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The World’s Most Potent (and Safe) Herbs That Kill Parasites

Herbs That Kill Parasites
Dr. Donna Schwontkowski authorDr. Donna Schwontkowski, DC
M.S. Nutrition & Herbology
Parasite Cleanse Expert

Reviewed by:
CleanseJoy Editorial Team.

Black walnut | Epazote | Neem | Wormwood | Cloves | Oregano oil | Diatomaceous earth | Jatoba | Pau d’ Arco | Licorice

Did you find out that you have parasites from your doctor? Or did you realize by looking at the list of symptoms that it’s likely you have one? Some of the main reasons people use herbs that kill parasites include:

  • They know they have parasites
  • A family member has a parasite and they don’t want to get infected
  • Frequently eat sushi (a common way people get parasites)
  • Pet owners who do a parasite cleanse as their own pets are treated with dewormers.

It’s important to know how different herbs kill parasites, which ones they kill, and how to properly use them. Although in some cases we may need more studies in order to completely understand how these herbs work against parasites, we know enough to safely get the critters out of your body (dead or alive) so you can feel healthy again.

Related protocols:
parasite cleanse, candida cleanse.

2 things You Should Know Before Taking Anti-parasitic Herbs

1: Cleanse your colon

When you get the critters out of your body, they are eliminated with the stool. Before you do that, you absolutely need to cleanse the colon first to avoid a healing crisis and die offs.

Ozonated Magnesium Oxides can help to clear the colon so your body can eliminate the dying parasites, candida (and their toxins) quicker during your parasite cleanse.

If you are new to cleansing or planning to take herbs for parasites or candida, I highly recommend to read my guide on how to prevent a healing crisis.

2: Diet for Parasites

Low carb diet that doesn’t feed the critters is also recommended. Sugar is the primary fuel source of many parasites.
See: parasite cleanse diet.

10 Top Herbs That Kill Parasites

Here’s the list of the top herbs that kill parasites and how they work. Have some of these daily or add to your natural parasite cleanse.

  1. Black Walnut (green hull)
    Herbs That Kill Parasites Black Walnut (green hull)

Any plant that can live to be more than 300 years old has to be full of medicinal components that are anti-parasitic in nature. What parasites does it kill? According to the ancient herbal medicine literature, black walnut may kill over 100 different types of parasites. A must have in any parasite cleanse, and a definite option as one of the best herbs that kill parasites.

Black walnut is anti-helminthic according to the old monographs on herbs, which means it destroys parasitic worms or helminths. This category includes flukes, tapeworms or nematodes. Helminthes are the largest parasites.

It’s good to kill helminthes first in the human body because these ‘guys’ are eating and pooping in your intestinal tract and elsewhere. Lesser parasites eat their excrement. Thus black walnut ends up killing all types of parasites with one swoop.

Helminths are big enough to see with the naked eye. That means when you take black walnut extract, capsules, tincture or any form, you might see the parasites fighting for their life and squiggling in the toilet bowl. Sorry for being so graphic about it but who will tell you these things if we don’t?

A few more things to know:  black walnut can be used for cats and dogs as dewormers you make at home, but never give it to your horse. It makes their body and especially feet swell and they fall down, not getting up for several hours, a condition called laminitis.

The active ingredients of black walnut include juglone and a quinone called plumbagin.

  1. Epazote (leaf) (Chenopodium ambrosioides)
    One report by the World Health Organization in the 1970s stated that a decoction of 20 grams of the leaves of epazote rapidly expelled parasites without any apparent side effects in humans.

One report by the World Health Organization in the 1970s stated that a decoction of 20 grams of the leaves of epazote rapidly expelled parasites in humans without any apparent side effects.

This herb has a very impressive and specific data on its anti-parasitic effect.

A study that had 72 children and adults with intestinal parasites take Epazote, found it was 100% effective against Ancilostoma and Trichuris, and 50% effective against Ascaris. Stool analysis showed it only took 8 days for the treatment to kill the parasites.

In another study of 30 kids between the ages of 3 and 14 years old with roundworm, one dose given on an empty stomach for three days caused the disappearance of 88% of the eggs and overall parasite burden decreased by 60%. Epazote was 100% effective in eliminating human tapeworm.

