Are PARASITES the Reason for Our Health Problems?

Pharma / TRT
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“Globally, due to intestinal parasitic infections, some 3.5 billion people are affected; 450 million are symptomatic, and yearly more than 200,000 deaths are reported.”, reported by the NIH [1]

The scary part of this finding by the NIH is not the 15% of people with parasitic symptoms but rather the 85% of people without parasitic symptoms. Granted these numbers are worldwide but one does have to wonder, just how many Americans have chronic health issues caused by parasites…they don’t know they have? Vice ran an article, “Millions of Americans Have a Parasite and Don’t Realize It”, discussing this very topic in 2018 and how proper levels of parasite education among health practitioners (for proper diagnosing) and patients (avoidance and identification of infection) is lower than you’d expect. [6]

It’s interesting that we deworm and administer parasitic meds to our pets periodically/yearly without thinking. Our pets are with us daily, licking our faces just after they licked their ass or ate some other animal’s shit in the backyard, laying in our beds, on our couches, eating out of our hands while we’re eating at the kitchen table, we pick up their poop daily / weekly depending on the pet, etc…

…yet, how often do humans proactively get dewormed or cleanse/rid oneself against human parasites? The scary answer is…NEVER…

With all the buzz back in 2020 on Ivermectin, Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine, I wanted to step back and reevaluate the drug mechanisms and do a little research of my own…

On the surface, these drugs were/are commonly used in the US and 3rd world countries by the CDC, WHO and others to combat malaria, autoimmune diseases, worms, foreign bacteria etc. These drugs and many alike are known to be lifechanging drugs that can make life and living possible in high-risk areas and regions around the world.

With that said, some in 2020 who took these drugs reported “feeling better” and riding themselves and their body of serious symptoms quickly that others without the drug endured much longer recovery times (if they recovered at all). While placebo effect is possible and sometimes probable, I wondered if there was another mechanism at play resolving unknown and underlying chronic issues that suppressed immune systems and got them sick in the first place. If so, could someone’s now healthy and untaxed immune system work efficiently for the first time in a while to handle the real illness at hand to make a speedy recovery?

Example, many Americans now sleeping with a CPAP (or related surgery) quickly realize how much stronger their immune system is with quality sleep and succumb to illnesses less frequently.

People into fitness (with the intent to gain) eat A LOT more than most of the people they’re around by consuming 3000-4500 calories a day. Of these people, most or a good amount eat, prep and cook a lot of “whole pure unprocessed food”. Meats and fresh veggies are at the top of that list. At some point, we have to wonder if we all have properly washed our hands, properly cleaned every vegetable and cooked every oz of meat to the correct temp to rid ourself of very potential parasite we’ve ever encountered at every point in our lives…

For me…the honest answer is definitely not…

How about you? …is the answer NO? …how about MAYBE? Are we all just playing a game of Russian roulette when we eat? Are we in the US living with a false sense of security?

If the answer is “we don’t know” or “maybe”, then why don’t humans in the US proactively take deworming medication yearly to squash potential underlying and potentially consumed parasites?

Doctors I’ve personally talked to have told me that symptoms and extensive testing is required to determine exactly what parasite is in someone before a medication is prescribed.

For example, we all know how that works with modern day doctors and men (age 28 or younger) with testosterone levels at 310 ng/dL with a range of 300-1000 ng/dL. As long as someone is “in range” or a test is “inconclusive” most doctors claim that there’s “nothing they can do” and “their hands are tied.”

Most doctors are not interested in prescribing preventative medicine though I’d venture to say that big pharma might (someday possibly push doctors out do drive up sales on preventative meds) considering their business is all about the $$$ and people will try anything on the market to solve a health problem as long as WebMD stays on the internet.

Or is the reason people in the US are not on inexpensive anti-parasitic medication due to big pharma? Are people going to doctors and filling higher priced scripts to treat underlying chronic symptoms paying out MORE $$$ for big pharma than proactively dosing Americans with cheap parasite killing meds? Is there a chance that parasitic symptomatic patients in the US mimic parasitic symptomatic patients globally or are the numbers drastically different?

The CDC states, “…more than 40 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite.” [2]

It seems that the CDC mostly reports the number of worldwide cases rather than the number of reported cases in the United States. This is explained by improvements in the food industry, installation and use of modern sewage treatment systems and increase in Americans wearing shoes.

