Foods to eat | Foods to avoid | Herbs | Supplements | Recipes
The parasite cleanse diet plays a key role in the parasite cleanse; you want to choose the best foods that kill parasites, and also avoid problematic foods known to feed parasites or weaken your immune system.
Special consideration was given in the plan to both effectiveness and safety, in order to avoid potential parasite cleanse side effects.
For the complete protocol, including the intestinal parasite cleanse, antiparasitic herbs, supplements, and gut health support with antiparasitic probiotics, see: parasite cleanse.
Parasite Cleanse Diet Plan
- Avoid foods known to feed parasites. See: foods to avoid.
- Eat foods that kill parasites: See: foods to eat.
- Take herbs that kill parasites to improve results. See: herbs.
- For ideas how to make parasite cleanse diet recipes, see: recipes.
Parasite Cleanse Diet : Foods To Avoid
To get the most out of your parasite cleanse, it is best to avoid certain foods that are known to feed parasites or weaken your immune system. Especially processed foods, foods that are high in carbs, fried foods, and sugary beverages.
We also recommend to limit gluten, wheat, dairy, and alcohol as much as possible, as these can also feed parasites in some cases. You may also want to watch for digestive issues and sensitivity to different foods you may eat, as these may weaken your immune system. If you suspect you have sensitivity to a certain food, eliminate it from your diet for a few days and see if it helps.
Most people do very well on a balanced medium protein, medium fat, medium carb diet. Unless you are also dealing with a candida infection, there is usually no need to drastically lower your carbs.
Foods That Kill Parasites
Based on our experience, what works for most people is to eat a clean, whole food based diet. Raw fresh fruits and vegetables play a key role in the parasite cleanse, as they are high in insoluble fiber that helps to promote healthy digestion and bowel movements. Think about insoluble fiber as rough brooms inside your colon that grabs accumulated waste, toxins and dead parasites on their way out.
Certain foods do have unique components in them that can kill different types of parasites and pathogens.
The list of foods that kill parasites is very long, although in many cases, the studies used extracts from these foods in a supplement form, and not the entire food. For this reason, in the list of foods below, we focused on the most potent anti parasitic foods.
If you make the effort and combine some of these foods as a part of your parasite cleanse diet, you rather want to choose the ones that have strong evidence on their effectiveness and safety.
Pumpkin Seeds
A chinese study used a combination of pumpkin seed and areca nut extract to treat the taeniasis tapeworm infections. The study found that 91 people out of 115 suspected taeniasis cases, were able to release whole tapeworms [1].
Another Brazilian study found pumpkin seeds as an effective way to treat helminths parasitic worms infection [2].
Pumpkin seeds are also very nutritious, especially in protein and essential minerals. When you eat just 2 oz of pumpkin seeds, you get your recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of:
- 17 grams protein.
- 63% iron.
- 80% magnesium.
- 40% zinc.
For this reason, we believe raw pumpkin seeds are one of the best foods that kill parasites you can eat. The combination of their overall nutritional profile, antiparasitic properties, flavor, and ease of use, make them a great fit for the parasite cleanse diet, or an ongoing basis.
Papaya Seeds
Papaya seeds have a long history of traditional use to treat parasites, and is one of the most known home remedies for various of parasitic infections.
Research data was also able to validate this use as well. A nigerian study had children with intestinal parasites infections take papaya seeds and honey, or honey alone, for 7 days. The study found that [3]:
77% of the children that received the papaya seeds and honey, had no signs of parasites in their stool. In comparison, only 17% of the children that received honey alone were able to recover from the parasitic infection
Additional studies also supported the potential of papaya seeds to treat parasitic infections. Papaya seeds demonstrated effectiveness against hymenolepis nana, one of the most common tapeworm infection worldwide [4], as well as against hymenolepis diminuta rat tapeworm [5].
Garlic
Also known as nature’s antibiotic, garlic has a long history of traditional use to treat various conditions including parasitic infestation [6].
Research data also supports this traditional use. Allicin, the active component of garlic, demonstrated strong antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties in multiple studies [7,8].
It is important to know how to use garlic for parasites. According to research, fresh raw garlic is more potent than cooked or boiled garlic [9], and is higher in bioactive components [10]. Allicin becomes available when you cut, crush or chew the garlic, but is highly unstable, and may change quickly [11]. For this reason, we recommend to consume the garlic shortly after you crush it.