  1. Neem (leaf) (Azadirachta indica)
    With parasite killing properties that include anti-helminthic, antibacterial, antifungal (Candida), and antiviral, Neem is one of best herbs that kill parasites for adults.

With parasite killing properties that include anti-helminthic, antibacterial, antifungal (Candida), and antiviral, Neem is one of best herbs that kill parasites for adults.

It works great topically when kids get lice. That horrible hair parasite infection that travels quickly through a schoolroom. There’s nothing like a call from a teacher that your child has lice! But it’s a good thing that there’s a solution.

In one study of 60 heavily-lice-infested children, neem shampoo was found to be highly effective against all stages of head lice. Neem killed live adult parasites, inhibited eggs from hatching, and annihilated everything in between. A great parasite cleansing herb for school teachers who try to stay lice free.

Neem is also one of the best home remedies for scabies rash, a skin condition caused by tiny parasitic mites called Sarcoptes scabiei. The mites tunnel into the skin and can cause severe irritation as they move.

Kids or pregnant/breastfeeding moms should not take neem internally.

  1. Wormwood (leaf/stem) (Artemisia absinthium)
    Wormwood herb for parasite cleanse

Now this next study is really one that gives herbal therapy its due credit.

Doctors tested and treated 780 patients that had Schistosoma mansoni infections. Schistosoma mansoni is a water-borne parasite in humans that belongs to the group of blood flukes.[1]

The researchers must have found a few villages that were seriously infected with this parasites. The patients all tested positive and had the parasite eggs in their stool.

Wormwood herb tea came to the rescue! 14 days later, all of them – hundreds of these patients, had no detectable parasite eggs in their stool. 28 days later, the eggs were still gone.

The doctors concluded that wormwood “provided faster effective treatment of schistosomiasis and should be considered for implementation on a global scale.”

  1. Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum)
    Cloves are best known for their parasite egg killer action, although they are quite effective against many types of parasites.

Cloves are best known for their parasite egg killing action, although they are very effective against many types of parasites. If you have Giardia, Schistosoma, Fasciola gigantica (flatworm) or Haemonchus contortus (called barbers’ pole worm), cloves may become your new best friend. Studies have shown cloves are lethal to these parasites and won’t let them multiply.

Cloves may also be a good options for those who have Lyme disease. The tick that carries the Lyme bacteria can also be infected with the Babesia parasite.
Tucked away from many antiparasitic herbs, cloves can track the Babesia parasite down like a sniper.

Herbal medicine books often call cloves antiprotozoal. That means it is effective against parasites like Amoebas, flagellated, parasites with whip like ‘legs’, malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi.[2]

The active components of cloves include eugenol, gallic acid derivatives, flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol, and phenolic acids.

  1. Mediterranean Oregano Oil
    Mediterranean Oregano Oil herbs that kill parasites

Six weeks of Mediterranean oregano oil supplementation were enough to kill several parasites. A US study found the oil effective against Entamoeba hartmanni (causes diarrhea), Endolimax nana (amoeba in GI tract) and Blastocystis hominis (GI protozoa). The GI symptoms of the patients that participated in the study improved greatly after the treatment.[3]

Oregano oil is also an antiprotozoal, and was able to successfully kill the protozoan parasites Leishmania donovani, malaria, T. cruzi, and Trypanosoma bucei rhodesiense.[4]

The active ingredients responsible for these potent antiparasitic effects were carvacrol, linalool, p-cymene, y-terpinene and thymol. There was no toxicity to the cells from the herb.

  1. Diatomaceous Earth
    Diatomaceous Earth (DE) antiparasitic herbs

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is the fossilized remains of phytoplankton. There are two unique properties of DE that makes it one of the best herbs for parasites.

DE is high in silica. The molecular structure of silica is very sharp, which makes it a deadly weapon against parasites. When parasites are nearby, silica slices open the bodies of parasites without harming any of your own tissues.

As if that’s not enough, the structure of DE is sponge like and it can trap bacteria, microbes and smaller parasites inside, which are then carried out of the body. This means that if larger parasites are eliminated, you might see them in the toilet.