However, NPR reported on a study performed in Alabama that found, “…19 of 55 (35%) individuals tested positive for the [hookworm] worm.” [3] Infection was attributed to poverty and lack of proper sanitation systems in the local area of Lowndes County, Alabama.

But how does that change when severe flooding impacts rural and urban areas and sanitation systems in the US and other 1st world countries. Recently (2021-2022), California, Florida, Alaska, Texas, West Virginia, Las Vegas, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia, Colorado, Tennessee, Montana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Minnesota, Alabama, New York, New Jersey…etc, experienced widespread flooding. [4] Flooding knows no socioeconomic boundaries and will carry backyard leach field septic from a poor area into wealthy urban area streets, homes, swimming pools, drinking water systems and food supplies. Is this why hookworm, pinworm, brain eating amoeba and other parasitic infections in the US are on the rise?

An article posted by California Center for Functional Medicine reported that,

"There’s a myth that intestinal parasites and parasitic diseases are rare and hard to contract. These microscopic hitchhikers are more common than you think, and they don’t only affect your digestive tract.

Symptoms of a parasite often manifest as gastrointestinal distress, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. These invaders can wreak havoc on your entire body, from your brain to your liver. Some of them have the potential to cause problems that can last years. Parasites can also contribute to inflammation, immune impairment, and even autoimmune activation.

Helminths and protozoa are the two main types of intestinal parasites. Helminths are multi-cell parasitic worms such as pinworms, hookworms, tapeworms, and roundworms. Protozoa are microscopic, single-cell parasites. Since they’re invisible to the naked eye and don’t always cause immediate symptoms, protozoa are much harder to detect. People can live for years not knowing they’re infected." [5]

So, if you, a gym buddy, friend or relative struggle with chronic health related issues, the chances may be low but the symptoms may be parasite related and negatively affecting thy gains.

Just a though to consider…now go wash your hands and take a shower with lots of soap…you never know…

[1] Prevalence of Intestinal Parasite Infections and Their Associated Factors among Food Handlers Working in Selected Catering Establishments from Bule Hora, Ethiopia - PMC
[2] CDC - Toxoplasmosis - General Information - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
[3] Hookworm Persists In U.S. Despite Belief That It Was Wiped Out Decades Ago : Goats and Soda : NPR
[4] https://floodlist.com/america/usa/page/2
[5] What You Need to Know About Parasites
[6] Millions of Americans Have a Parasite and Don't Realize It

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So the problem I see here is that you’re blaming parasites on underwashed hands, when both the examples you cited are not related to hand-washing.

^caused by cat scratches

^caused by walking around barefoot

What does any of this have to do with testosterone levels? This seems like a stretch to correlate these issues.

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Fair points.

But I’m actually blaming a number of sources, food, animals, environmentand I’m probably missing some. The cheeky comment at the end was fairly superficial given the content in the body of the article.

Toxoplasmosis is a common parasite found in cat feces and contaminated food (undercooked meat).

Hookworms do come from the ground such as a beach or recently flooded areas (as mentioned and cited) and can then cross contaminate food.

My point about modern day doctors was that they require extensive testing to determine someone is infected with a parasite, however doctors are ill equipped to properly diagnose all parasite infections, quick to misjudge, inappropriately misdiagnose patients and sometimes hastily prescribe medication that only treat symptoms (like IBS) where 45% of test subjects with IBS symptoms tested positive for parasite DNA and 10% of the control group without IBS tested positive for parasite DNA.

That’s pretty f-ing scary when you think about it…(if properly representative) that’s 10% of the US population or 33 million people with parasites without parasitic symptoms. And 11-20 million people with IBS symptoms, who are actually infected with an intestinal parasite. Either way, combined, that’s roughly 14% - 17.5% of the human population who are ONLY infected with intestinal parasites.
IBS Facts and Statistics - About IBS.

Doctors are known to only test and look at problems skin deep and the majority rarely research a situation they haven’t come in contact with before unless pressed by a knowledgeable patient.

