Happy summertime, y’all! I hope it’s been a sweet one ♥ I know my blogging has been pretty sparse lately, and that’s because 2025 has been quite a whirlwind for me so far! Here are a few highlights:
- In January, I began a 12-week online program called “Functional Medicine for Nurses.”
- In February, we started the work of having the upstairs of our house finished to sell.
- In March, we sold our house …without even listing it!
- In April, we went to Naples, Florida with some friends for vacay and a pickleball tournament that Corey played in.
- In May, we moved into a rent house, and I was reminded once again that I’m REALLY not a fan of the moving process.
- In June, we celebrated my hubby’s 40th birthday with a pickleball party!
- In July, we celebrated my birthday and continued to work hard on researching and picking things out for the new house.
- In August, we celebrated our 15-year anniversary and broke ground!
I feel very blessed and thankful as I reflect on the past 8 months. There have been open doors, wonderful opportunities and special things to celebrate! But I have to admit that the way this year has gone has also really challenged me. Everything just happened so much faster than we expected! We thought I’d be done with school before they started the upstairs work, that it would be summer or fall when we sold the house and moved, and fall or winter when we broke ground. It has been overwhelming, to say the least! As a functional nurse and health coach, I am always trying to maintain balance in my life and practice what I teach. So it has been discouraging how much I have felt like I’ve been just trying to keep my head above water this year. And my health has definitely suffered in some ways. But it has been a humbling reminder that some seasons in life are just harder or more stressful than others, and it is important to give ourselves and each other grace! So over the past couple of months, one day at a time, I have intentionally focused on getting back to the basics to support my mind, body and soul. This has included things like consistent prayer and quiet time with the Lord, breathwork, sunlight & time in nature, exercise, cleaner eating and more meaningful times of connection with friends and family. And I have seen once again how powerful these things are!
Another thing I did to help renew and refresh my body was to complete my first parasite cleanse! I’ve done various detoxes in the past, but none specifically for parasites. I had been considering doing one for quite some time, as I’ve been hearing, reading, and learning more and more about this topic and have become pretty intrigued. It seems like parasites might be a much bigger problem (even in developed countries like the U.S.) than most people realize!
According to the dictionary, “a parasite is an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense.” Some of the more well-known parasites are external ones like fleas, ticks & lice. But my focus today is on internal ones. You can be exposed to them through contaminated food, drinking water, soil, animals, travel, lakes, rivers and swimming pools. They can also be passed from person to person through close interaction. Not all parasites are bad or cause major problems. But when they build up, reproduce, steal your nutrients and mess with your immune system… that is where things can go sideways. This is more likely to happen if you have poor gut health, unchecked inflammation, eat the standard American diet (a lot of sugary, artificial and processed foods), live in a state of high stress, have clogged lymphatic drainage pathways, etc. Then your body may not be able to efficiently clear the junk it doesn’t want or need as well as it should be able to! And it can get overburdened with parasites and their friends…heavy metals, yeast/candida, bacteria and viruses.
Most common symptoms of Parasites
- Digestive distress- gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, IBS
- Increase or decrease in appetite, sugar and carb cravings and/or sudden food sensitivities
- Muscle aches and joint pain
- Skin issues like rashes, itching, hives, acne, eczema, psoriasis
- Fatigue
- Brain fog
- Sleep disturbances- insomnia, teeth grinding, waking between 2-4 a.m.
- Iron deficiency anemia and other nutrient deficiencies
- Anxiety, depression, irritability
- Unexplained weight loss or gain
Obviously, these symptoms can be caused by many different things, so getting to the root of your symptoms is a lot like putting together a puzzle, which is one thing I love about this work! It is so exciting when things start to fit together and you can see more of the picture. If your symptoms intensify around a full moon, that is a sign parasites might be at least partially to blame, since they become more active during a full moon. I know this may sound kind of weird, but many creatures actually become more active during the full moon phase. There is also some evidence showing humans are affected too… especially regarding things like melatonin levels, sleep quality, mental health, fertility, etc. One interesting fact is that the Latin name for the moon–luna–is the root of the modern word “lunatic.” Although there is not strong scientific support, many healthcare professionals, teachers and police officers agree, based on experience, that full moons can affect human behavior!
Diagnosis
In conventional medicine, the main method used to diagnose a parasitic infection is a test called an O&P (Ova & Parasites). This is where your doctor will have you collect a stool sample, which will be examined at the lab under a microscope to look for parasites and their eggs. This is most commonly ordered if you have acute symptoms that came on all of a sudden. Sometimes that can be caused by more widely recognized parasites such as Giardia and others that can cause food poisoning or sudden illness when contracted. The accuracy of the O&P test can vary greatly based on factors such as the number of samples tested, the type of parasite and the experience of the lab technician.
In Functional Medicine, we prefer to use a method of testing called quantitative PCR, which looks at the DNA material of parasites. This is done through a comprehensive stool test, such as GI Map, GI Effects or GI360. Some of the benefits of this type of testing are that it is much more sensitive and specific. It also assesses not only parasites, but the entire gut microbiome, identifies gastrointestinal infections, evaluates digestive markers, and detects inflammation. All of this information gives you a much better picture of what is going on in someone’s gut!
Sometimes patients and practitioners will also choose to do empiric treatment, without any testing. Often, this is done when it is strongly suspected that parasites are the cause or at least a contributing factor to the patient’s symptoms. It is also more cost-effective.