DE was shown effective against whipworms, hookworms and ascarids, killing these parasites in about 7 days in animals.

Although there are no human studies on whether or not DE kills parasites or their eggs, we do know is that if something can work so well on parasites in animals, it’s most likely going to work as well in humans.

Due to its high silica content, DE may promote healing to all connective tissues, and that includes the GI tract.

There’s no known toxicity from diatomaceous earth as long as you use DE that is meant for human consumption. DE can also be used as an insecticide or for pool cleaning, so make sure your DE comes from a reliable herbalist.
You can take one heaping tablespoon twice daily and may notice a lot of good things happening to your gut, skin, hair and nails.

  1. Jatoba (bark)
    Jatoba (Hymenaea) is a huge canopy tree that grows in the Amazon rainforest. Its bark and leaves are used to expel intestinal worms and parasites.

Jatoba (Hymenaea) is a huge canopy tree that grows in the Amazon rainforest. Its bark and leaves are used to expel intestinal worms and parasites. It contains medicinal diterpenes, sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, oligosaccharides that have the parasites and egg killing action.

People in the Amazon also use Jatoba for many stubborn fungal and yeast problems, especially Candida, athlete’s foot, nail fungus, and combine it with other herbs for parasites. Traditionally, Jatoba is known to make a person feel strong and ready to get to work.

  1. Pau d’ Arco (bark) (Tabebuia impetiginosa)
    Pau d’ arco best herbs for parasites

Pau d’ arco is is long known for its anti-parasitic as well as antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties.

What parasites does it work against? The list starts with some of the worst ones – malaria, schistosoma, trypanosome, and candida yeast (a fungus that is often thought to act as a parasite in some regards).

The active ingredients in Pau d’ arco are quinoids, benzenoids and flavonoids.

  1. Licorice (root)
    glabridin, a polyphenol found in licorice root inhibits the growth of malaria parasites without killing cells.

Who doesn’t like a mixture of licorice root and mint for a cup of tea?

Well, research shows that glabridin, a polyphenol found in licorice root inhibits the growth of malaria parasites without killing cells. It does this by inhibiting an enzyme that acts on a binding site where the parasite attaches.

But that’s not all it does. Licorice root’s glabridin induces cell death of the parasites mitochondria and generates a type of stress that kills the parasites directly like deadly laser beams. The Researchers that discovered glabridin’s antiparsitic effects concluded it “exhibits antiplasmodial activity and is suitable for developing an antimalarial agent from a cheap and sustainable source.”[5]

Killing Parasites Regularly is A Good Move

Herbs that kill parasites are the first thing people think about when they plan their parasite cleanse. But, you can also use these herbs to kill parasites on an ongoing basis.

For example, why not add DE to your coffee in the morning. Start your day off right with a little caffeine for your mind and body, and dead parasites in the stool. Nothing’s better for a clear mind!

Or how about brewing up a few quarts of tea composed of water and 1 tablespoon each of Jatoba and Pau d’ Arco? Brew it for 30 minutes, add lemon to it and drink all day for energy – and parasite killing action.

Summary

There are so many things you can do to against parasites. Always remember that parasites are a fact of life. You aren’t going to make it to the grave without facing them once or more in your life. So now that you are armed with the list of the top herbs that kill parasites, it’s time to get these critters out of your body!

There’s one thing that always amazes many people in the field of natural healing. With these herbs work so effectively for parasites of all varieties, why aren’t medical professionals use them more often? God already put the answers on the earth for all of us, and we have plenty of evidence on their safety and effectiveness.

I truly hope more people can learn about these wonderful natural herbs, that can offer so much to our health and wellness.
Help and share this knowledge with anyone who may suffer from parasites.

I wish you all the best in your journey to better health.

