Parasites! Do We Have Them and What to do About Them with Laura Frontiero
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I was scrolling Instagram the other day and I came across a video that I will never get out of my mind. She was eating a piece of cooked fish and said “this is why I will NEVER eat raw fish” and NO JOKE she then pulled TWO disgusting worms (nematodes) out of her fish. I could NOT believe it. So I HAD to get her on my podcast! Come to find out…we ALL have parasites and they are WAY more common and easy to catch than you think.
How Common are Parasites?
Parasites are really common. There is a misconception that parasites are from third world countries and that you must travel to a tropical place to get one — but the truth is that parasites don’t know “borders”. There are no borders. Everything that humans have are carried from continent to continent (we saw this happen with the pandemic).
Think about the person preparing your food at a restaurant. Who is preparing it? Do they wash their hands? Did they recently travel somewhere and pick something up? It’s totally possible. The World Health Organization gives us an estimation that 1 in 4 people have parasites. Laura estimates that it’s more like 50% of us have parasites.
Can We Live With Parasites?
The simple definition of a parasite is “something that lives off of its host”. The sole objective of a parasite is to survive. It’s not trying to KILL its host…it’s just trying to LIVE…off of you. It skims off the top of the best nutrients you give your body to ensure it survives. This means YOUR cells end up lacking all of those important nutrients. So while parasites aren’t going to “kill us”, they ARE going to cause a LOT of health problems.
Where Do We Get Parasites?
Parasites can obviously from the food we eat, but they can also come from animals! They also can live in bugs, so when we get bites, we can be exposed. We can get them from walking barefoot, swimming in lakes/rivers/streams. We can get them through any orifice. We can eat it, we can contract it through our skin, sexual intercourse, saliva, tears, you name it.
Does Most Food Have Parasites?
Yes, most food has parasites. One reason we cook our food, is to kill the parasites and their eggs. Some are visible, some are microscopic. Fun fact: wasabi is served with sushi because that spice is antimicrobial and is supposed to kill the parasites! In terms of food, you CAN get parasites from ANY food (meat, fish, eggs, produce, etc.). But in terms of fish, Halibut (bottom feeders) are known to have the MOST parasite load and a higher likelihood of having them altogether. Laura’s brother is a gourmet chef that works in 5 star restaurants and get this: 20-25% of all food comes TO the restaurant with parasites. The chefs will filet the fish and pick the worms out and then serve it. If they had to throw out meat and fish that had parasites, they’d be throwing away A LOT of their food. The same thing happens at the stores! They pick off what we can see before it is presented to us.
What Happens When We Have Parasites?
Some symptoms of having parasites:
- Low Energy
- Sleep Interruption – parasites are nocturnal and will wake you up in the night
- Brain Fog
- Difficulty Remembering/Concentrating
- Dysregulate Hormones
- Cravings
They also create toxins (aka they poop) inside of your body. This toxin load can manifest like:
- Acne
- Skin erruptions
- Eczema
- Dry chapped lips
- Grinding your teeth
- And so many more!
Are Parasites Why I Have Intense Cravings?
Parasites send intense signals to your brain to say “eat the things that I love”. So not only are they skimming your good nutrients, they want sugar! They will create cravings for the things THEY want to eat.
Parasites Are Like Trojan Horses
Parasites and toxins go together. There are little toxins hidden inside of your parasites. When they complete their life cycle and die, these toxins get excreted into your body. This alone is aging us and preventing us from living our best life and having regulated hormones, blood sugar, high energy, functioning brain, etc. If you want to solve the toxin problem in your body, you MUST address the parasite problem.
How Do We Know We Have Parasites and How Do We Kill Them?
In western medicine, it is very common to NOT believe parasites are a big problem. The tests given in traditional doctors office only tests for three parasites, and unless they are EXTREMELY active and you have that specific pathogenic evidence, you will test as negative. The gut test looks for A LOT more in their testing.
We can test for parasites with gut testing, where you send a stool sample in the mail. From this test you can learn about parasites you have, what bacteria are present, if have candida or fungus, what is happening with your digestive health and enzymes, if you have inflammation, is your immune function working, etc.
Unfortunately, fasting is not enough to kill them. If you’re not giving them enough food to live, they will start to host on your tissue. You need to assist them on their way out. In the western world, the most common “solution” is to prescribe an antibiotic. But this isn’t the BEST route because if you think about an antibiotic, it’s killing what is alive right then and there. But parasites have a life cycle and they are all in different stages (eggs, larvae, adults). This solution ends up leaving a lot left un-killed. To get rid of ALL of it, you have to use some herbal and botanical supplements and also avoid harming your natural microbiome (like the good bacteria).
How Often Do We Need to do a Parasite Cleanse?
Once you do your first big parasite cleanse, you can go into monthly or quarterly parasite cleansing for maintenance. You might do a big sweep, but you are still going to eating and petting your animals, and living life. So while you may have cleansed them out in January, by August you likely have more simply because you live on planet Earth.
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About Laura Frontiero
Laura Frontiero has served thousands of patients as a Nurse Practitioner over the last 22 years. Her work in the health industry marries both traditional and functional medicine.
Laura’s wellness programs help her high-performing clients boost energy, renew mental focus, feel great in their bodies, and be productive again. Her belief is that to create optimal wellness, first we need to identify and clear the root causes of our health problems, usually toxins and chronic infections, then eliminate inflammation, and restore gut and mitochondria health.
Her signature system helps reclaim what she calls the “Energy Edge”. For each person it’s a unique journey back to their peak mental, physical and biological performance. When your body is bio-optimized, and you’re operating at your “Energy Edge”, you are unstoppable, productive, happy, and fulfilled.
In addition to clinical medicine, Laura is passionate about educating her clients; she’s also a Master Leadership Trainer who has mentored hundreds of students on shifting mindset and being responsible for their own health. Her mission is to help them navigate the myths in modern medicine, eliminate negative self-limiting beliefs, remove toxins from the body, and restore health for peak performance.
In this episode, you will learn:
- Misconception that parasites are only in 3rd world countries
- There are NO BORDERS for parasites
- 25-50% of people have parasites
- Cause a lot problems and symptoms
- Where do we get parasites from?
- How do parasites get inside of us?
- What are the symptoms of parasites?
- Why we may be waking up at 2-3 am
- Why we may be having cravings
- Toxins and Parasites go together!
- How do we test for parasites?
- How do we kill parasites?