We all (fitness enthusiasts on T-Nation) know and anyone without a medical degree can look at a blood test and see that 310 ng/dL is in fact within the range of 300-1000 ng/dL but the range takes into consideration males between the ages of 18 and 55 (maybe 65); and a 28 year old, otherwise healthy male should be no where near the lower end of that range. A diagnosis of hypogonadism and a script for test would be normal but in some states (New York) doctors wont even talk to a male patient under the age of 30 about the possibility of having low test, let alone prescribing testosterone (personal experience). And yes, I have read “My Doctor My Dealer”.

Also made an appropriate change alluding to the fact that if ordinary people with low-T symptoms could buy pharmaceutical testosterone without a script from their pharmacist…they would. Same with ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as we saw off label use and black market activity increase in 2020-2022.

So many doctors out there wont prescribe potentially preventative meds without explicit testing (we saw that during the pandemic). It might be worth mentioning that stool samples are not 100% effective at determining parasitic infections and multiple tests, along with an endoscope can still prove inconclusive / false negative for a patient with parasites.

Apologies for the poor correlation.

But if doctors were 100% with their diagnoses, testing and 1st treatment attempt success, 75% of the articles on this website wouldn’t need to exist.

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I have just skimmed, but find this pretty interesting. I’ll come back to read in-depth and probably just glance at the references (while I’m walking around barefoot on cats, ha!).

Thanks for posting!

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It may just be me but it seems to me this worm problem is a bit inflated and made to seem dramatic for no real purpose. It’s demonstrated that toxoplasmosis is of no real threat to healthy individuals, in most cases asymptomatic and is only a minor threat to newborns. Nevertheless, most people throw their cats out the window as soon as they find themselves pregnant. Hookworm is also no more life threatening than the common cold and is easily treatable when properly diagnosed.

The real problem lies in those living in third world countries with no healthcare infrastructure and no medicine to threat something that is seen as more of a nuisance than an illness.

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Hey Rusty, I don’t completely disagree.

Some STD’s are like that too but we don’t not wrap it because we “have solid immune systems.” That would be pretty arrogant. I am making a similar argument for how Americans arrogantly dismiss the possibility that they can be living with parasites, despite the symptoms, simply because they live in the United States. First question a doctor asks is if you’ve been out of the country…even though the problem can be in the grass of your back yard. Don’t people go barefoot in their yard in the summer time at least once???

And maybe it’s just me but unless you’re a healthy gym tank, 70% of Americans are obease and therefore immunocompromised. In top of that, include sleep apnea, hormone issues, food allergies, sinus issues, etc and before long you’re at a high enough percentage to be concerned.

Unfortunately, my mom, my aunt, other aunt etc. didn’t get rid of cats when they all had us so I know getting rid of cats with newborns is not a common thing to do.

Anyone who has floaters in their eye (has a good chance of having had worms). Eye doctors tell patients today not so worry about them. But if you’re in another country you’re put on an anti-parasitic meds just to be sure.

It’s really this machismo (I’m not going to get sick from parasites because I’m American) mentality that could be seriously messing up people. And because they American, even if they have symptoms, they AND their doctor aren’t even going to be considering parasites because “America.” With all the sugar in people’s Starbucks coffee they drink for a week, they’re immune system is compromised for the rest of the month…

I really didn’t go that deep into all the different types of parasites but I personally think Americans should take something once a year to protect themselves against the most common parasites we can come in contact with and if you go on vacation somewhere south of Georgia and Oklahoma…maybe take something for hookworm for all the beach walking you want to do.

With all the sugar, chemicals and toxins Americans are exposed to daily, i certainly wouldn’t rely on that alone to kill something living, feeding and breeding inside me.

And for anyone with IBS or any related symptoms, I’d run a parasite test panel multiple times even though the testing has a stong chance coming back as a false negative.

The question I posed is for people struggling with chronic issues who keep failing to stay healthy and stay in the gym committed to their goals for sure to underlying issues.

That and other countries take anti-parasitic meds whether they need to or not as preventative medicine while all sorts of testing is required in the states even though you have every symptom for a specific parasite was my other point.

Look, if you’re an alpha dog big cock strong solid mass monster in the gym…then you’re prolly all good.

Hope this cleared up my position a little. I’m not an article writing expert and prolly not even close to novice but it was on my mind and the findings on IBS infected people (and 10% of the control group) was pretty terrifying.