References

  1. Munyangi, J., et al. Effect of Artemisia annua and Artemesia afra tea infusions on Schistosomiasis in a large clinical trial. Phytomedicine 2018 Dec 1;51:233-240.
  2. Batiha, G.E., et al. Syzygium aromaticum L. (Myrtaceae): Traditional uses, bioactive chemical constituents, pharmacological and toxicological activities. Biomolecules 2020 Jan 30;10(2).
  3. Force, M., Sparks, W.S., and Ronzio, R.A. Inhibition of enteric parasites by emulsified oil of oregano in vivo. Phytother Res 2000 May; 14(3):213-4.
  4. Tasdemir, D., et al. Antiprotozoal activity of Turkish Origanum onites essential oil and its components. Molecules 2019 Dec 3;24(23):4421.
  5. Singh Cheema, H., Prakash, O., et al. Glabridin induces oxidative stress mediated apoptosis like cell death of malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Parasitol Int 2014 Apr;63(2):349-58.
  6. Taylor, Leslie, N.D. The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs. A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals. Square One Publishers, NY. 2005.

15 Ways to Prevent a Healing Crisis & Detox Symptoms

15 Ways to Prevent a Healing Crisis
Dr. Donna Schwontkowski authorDr. Donna Schwontkowski, DC
M.S. Nutrition & Herbology
Detoxification Expert

Causes | Symptoms | Prevention tips | Detox juice recipe

Hands down, the best way to prevent a healing crisis and detox symptoms is to address certain imbalances before you get started. Only then you can proceed cautiously with your body detox program.

Your Detox Checklist

In this article, we’ll review 15 things you must do (or stop doing) in order to prevent a healing crisis and detox symptoms.

Will also look into natural ways to support your detoxification pathways and organ of elimination using foods, supplements, herbs, and a detox juice recipe.

Healing Crisis Causes

What causes a healing crisis could be one of three things:

  1. Parasite die-off
  2. Candida die-off
  3. Toxin overload that your body can’t handle

If you kill too many parasites too fast, it’s called a parasite die-off. Your body gets overwhelmed with cleaning up the wreckage.

If you have candida overgrowth, the yeast are literally everywhere in your body – in the vaginal tract, in the GI tract, residing in different organs, and hanging out in stubborn biofilms that serve as their refuge caves.

A candida die-off occurs when you consume something that is extremely potent against Candida. Many of them die off at the same time. Their dead ‘yeast bodies’ have to be dealt with by the immune system scavenger cells, and it may take a few days to come up to par to deal with the huge numbers. Those few days are when you get detox symptoms.

Related: Parasite cleanse, candida cleanse.

What Does a Healing Crisis Feel Like?
Common Detox Symptoms

What Does a Healing Crisis Feel Like? Common Detox Symptoms Detox symptoms can affect your entire body and may include: Flu-like symptoms, fever Nausea Bloating "Brain fog" Muscle pain, joint pain Dizziness Headache Fatigue Chills Elevated heart rate Skin breakouts.

Detox symptoms can affect your entire body and may include:

  • Flu-like symptoms, fever
  • Nausea
  • Bloating
  • “Brain fog”
  • Muscle pain, joint pain
  • Dizziness
  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Chills
  • Elevated heart rate
  • Skin breakouts.

These are common when people don’t do detox right and parasite die-off and candida die-off occurs.

What Happens During A Healing Crisis

What happens inside your body when you have a healing crisis is similar to what happens in the nation when there’s been a disaster.

In the first few days, the initial rescue teams go in and take care of life-threatening situations. (This is equivalent to you adding some detox compounds initially).

Meanwhile, rescue organizations have to spend time organizing their efforts to get to the site where the relief is needed. Similarly,  your body has to step up its detoxification systems so the process can work more smoothly. During the wait, the rescued people are suffering for those first few days or week. Likewise, you experience detox symptoms.

In any disaster, the biggest blocks to quick relief are:

  • Trained staff are not ready to be deployed. (Equivalent to your immune system and your detoxification systems are not operating at full capacity because your nutritional status is not good enough)
  • The staff deployed have no equipment. (Equivalent to your body’s colon, liver, kidneys and skin unable to deal with toxin removal)
  • Another disaster happened somewhere else. (Your body has to battle systemic inflammation or a few different diseases simultaneously)

Do you see the parallels?