Before considering beginning any kind of detox or cleanse, it is VITAL that you make sure your elimination pathways are open and functioning well! Otherwise, the junk that is getting killed off or released will just get recirculated and reabsorbed, and you’ll probably feel even worse. Consider the 3 P’s in the image below.
- Pee- Is your urine light yellow in color, indicating proper hydration?
- Poop- Are you having at least 1 bowel movement daily?
- Are you sweating regularly through physical activity or sauna use?
If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, that issue needs to be worked out before starting a cleanse!
TREATMENT
There are a lot of different parasite protocols out there, but I personally chose to do the Rogers Hood Apothecary Ultimate Parafy Kit, and there are a few reasons why:
- They offer a lot of free in-depth educational material. Here is where you can download those if you wish!
- Their protocols are powerful, yet gentle and supportive, and address not only parasites, but also heavy metals, yeast (Candida)… and may also treat other bacterial and viral infections going on in the body.
- Includes a binder, which is pretty important to help remove the released toxins or infections more effectively from the body.
- Helpful customer service via email or Instagram messaging.
- Arkansas based company (Bonus!)
My cleanse started out with 3 days of the “Gutty” drink. That was an interesting experience! You have to swig it fairly quickly because it turns into a thick gel-like substance the longer it sits. I wasn’t expecting to have any detox symptoms with this, but I did! The first day I had some mild nausea and the 2nd day, I had a bad headache all afternoon and evening. I had 1-3 bowel movements each day, but no urgency or diarrhea. That aspect wasn’t much different than my normal.
Four days after finishing the gutty, I began taking the tinctures. I just kept a water glass next to them on the kitchen counter, where I would frequently see and be reminded to take them. I really liked that it was liquid instead of pills! They each have their own unique flavor, but none of them bothered me. They all have honey in them, which has a lot of benefits, but also helps make the herbs more palatable. You can mix the tinctures in the same small glass of water to take; you do not have to do them separately.
I took a few fulvic detox baths and foot baths throughout the cleanse to help support detox through the skin. I’m already a bath girl, so that made it pretty easy to incorporate. But I will warn you, it is messy, and I had a hard time getting the black out of my tub. If you do a full bath, make sure you rinse it out really well right away. I also have a foot bath and that was definitely a little easier. I love my detox baths with Epsom salts, baking soda, bentonite clay, etc., but from now on, things that are dark, like fulvic acid, I will only do in a foot bath.
Diet is an important part of any cleanse! You want to try and avoid hard-to-digest foods and give your body a lot of nourishing superfoods to support it during detox. Some foods that help fight parasites are papaya seeds, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds. I found the Rogers Hood Community Cookbook to be very helpful and enjoyed several of the recipes. I didn’t follow their diet plan perfectly, but I did eliminate gluten, dairy, alcohol and added sugars and focused on lots of organic fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fiber. I’ve learned from past experience what my body likes and does well with, so that makes it easier. I kept track of everything I ate the first week so I could share it with you guys!
One thing I really appreciated during the cleanse was Green Chef! We usually get a box every other week or so, and really enjoy it, but it was an extra blessing during that time to not have to plan or buy groceries for every single meal. They use high-quality ingredients and you can specify any dietary restrictions. They also have a very user friendly app, where you can skip the week, change your delivery date and/or edit meal choices. Here is a link if you’d like to try a free box!
Overall, the cleanse went pretty smoothly, and I felt good throughout it for the most part! I did have some normal die-off symptoms here and there, mostly nausea, sinus pressure and headache… but nothing that kept me from being able to do my daily activities. People can have varying degrees of reactions and symptoms when detoxing, and I recommend always listening to your body and being willing to adjust accordingly. Some discomfort is a good sign that it is working, but if it is too much, slow down or stop and focus on rest, hydration and drainage support! Some people will also benefit from targeted supplements, like glutathione. Then, when you are ready, you can start back up and increase slowly as tolerated.
Fortunately/unfortunately, I don’t have any crazy stories of massive worms coming out of my body! I was a little nervous about what I might see, but was kind of hoping I would have something really obvious happen to know that I definitely passed parasites and be able to identify which ones! I will say, though, that there were some pretty noticeable differences in some of my stools. On day 3, I believe I started to see what looked like sesame seeds, which I learned could be tapeworm segments or parasite eggs. Days 10-12 are when I saw the most unusual activity. There were some small stringy things and what I believe was a liver fluke (looked like a leaf!) So, although I can’t say with 100% certainty what kind I passed, I do feel pretty confident that I did pass some!
I felt really great after the cleanse, like I always do whenever I detox. I wasn’t having any major symptoms before the cleanse, but afterwards, my body just felt like it was functioning better overall! I have been dealing with some anemia, so I am hoping that will look better on my labs next month! And I’m sure this gave my immune system a good boost, which is always a good thing. I do feel like the parasite cleanse was a success & plan to continue doing something like this seasonally for maintenance. The truth is, parasites, other pathogens and toxins are a part of life, and I am thankful for the tools to help me keep them in check. And I hope you also feel more equipped to do the same! There has been a lot of interest in my community around this topic, so I pray my knowledge + experience helped.
“Clearing out parasites is one of the most overlooked but powerful ways to restore your body’s ability to heal and protect itself.” Dr. Josh Axe
Although I am a nurse by trade, I am not a doctor or an expert, and the information I provide on this blog is for educational purposes only. Each person is unique and their needs and circumstances vary, so I always recommend that you consult your medical provider before making any changes.