Something to consider if you’re not feeling 100%…

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I guess the doctor assumed that nobody with hookworm pooped in your back yard and then you went and walked all over that poop barefoot. Because that is what’s required for you to get hookworm - for someone with the disease to actually poop in your backyard and for the larvae to enter the soil through their feces.
This is something that happens in third world countries lacking sanitation facilities. Hopefully Georgia and Oklahoma don’t fall into this category.

How many of these obese Americans have you seen barefoot, let alone walking over someone’s infected feces on a sandy beach in Oklahoma? I’m not saying it’s impossible but likely improbable. These people only take their shoes of at the doctor’s office or next to a swimming pool. Even then they’re usually wearing jelly’s.

Good for them. There is no reason to and the risks are negligible. You’re more likely to get toxoplasmosis from undercooked meat or in your garden than straight from your cat. Seems to me you turned out just fine, just like billions of other infants throughout history sharing common living quarters with cats, among other domesticated animals.

Of course, unchecked chronic illnesses need to be correctly diagnosed. Examining stool samples are among the cheapest so there’s no reason for doctors not to order testing.

Believe you me, I’m not.

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I mean sure, but there are also another billion things we could be concerned about. If people read too deeply they can end up using anti-septic wipes as a glove for every door they open, be afraid of getting their hands in the mud, never use a public restroom, never pet an animal, spend thousands on supplements with little scientific data on and maybe be too afraid to travel.

Everything in life is a game of Russian Roulette. What we eat, when we cross the road or get into a car, when we lift something heavy, even getting pregnant could lead to death. There are some things we should waste our time worrying about, everything else we just gotta be sensible with. Just don’t add unnecessary bullets to the chamber with the things we are sure about and can control (don’t smoke kids).

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I getcha

First off, I want to make sure we’re on the same page…

MAY…being the key word along with the word LOW…I’m not saying parasites are the new world ending disaster…I’m simply saying it MAY aka COULD be part of the issue with people with IBS, immunocompromised and/or living in or traveling to southern parts of the country or out of country for vacation. That’s a pretty deliberately broad group of people.

Are you familiar with leach fields?

image

If the area is flooded (as I mentioned), it could bring feces up to the surface. Let the flood waters recede and bingo…perfect home for parasites. Also, wild animals, stray dogs or cats can leave contaminated poo in backyards, it can decompose and still affect nearby areas.

Map depicting what i meant by “vacationing somewhere south of Georgia and Oklahoma.”

image
image2666×1749 1.03 MB

Stray dogs on beaches in the Dominican (I believe) is exactly how one US case highlighted was contracted.

To recap and reiterate again, all I was saying in this article is that chronic health issues could be the root cause although the likelihood is low.

Also, who doesn’t or hasn’t had medium rare steak (aka undercooked). Discussing the “possibility” or eating garden grown food (I agree) simply presents the risk rather than outright dismissing the possibility all together simply because we live in the United States.

Also, the idea of not walking in your own yard barefoot in the summer time at (least once) is bonkers but okay…

I’m glad YOU don’t have any health issues…parasite related. I’m not trying to make any crazy claims, simply sharing CDC and NIH articles and info along with some other articles and tying together some situations people may find themselves in…

I AM sad you’re not…

Take it easy boss!

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I don’t disagree at all.

Personally, I’d be more concerned about being around people texting while driving…but if people were actually concerned about that…they wouldn’t do it. And to your point, if they were really concerned about it, they wouldn’t leave their home. I agree but it’s not what I’m getting at.

Of course I’m playing devils advocate but it’s to trying to expand the possibility and get people to realize that the places one can get infected, in reality, may be as close as their own back yard in certain areas (if you’re immunocompromised and don’t know it aka sleep apnea, crohns, food intolerance/allergy, insulin resistance, etc.)

What did you think about the number of people with IBS and the control group? I certainly NEVER would have guessed 10% of the control group had parasites would you?

My whole point was that living in the united states doesn’t make us immune as many (including myself) would typically believe and that the risk (although low) is still out there on our own home turf.

With flooding in the US, the CDC, NIH and others have reported increased numbers of infection.

Again, no crazy claims, other than it’s possible here in the US despite what one may have initially thought.