You may prevent, minimize or ease detox symptoms during candida cleanse, parasite cleanse, and overall body detox once these three issues are addressed first:

  1. Boost your vitamin / mineral status before starting.
  2. Decrease systemic inflammation easily without stirring up too much detox in the body.
  3. Increase your exit routes for the toxins. Especially the intestines, kidneys and liver who play a key role in toxin elimination.

When you do this, you avoid parasite die-offs and candida die-offs. This is important because if you do feel bad, you will not continue. And if you don’t continue your detox cleanse, then the toxins will win. So not only you will not get better, you may even get sicker.

Forget the Myth About Having a Healing Crisis

You don’t need to feel bad before you feel good! And whoever started that whole Herxheimer reaction philosophy had to be someone that had limited knowledge of the process![1]

No blame here, as there was very little information on the proper way to do detox cleanses 40-60 years ago, but things are different now! It’s known how to prevent candida die-off and parasite die-off symptoms

So think about this for a minute. What are you doing right now in your life – in your daily or weekly habits – that is contributing to your toxin loads or to inflammation in your body?

10 Ways to Avoid Detox Symptoms from Parasites and Candida

Here’s a list of common habits that may cause a healing crisis:

  1. Smoking

Even cutting down your cigarette smoking to half of what you normally do is an improvement. Not doing this means you can expect a Healing crisis.

  1. Drinking alcohol

Again, if you’re almost addicted, you could try cutting the amount down to half and make progress.

  1. Not drinking enough water

Even adding only two cups daily in the morning when you wake up makes your body smile. Water dissolves the toxins so they can be moved out of the body. Hydration is essential for proper kidney function.[2]
Not drinking enough water will cause a Healing crisis.

  1. Drinking 4 or more cups coffee a day

This one you have to be a bit careful about, and decrease the number of cups by only 1 cup every 4-5 days, or decrease the amount of coffee grounds you use by one-fourth. Cutting out coffee too fast will give you a headache and can contribute to a Healing crisis.

  1. Not eating enough fiber during the day

Adding an apple, a pear and ½ cup black beans every day will bump up your fiber by another 12-15 grams, which is significant! Fiber can bind to certain toxins and also supports healthy bowel movements. Leaving toxins in the body is one of the biggest reasons of a Healing Crisis.

  1. Not eating enough veggies each day

Almost every grocery store has ready-to-go salad ingredients calling out to you, “Choose me!” from the produce section. Adding a 1-quart salad to your daily meals adds only 3-4 minutes of food prep, yet it does more good for your body than you can imagine! These life-giving foods bind to toxins in your digestive tract and nourish your body with phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

  1. Coming to grips with constipation

Cleansing your colon with ozonated magnesium oxides before the detox is especially helpful and you’ll feel more emotionally stable afterward and during your detox.

  1. Never addressed any potential vitamin or mineral deficiencies if you have been pregnant

Babies eat up your own body’s nutrients. Your body sees the developing fetus as the #1 priority and will rob all your nutrient stores to fulfill this priority. This is why moms can easily lose teeth during and shortly after pregnancy. The calcium goes for the baby!

The antidote here is to take a multivitamin at double the regular dose.
There’s only one precaution in this: stay at 15 mg iron/day if you’re female (and 9 mg/day if you’re male). Also, keep the calcium <2300 mg daily for females and <1200 for males.

  1. Eating foods you are allergic to or sensitive to

Cut them out and you’ll be amazed at how good you will feel. They can increase systemic inflammation and take a toll on your immune system.

  1. Eating GMO foods

Eat more high-quality, non-GMO and non-commercial farmed protein, which supports your liver’s detoxification function.

Can you prepare for your cleanse by stopping a few of the things on your list, or changing to the new suggestions? Sure!

How many of them can you do in the two weeks prior to your candida or parasite cleanse? Since many of these can be done simultaneously, you could even choose 4 or five of them and not have to worry about any reactions. Instead you’ll just feel better and better.

Or you could take a longer period of time – say three weeks to initiate these changes if you feel you need more time. These changes are so positive that they are some of the best prep you could do for your cleanse. Yes, this slows down your cleansing goals but actually what you’re doing is concentrating on the overall picture of health and steadily making progress BEFORE CLEANSING.

