Reading the title of this newsletter you are probably thinking “we live in a first world country, we don’t have to worry about parasites unless we travel, right?” As much as I’d love to tell you that is the case, it is not. And for a number of reasons, parasites may be more common than you think.
Check out the video below with Dr. Sarica and Brittany talking about parasites and heavy metal toxicity, and read on to learn more about how this information may be prevalent to you.
Parasites: The Hitchhikers You Should Avoid
If you think of parasites, you probably think they are creepy little worm like organisms, that typically live in the tropics, that like to crawl inside your body, make themselves at home, steal from you, and wreak havoc on your health and wellness. While this is not an incorrect assumption, it is not a complete one.
Yes, parasites are essentially jerky little freeloaders that live on or inside of you and steal your nutrients, energy, peace of mind, and health. But they are not just worms, and they do not only live in the tropics.
Parasites can fall under a number of different categories of microorganisms that live on or inside of another organism (host). Parasites can be protozoans (single cell organisms), helminths (parasitic worms), amoebas (parasites in the blood), and insects, and in broader definitions can sometimes include fungi, bacteria, and viruses as well.
While parasites may have once been limited to more tropic areas, they can now be found all over the globe. Some speculate that the reason for their growing ability to travel and survive in other climates stems from the issue of overpopulation, which has greatly impacted and accelerated global warming. Places which were once not habitable by parasites, are now warm and cozy for their arrival. A great example of this can be read about in the study of the migration of ticks and the Effect of Climate Change on Lyme Disease Risk in North America.
In addition to them becoming more common throughout the globe, our susceptibility to them is much higher than it may have been many years ago. Why is that? Well there is a tendency within western culture to over medicate, taking pills to mask every symptom, as well as to take antibiotics without any hesitation. Between the antibiotics killing our good bacteria and gut flora, and the medications taking over for our immune response, we are welcoming in these vermin in without much of a fight.
So what can you do to strengthen your defense to ward off potential invaders?
Bolstering Up Your Defenses
To be prepared in the event that you encounter one of these conniving hitchhikers, you should think about giving some extra love to your gut and immune health.
Improve your Gut Flora
Most Americans have a pretty weak gut flora without a lot of good bacteria. This is largely due to the poor SAD (standard American diet) which I mentioned a few weeks ago in Healing the Body with Personalized Nutrition. But as mentioned before, this also majorly resulting from how often we resort to antibiotics for any illness.
Long story short, we need to repopulate that good bacteria.
Make your gut a happy home for you, but not for parasites.
Ways to improve your gut flora:
- Eat more prebiotic foods / fibers
- Fruits:
- Bananas, grapefruit, watermelon, apples
- Vegetables/greens:
- Dandelion greens, Jerusalem artichoke, onions, leeks, asparagus, seaweed, asparagus, savoy cabbage, garlic
- Roots:
- Burdock root, yacon root, jicama root, chicory root, Konjac root
- Grains:
- Wheat bran, barley, oats
- Nuts / Seeds / Beans:
- Flax seeds, almonds, pistachios, cocoa
- Legumes:
- Lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans
- Resistant starches
- Fruits:
- Add in probiotics
- Probiotics contain live cultures – the good kind of microorganisms that help maintain and improve your gut health
- When choosing probiotics, look for the variety of the different strains, and the CFU – colony-forming unit – count. This count essentially refers to how many active microorganisms are in each serving.
- Don’t just take one, rotate!
- No one probiotic blend contains all the microorganisms you need to make a healthy gut flora, so when you are done with one bottle, try a new one with different strains of live cultures.
- Add in digestive enzymes
- Digestive enzymes improve and repair the digestive system and help us to better absorb nutrients by aiding in the break down process of the food we eat.
- There are 3 main types of digestive Enzymes:
- Proteases: break down proteins
- Lipases: break down fats
- Amylases: break down carbs/starches
- There are some foods that naturally contain digestive enzymes, but you can also choose to supplement with them.
- Foods that naturally contain digestive enzymes
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Mangos
- Raw honey
- Bananas
- Avocados
- Kefir
- Sauerkraut
- Kimchi
- Miso
- Kiwifruit
- Ginger
- Incorporate fermented foods into your diet
- Yogurt
- Kimchi
- Sauerkraut
- Kefir
- Kombucha
- Tempeh
- Diversify your food intake
- Try new foods! Eat with the season and change things up a bit. Try different fruits or vegetables you’ve never tried before.
- Studies show that people who have a more diverse food intake have a more diverse microbiota.
