminths, flukes, eggs and biofilm.

Freedom supports recovery from parasite infection as well as gastro-intestinal bacteria, yeast and candida overgrowth and SIBO.

Take 2 times per day and follow the titration dosage instructions.   

• Para Dice Herbal Formula

This herbal formula contains herbs that have been used in traditional medicine for hundred of years to aid in the elimination of foreign invaders.  It contains tried and true herbs such as black walnut hull and sweet Annie (wormwood), as well as traditional Chinese medicinals such as terminalia (he zi) and mume fruit (wu mei).  It can be taken as a brew tea (decoction), a tincture (alcohol extract), or as a granulated herbal powder.  Choose which form is best for you.  If you don’t mind cooking a witchy brew and drinking the bitter flavors, we recommend the brew tea option.  If you need something simpler and easier to mask the taste, then tincture or granules is the way to go. 

• Garlic Tincture

Garlic (Allium sativum) is arguably the #1 antimicrobial plant medicine.  It is among the most potent herbs with a very broad spectrum of action.  It is effective against yeasts and fungi, Babesia and Bartonella; parasites and viruses.  Because garlic is so strong, we do recommend adding garlic tincture into your antimicrobial regimen slowly (and with detoxification practices in place!), so as not to cause excessive die-off.  Garlic tincture is advantageous over allicin because it contains the full spectrum of garlic’s powerful biochemistry, not just 1 component.  Garlic has also been shown to neutralize mold and other toxins; promotes circulation and healthy blood flow; and helps prevent arteriosclerosis.  Start with just 1 drop / 2x / day and slowly increase up to 20 drops / 2x / day.

• Stealthy Suppositories

Not all herbal medicines need to be taken orally.  In fact, the colon contains a high amount of lymphatic tissue and medicines delivered through suppositories have a high absorption rate.  This is especially useful when digestion is compromised, or it’s hard to swallow a lot of herbal medicine orally.   Stealthy Suppositories contain an anti-parasitic blend of essential oils that are readily absorbed through the colon.  We recommend starting with 1/2 suppository every other night (it simply melts and is absorbed by the colon overnight), and working up to 1 whole suppository every other night.

The herbal parasite cleanse process may be implemented in different ways, depending on the severity of your symptoms.  Consider the following options:

• For 2-4 weeks, 1-2 times per year to prevent and treat mild symptoms.
• Monthly, for 1-2 weeks leading up to and following the full moon, for mild to moderate symptoms.
• Daily for 3-6 months to eradicate more extensive parasite infection causing moderate to severe symptoms.

To augment the strength of the protocol further, we might add Sweet Wormwood (Sweet Annie) tincture, or another product such as mimosa pudica seed and husk.  If doing everything concurrently is too much, then rotate through each of them, 1 or 2 anti-parasitics at a time and see what works best.  Don’t forget the diet and the colon hydrotherapy!

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If you have questions and would like guidance with successful diagnosis of parasites and execution of an herbal parasite cleanse, call us at 845-687-6211 or email info@uprootinglyme.com to learn more about our services.

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