4 Ways to Prevent Candida Die-Off, Parasite Die-Off and a Healing Crisis

Now that we covered the basics, the next thing to know is what to actually do to prevent and decrease any possibility of having a Healing Crisis. This can be thought of as a phase 2. It’s before you start any antiparasitic agent, antifungal agent, and liver cleanse.

Here’s the list:

  1. Activated charcoal tablets

Taking two charcoal tablets a few hours before bed with a large 12 ounce glass of water goes a long way to suck up toxins and inflammation in your body. It works better than turmeric for most people.

Charcoal is so good at absorbing toxins that it’s good enough to use for blood poisoning. Imagine what it will do for those who have candida. Parasites also are absorbed and deactivated with charcoal in the body.

Active Charcoal can prevent the absorption of other supplements. Always take it on an empty stomach by itself.

It may lead to constipation, so always make sure you drink enough water. Cleansing your colon with ozonated magnesium oxides may help to prevent constipation and support the toxin elimination throughout normal bowel movements.

  1. Liposomal Vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the best detoxification methods to do. Not only is it detoxifying but it’s also a potent natural anti-aging agent. Vitamin C boosts the immune system, too.

Taking 1 teaspoon of liposomal vitamin C in ½ cup pineapple juice twice daily gives you over 2000 mg extra per day. It increases your energy levels too. Liposomal delivery system offers higher absorption compared to traditional vitamin C supplements.[3]

  1. Sauna sessions

A sauna session is only about 15 minutes long but it does much to open up your pores. Toxins are eliminated through your pores. Using an infrared sauna is good because you slip into the 120 degrees Fahrenheit sauna with a towel and washcloth to soak up the sweat. You’ll notice smells come out of your skin; these are toxins. Doing a sauna session three times a week is helpful not only for detoxification but also strengthens your heart and makes your skin glow.

  1. Sulforaphane

This amazing supplement turns on all the body’s detox pathways. The problem is that many of them have been turned off by exposure to glyphosate, the pesticide on just about every food these days. Glyphosate is even used on some crops to speed up the dehydration process after harvesting. Only one capsule 30 mg is needed daily.

  1. Glutathione

Glutathione is one of the most potent antioxidants and cellular detoxifiers found in every cell in the body. It has the ability to neutralize and bind to water-soluble toxins, so they are marked or targeted to be removed by the body and in the liver.[4]

You Can Use Juice To Stay Away from A Healing Crisis, Too

The Healing Crisis Detox Juice recipe: A special juice recipe you can make that may help you prevent healing crisis and detox symptoms. Drinking 12 ounces of this juice can also help you detox gently before you start your parasite or candida cleanse.

And here’s a special juice you can make that is loaded with antioxidants. Drinking 12 ounces of this juice can also help you detox gently before you start your parasite or candida cleanse.

Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Tomato Veggie Internal Detox Nutritional Drink

A special juice recipe you can make that may help you prevent healing crisis and detox symptoms. Drinking 12 ounces of this juice can also help you detox gently before you start your parasite or candida cleanse.
Prep Time10 minutes
Course: Juice
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Healing Crisis Detox Juice Recipe
Servings: 1 people
Author: Dr. Donna Schwontkowski, DC

Ingredients

  • 2 large heritage tomatoes
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 4 ribs celery
  • 1 handful kale
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 cup ice
  • pinch celtic salt
  • pinch pepper

Instructions

  • Juice all ingredients.
  • Add a pinch of celtic salt and pinch of pepper.
  • Pour over ice.
  • Add a celery rib for garnish. Enjoy!

Enjoy the Benefits Of Safe Cleansing Without a Healing Crisis

Avoiding a Healing Crisis when doing a Parasite or Candida cleanse is easy these days. Make it an experiment and see what works for you. Keep a journal so you can use the information in the future, too.

References

  1. The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction: revisited.
  2. National Kidney foundation, 6 Tips To Be “Water Wise” for Healthy Kidneys
  3. Liposomal-encapsulated Ascorbic Acid: Influence on Vitamin C Bioavailability and Capacity to Protect Against Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury
  4. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, Glutathione! Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, ND, Editor in Chief.