- Reduce / avoid sugar
- Processed sugars can cause gut dysbiosis – an imbalance of gut microbes
- Avoid taking antibiotics when possible
- Antibiotics may seem like a great quick fix on paper, but when you read the fine print, you realize how detrimental they can actually be long term. While yes, they are efficient at ridding the body of bad bacteria, they are just as efficient of ridding your body of the good bacteria.
- Antibiotics leave your gut open and defenseless to new pathogens, bacteria, and other invaders. Not to mention, they destroy years worth of building and colonizing that the good little guys in your belly have worked so hard for to keep your body safe and healthy.
- Suggestion: look into TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) approaches instead (we are only a call away).
Strengthen your Immune System
In addition to the health of our gut flora, we need to give some energy to strengthening our immune system. And an acronym that will help you with this is ZACES.
Know it, remember it, and get enough of it.
Z.A.C.E.S: nutrients needed for healthy immune function
- Z – Zinc:
- Shitake mushrooms, chickweed, dandelion, milk thistle, alfalfa sprouts, squash
- A – Vitamin A:
- Cod liver oil, goat cheese, sweet potatoes, carrots, fish, basil, sage, parsley, thyme
- C – Vitamin C:
- Citrus, kiwi, broccoli, brussel sprouts, thyme, rose hips, elderberry
- E – Vitamin E:
- Nuts, seeds, avocados, squash, fish, leafy greens, parsley, papaya
- S – Selenium:
- Brazil nuts, burdock root, alfalfa, fennel, nettles, oat-straw, yarrow, ginger, garlic
Other things to remember when building your immune system:
- Vitamin D is essential!
- I’ve said it before, but that skin food is unlike anything else when it comes to keeping your body healthy. Try to get a little bit of sun everyday (stock up before winter).
- You can also get vitamin D through some other sources:
- Mushrooms
- Fish (salmon & sardines)
- Egg yolks
- Supplements
- Ask your care provider before buying just any old supplement. Vitamin D needs certain other vitamins and fats in order to be made bio available for our bodies to absorb.
- Avoid or eliminate sugar
- Let me say it again for those in the back… sugar is detrimental to immune function.
- Did you know: consuming only 5g of sugar results in a 40% decrease in your immune function?!
And this can last for up to 5 hour after consumption! - Try replacing processed sugars with more natural, low-glycemic sweeteners:
- Pure, organic maple syrup (not your Aunt Jemima’s)
- Date syrup
- Coconut sugar
- Raw honey
- Monkfruit
- Need ideas of sugar free recipes?
- My favorite foodie blogger, Minimalist Baker, has a whole section of refined-sugar free recipes. Check it out!
- Get enough sleep
- They say repetition aids memory, and I know I’ve mentioned it several times before. So pardon the broken record, but sleep is vital for your health.
- Stress Less
- Amp up your meditation, relaxation, and deep breathing to keep your immune system, and your little gut buddies, happy and healthy.
- Diet
- For more tips on nutrition, check out my previous blog on Healing the Body with Personalized Nutrition. But for this, I’ll just provide a few things to keep in mind.
- Limit: cold/frozen foods, excess dairy or damp foods, and food allergens
- Include: ZACES & Vitamin D
- Be mindful of the medications you take
- Steroids and some pain meds (NSAIDS) can decrease your immune function
- Steroids and some pain meds (NSAIDS) can decrease your immune function
What is Gu Syndrome?
Ancient texts would have you believe that this syndrome is the result of some kind of black magic or voodoo, which is why many practices do not mention much of it, and why you may have never heard of it. In ancient texts, Gu syndrome could be explained as invisible ‘demons’ which plague the body and mind, and which generally were associated with an array of digestive and psychological symptoms.
While still confounding to most western practitioners, the once perceived dark and mysterious Gu syndrome, more easily understood through TCM practices today.
Gu syndrome is not specific to one set of symptoms or illness, but is rather a blanket diagnosis that gives explanation and understanding to that which western medicine may perceive as unexplainable. It encompasses many chronic illnesses that are undeniably there but may be hard to diagnose or treat, such as treatment resistant diseases and disorders, chronic inflammatory conditions or illness caused by pathogens, mold, or other toxins, and “aggressive helminthic, protozoan, fungal, spirochete, or viral afflictions that have become systemic in an immune-compromised patient.”(Fruehauf)
In other words, Gu Syndrome is the diagnosis that you have a hidden pathogen (parasite, bacteria, virus, fungi, etc.) stuck in the body.
Possible Symptoms:
As “chronic parasitism may involve virtually any symptom in virtually any combination, for diagnostic purposes the indications most consistently quoted in traditional texts can be synopsized in the following way:
- Digestive symptoms:
- Chronic diarrhea, loose stools or alternating diarrhea and constipation; explosive bowel movements; abdominal bloating or ascites; abdominal cramping and/or pain; nausea; intestinal bleeding and/or pus; poor appetite or ravenous appetite, peculiar food cravings.
