All posts tagged: parasite

Would You Know if a Parasite Were Controlling Your Mind?

Would You Know if a Parasite Were Controlling Your Mind?

Published by Jenni Sidey

For a few years now, health organizations have been warning that Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans has reached dangerous levels [1], but newer statistics and projections point to some pretty alarming numbers. It looks like in some regions (Italy and Pakistan, for example), more than a third of the population is infected with this parasite, and overall, it has infected around a billion people worldwide, though the burden is unevenly distributed. Because of this, it could fairly be called the most common parasitic infection in humans [2]. Once someone is infected, the parasite stays with them for the rest of their life; there is no effective drug to fully clear it, and no vaccine has been developed to prevent it either. Given the evidence, even if still limited, of its clinical effects, and given how widespread it already is (and will almost certainly become more so), people and health organizations around the world need to pay much closer attention to this issue. Toxoplasmosis life cycle Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that absolutely needs cats to …

Does it even need to be said? No, you don’t need to do a ‘parasite cleanse’

Does it even need to be said? No, you don’t need to do a ‘parasite cleanse’

Published by Sam Flores

Last August, supermodel Heidi Klum revealed that she and her husband, Tom Kaulitz, were planning a worm and parasite cleanse. “Everything on my Instagram feed at the moment is about worms and parasites,” she told the Wall Street Journal, ominously adding: “I don’t know what the heck is going to come out.” Maybe your social media feeds aren’t full of posts about worms and parasites, in which case, congratulations. But type “parasite cleanse” into TikTok or Instagram and you’ll be inundated with so-called experts peddling expensive herbal supplements that promise to detox the body and rid it of harmful worms and parasites. One TikTok user, whose credentials are “holistic mama”, suggests people should do deworming cleanses if they experience “sleep issues, gut issues, weight loss issues, mood swings, skin issues”. It would be nearly impossible to find a single human not dealing with at least one of these issues. Does that mean everyone should be on a parasite cleanse? “NO,” Caroline Susie, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics wrote in all caps over …