Just over a year ago as I was sipping a cup of tea, note pad in hand and listening to The Chronic Lyme Summit hosted by Dr. Jay Davidson. I have to admit I'm a sucker when it comes to these health summits and am always amazed by how much research is out there that most physicians are not even cognoscente of. Most doctors do not even take a full year of nutrition courses let alone look at the nuance of chronic inflammatory diseases, and instead are taught to treat symptoms vs root causes. But I digress.

One of the speakers was Dr. Todd Watts who specializes in treating parasitic, lyme and other co-infection. According to his lecture, "approximately 1 in 3 Americans are infected with an intestinal parasite." Most of the time your body's immune system helps to keep parasites in check and/or clear them from the body so they don't cause any symptoms. Unfortunately other times what could be normalized as a pesky digestive complaint, could actually be a sign that the parasites are getting the better of you. He continued to lest off the symptoms of possible parasites, (I made a mental check to ALL of them). So what were the symptoms? IBS, fatigue, food sensitivities, hypoglycemia, headaches, tiredness upon waking, jaw pain/grinding teeth, constipation, diarrhea, skin rashes, under weight, nervousness, depression... and the list goes on. Now these symptoms are common to many health issues often residing in the gut, but for years I have been working on improving my health through nutrition and life style. What was missing?

After listening to the lecture Dr. Watts mentioned a supplement that he formulated that kills off parasites 10x faster than many other anti-parasitic herbs. When I did a little more research of the plant I realized that while studying shamanism in the jungle of Guatemala many of the local people drank a tea made from this exact herbs, the name of which is Mimosa Pudica, or more commonly known as the "sensitive plant". I ordered a bottle of his Mimosa Pudica (no affiliation) and within two days I was passing dozens of worms, and liver flukes in my stool! It was like the scene from Alien, when the creature rips out of the astronauts stomach and scurries into the darkness, I had a whole colony of bugs living inside me! For the next 30+ days I continued passing these parasites, and as my self treatment progressed I noticed an increase in energy, stable blood sugar, more regular bowel movements, and my eyes had even seemed to changed color, the iris more blue and the whites more white!

I'm not promoting this product as being a miracle pill, but simply another tool in the cabinet to assist with cleansing and detoxing the body for greater vitality. In addition to Mimosa Pudica here are some other parasite paralyzers and killers:

1. Pumpkin seeds: these delicious little seeds contain the amino acid called cucurbitin, which paralyzes and eliminates the worms from the digestive tract. In fact they are often used as a deworming agent for dogs and other animals. I started adding in a 1/4 cup of seeds to my smoothies i n the morning and another 1/4 cup to salads or trail mix during the day.

2. Papaya: The seeds from papaya fruit have strong anthelmintic and antiamoebic properties, meaning they cna kill intestinal worms and other parasitic organisms in your GI tract. Start with a tablespoon or two of the seeds on an empty stomach upon waking for at least a week.

3. Fermented Foods: Full of probiotics, which are great at for re-balancing the gut biome and pushing out the not so nice bugs. These include kimchi, sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables also have added benefit of fiber to move parasites along!

4. Activated Charcoal: Charcoal can help bind, absorb and escort parasites out of the body. Taking on an empty stomach before bed also helps aid in the bodies natural detox cycle.

5. Herbs and Herbs: For thousands of years people have been using the wisdom of nature to maintain health and harmony with in their bodies. There are many anti-parasitic herbs including oil of oregano, neem, wormwood, black walnut, and grapeseed extract to name a few. Try rotating them every week so that the body doesn't become adapted to their effects.

Now I know your probably not hungry after reading about bugs but here's a recipe to help get them out and get you moving on:

Pumpkin and Papaya Parasite Paralyzer

1 cup chopped and frozen zucchini
1 cup chopped papaya fresh or frozen
1/4-1/3 cup raw or sprouted pumpkin seeds
little piece of ginger
1/2 cup hibiscus tea or water
1 tablespoon raw local honey

Throw everything in a blender and blend on high until everything is smooth and delicious, knowing that there will be more of you and less of the little guys!

Again if you are interested in the supplement to take things to the next level you can order it through Microbe Formulas, and it is the Mimosa Pudica Product

Are parasites behind your IBS symptoms?