- Neuromuscular symptoms:
- Muscle soreness, muscle heaviness, muscle weakness; wandering body pains; physical heat sensations; cold night sweats; aversion to bright light.
- Mental symptoms:
- Depression, frequent suicidal thoughts; flaring anger, fits of rage; unpredictable onset of strong yet volatile emotions; inner restlessness, insomnia; general sense of muddledness and confusion, chaotic thought patterns; visual and/or auditory hallucinations; epileptic seizures; sensation of “feeling possessed.”” (Fruehauf)
Other diagnoses that could be considered under the umbrella of Gu Syndrome:
- Lyme’s disease
- IBS
- Auto-immune disorders
- HIV
- Mold illness
- Epstein Barr virus
- Ross River virus
- Parvo virus
- Chronic fatigue disorder
- Fibromyalgia
- Candida
- Complex pain disorders
- Other tick bornediseases
- Schizophrenia
- Chronic inflammatory conditions
- Malaria
TCM vs. Western Approach to Parasites
In most Western medical practices, the first go to upon discovering parasites, is getting them the heck out of there, pronto! And while yes, we do want to get rid of them, doing so expediently and improperly can cause a very unpleasant ripple effect.
Brittany’s main teacher, Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, explained it to through the analogy of trying to boil a frog (western approach) vs. simmering it (TCM approach). If you try to put a frog directly in boiling water, all it will do is jump out and find an escape. In the terms of sneaky hidden parasites and pathogens, them “jumping out of the water” usually equates to slithering deeper within the host by crawling into organs, dark spaces, or other more difficult places to access. As I’m sure you can understand as you grimace at the thought, driving pathogens deeper into the system to cause even more damage is the last thing we want to do, and ultimately could cause the person to become even more ill. But thats not the only problem the “boiling water” method poses.
The thing about these types of parasites and pathogens is, not only are they living off of you, but by becoming a part of your system and stealing your resources and reserves, a sort of codependency is created between the parasite and the host. To remove it completely will leave the host feeling completely depleted, which may result in weeks or months of being bed ridden.
How the TCM approach differs:
As opposed to attempting to “boil the frog” the TCM approach understands the power behind a slow simmer. TCM, as always, aims to address the whole system, host, parasite, and all, and in this instance, a quick fix would cause more damage than good. In order to eliminate the parasites, we have to address the baseline issue first and remove the whole codependency aspect of this toxic relationship. In order to do so we must restore the vitality, health, and defense of the host first before beginning the gradual removal of the parasites. That way, as the herbs and treatment start to remove the pesky critters, the body’s ability to assist will begin to strengthen and step more fully into the process. Through the “simmer” method of TCM, the parasites may not realize that they are being shown the door, until they have already left the building, so they won’t be tempted to scurry and stow away in dark corners. And when the immunity and vitality is restored, the environment will become too hostile for the parasites liking, so it won’t want to stay anyway.
Though the TCM method for removing parasites or treating Gu syndrome can take some time, this is one of those scenarios where slow and steady will always win.
For more information from Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, you can visit his website classicalpearls.org
How We can Help
Now I’m sure you are feeling all warm and fuzzy after reading about creepy critters that can live inside your body, so I want to illuminate how we can help. As you know we have some well versed and practiced practitioners here at Harmonizing Healthcare, but did you know that Brittany and Dr. Sarica have protocols that focus on these cases from different angles?
Brittany focuses on Gu syndrome, and has worked with a number of people with Gu or other parasitic infections with great results, using TCM herbal and acupuncture protocols. And Dr. Sarica offers personalized heavy metal detoxification programs that are created based upon the person’s individualized needs. Because parasites and heavy metals have a symbiotic relationship, the metals need to be slowly and safely eliminated in order to completely clear the parasites.
When we are getting into this deep work, it is so important to be guided by a practitioner that has experience with this, and knows how to support your body through in a way that is gentle and slow, so that you end up healthier at the cellular level by the end of this transformational journey.
So if you or anyone you know has dealt with an undetermined chronic, systemic illness, we are here to help. If you aren’t in Flagstaff, or live out of state, Brittany can still assist with online herbal consults to help determine the right plan of action and herbs to move through to better health.
We hope you have found this newsletter insightful, and that it has helped shed some light for you or someone you know on your path toward better health.
If you would like to book an appointment, or have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at the number below.
With gratitude,
The Harmonizing Healthcare team