Turmeric
Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric demonstrated antiparasitic activity against Schistosoma mansoni, a blood fluke water borne parasite in humans. The researchers believe that Curcumin has the ability to disrupt the mating of the worms, hence, reduce the infection [12, 13].
The research data also suggests that Curcumin may be effective against plasmodium falciparum human parasite, which is one of the deadliest species of Plasmodium that causes malaria in humans [14].
The main challenge with turmeric, is poor bioavailability due to low absorption in the body. There are several natural components that can increase the bioavailability of turmeric, especially: black pepper and certain fats.
These have been applied for centuries as a part of the traditional use of turmeric. The research data was also able to validate these combinations. Interestingly, some of these ingredients that improve the bioavailability of turmeric, have also antiparasitic properties.
We’ll cover these next: black pepper, olive oil, and coconut oil.
Black Pepper – King of Spices
Black pepper, also known as the “King of Spices” has a very long history of traditional use as food (spice) and medicine.
Piperine, the major active component in black pepper, is known for its ability to enhance the bioavailability curcumin along with other herbs and spices. This combination has a long traditional use that is also backed up by science. According to one study, piperine increased the bioavailability of curcumin by 2000%. [15].
Another reason you may want to consider to add black pepper to the parasite cleanse diet, is its antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. The research data suggests that certain compounds in black pepper have the ability to kill pathogens bacteria, destroy the bacteria cell wall integrity, alter the permeability of cell membrane, and inhibit the activity of intracellular enzymes [16].
Olive Oil
With thousands of years of traditional use as food and medicine, olive oil is well known for its remarkable nutritional value and health benefits [17].
Parasite cleansing wise, the research data does suggest that olive oil have natural antimicrobial and antiparasitic properties. In multiple studies, olive oil demonstrated antimicrobial activity against different types of bacteria, viruses, and other human infections. The researchers believe that different constituents of olive can slow down the growth of various types of bacteria and fungi [18].
Olive oil also combines very well with turmeric and black pepper. This combination can improve the bioavailability of turmeric, and may also increase the overall effectiveness against parasites. It also improves the overall taste.
Coconut Oil
Virgin coconut oil demonstrated strong antifungal activity against candida albicans, a well known fungal parasite in humans [19, 20]. The researchers identified that the naturally occuring capric and lauric medium-chain fatty acids in coconut can kill candida albicans very effectively [21], and also inhibit the growth of clostridium difficile bacteria [22].
Another study added coconut flakes and onions to the diet of horses and sheep that were infected by parasites. The researchers reported that: “feeding for 10 days led either to the full disappearance of the previously existing worm load or at least to an enormous reduction” [23].
Combing coconut oil or coconut milk with turmeric, is another effective way to improve the bioavailability of turmeric. We specifically use this strategy as a part of our lung cleansing golden milk tea (see recipe).
Apple Cider Vinegar
Vinegar has a long history of traditional use as a medicine to fight parasitic infections in humans. Historical records report that Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used apple cider vinegar with honey to treat infections.
Modern science was able to validate this use and the antiparasitic and antimicrobial properties of vinegar [24].
Specifically to apple cider vinegar, one study evaluated its antibacterial and antifungal activity against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. According to the study [25]:
Apple cider vinegar demonstrated multiple antimicrobial potential with clinical therapeutic implications. ACV was able to destroy the structural proteins and metabolic enzymes of the pathogens tested.
Apple cider vinegar is a very popular ingredient you can find in many home remedies for parasites. If you are looking for parasite cleanse diet recipes that use apple cider vinegar, you may want to see our:
- Parasite cleanse drink (see recipe).
- Parasite cleanse salad dressing (see recipe).
Ginger
Ginger is a well known home remedy for parasites in humans. According to research data, ginger demonstrated significant antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal activity against different types of human pathogens, including Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis [26], E coli, Salmonella typhi and Bacillus subtilis [27].
Similar to turmeric, another study also found ginger as effective against S. mansoni [28].
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is another natural spice that has a long history of traditional use to treat various infections.
The research data also supports the antibacterial, antimicrobial and antifungal properties of cinnamon. Multiple studies suggested that cinnamon may be effective against different types of pathogens, including MRSA bacteria, streptococcus mutans, mycoplasma hominis, and others [29].
Additional evidence suggests that the combination of cinnamon and ginger extracts may offer a natural alternative therapeutic agents to treat the Giardia lamblia human parasite [30]. Giardia lamblia is a known human parasite which is a common cause of diarrhea in humans throughout the world [31].
Additional Foods That Kill Parasites
In the list of foods that kill parasites above, we covered the most common foods that have the strongest evidence of effectiveness, safety, and ease of use.
There are of course many other options of foods that kill parasites. While the evidence may not be as strong, these are still healthy foods you may want to add into your diet.
Vegetables, such as carrot,cruciferous vegetables, brassicas, onions and berries have had widespread use against parasites in nordic countries [32].
We get many questions on the use of pineapple for parasites. Bromelain, the enzyme found in pineapple, demonstrated antimicrobial properties in multiple studies against different types of pathogens [33]. Since the majority of the studies used Bromelain and not pineapple, it is unclear how effective eating or drinking pineapple would be for parasites.
Herbs That Kill Parasites
There are a number of unique herbs known to kill parasites that can further improve the parasite cleanse due to potent antiparasitic properties in them.
One of the most common combination of antiparasitic herbs, is the wormwood – black walnut – clove combination:
Wormwood
Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is well known for its ability to kill different types of roundworms and tapeworms. One study that evaluated the effectiveness of wormwood to treat Hymenolepis nana dwarf tapeworm infection, found it to be highly effective. According to the researchers [34]:
Wormwood was able to induce worm paralysis, death and ultrastructural alterations, and destroy vital organs and eggs of the worm.
Another study was able to confirm wormwood effectiveness against roundworms. According to the findings, wormwood was able to cause paralysis and death of the worms [35].
Black Walnut
Black walnut (Juglans nigra) is well known for its ability to kill different parasites, bacteria, fungus and other pathogens [36]. According to the research data, black walnut contains six different antibacterial bioactive compounds [37] that are responsible for antimicrobial activity.
Clove
Clove is widely known for its ability to inhibit parasite eggs and larvae in the body, which is essential in order to disrupt the parasite life cycle.
Research data suggests clove as one of the potent antimicrobial ingredient among other spices. Clove demonstrated potent antimicrobial activities against several bacteria and fungal strains in multiple studies [38]. The researchers believe that the antimicrobial activity of clove is attributable to eugenol, oleic acids and lipids found in its essential oils [39].
Parasite Cleanse Supplements
Many parasite cleanse supplements contain aggressive antiparasitic herbs with very little evidence on their effectiveness and safety. For this reason, always get your herbs for parasites from a trusted source. So you get the best results without the negative adverse side effects.
This is usually the main reason behind the parasite cleanse side effects people report. Safety should always come first.
A good example of a safe and effective of an herbal antiparasitic complex we use in our parasite cleanse protocol, is Dr. Group’s Paratrex
- Ingredients: black walnut, wormwood, clove, epazote, diatomaceous earth, neem, fulvic acid.
- Directions: take 3 capsules 20 minutes before breakfast and 20 minutes before lunch during the parasite cleanse. If you have never used Paratrex before, start with 1 capsule twice a day and gradually increase each day.
Parasite Cleanse Diet Recipes
As you can see from the list of foods that kill parasites, there are many healthy options to make parasite cleanse diet recipes. Here are a few popular recipes for the parasite cleanse diet:
Parasite Cleanse Salad Dressing
The parasite cleanse salad dressing is probably one of the best home remedies for parasites you can make, that also tastes really good. Most of our members like to use it as is, or add their favorite herbs such as parsley, basil, oregano, thyme and others.
See the complete recipe.
Parasite Cleanse Drink
Since we published the parasite cleanse drink recipe several years ago, it has become one of our most popular home remedies. Many of our members like to drink it as a part of their parasite cleanse diet and also by itself.
See the complete recipe.
Detox Salad Colon Cleanse Recipe
The detox salad recipe was developed after many years of research, testing and collaboration with our partners. This recipe uses many potent foods that kill parasites, and is also very rich in insoluble fiber to promote healthy digestion and bowel movements. These are are essential during the parasite cleanse. To further boost its effectiveness, add 2 oz of pumpkin seeds.
See the complete recipe.
Cauliflower Rice Detox Meal Recipe
The cauliflower rice detox meal is one of our our most popular parasite cleanse diet recipes. Its ability to effectively cleanse, detox, its superior nutrition profile and flavor, make many of our members also use it on an ongoing basis.
Similar to our recommendation for the detox salad recipe, to further boost its effectiveness, add 2 oz of pumpkin seeds.
See the complete recipe.