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In the third part of our 3-part blog series on gut health, you'll learn what to do if you have a parasitic gut infection.
Parasites can be picked up through food or contaminated drinking water, entering the body via the gastrointestinal tract. When I had a parasite in 2017, it got into my body through a sushi dinner.
A gut parasite is, of course, extremely unpleasant. But today I'm actually grateful for that experience. Because the parasite infection motivated me to look into a vegan diet. To this day, I eat purely plant-based. In this article you'll learn exactly how I got rid of the parasite, and why a vegan diet is the best approach when it comes to gut health.
How to recognise a parasitic gut infection
Alongside various bacteria, there are also some parasites that can cause a gastrointestinal infection. There are different types of parasites that can infest the human gut. Worms and single-celled organisms are the most common in this region.
In Switzerland, however, parasitic diseases are rarer than in warmer, tropical regions.
A gut parasite infestation sometimes triggers fairly non-specific symptoms, which is why gut parasites are usually overlooked and rarely diagnosed by conventional doctors. This was also the case for me.
If you suspect a parasitic gut infection, I recommend going straight to a specialised, trained physician who will examine you properly, run several stool tests and check your blood values.
Symptoms of a gut infestation can include:
- Digestive problems
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Weight loss
- Itching around the anus
- Stomach cramps
- Swelling caused by cysts
If you're suffering from symptoms like these, it's important that a thorough medical history is taken and appropriate tests are carried out, to identify and treat a parasitic infection.
Chronic diarrhoea and the diagnosis: parasitic gut infection
When I struggled with serious gastrointestinal issues in 2017, it tore me out of my normal life. I suffered from chronic diarrhoea, so much so that I often had to go to the toilet ten times a day. You can probably imagine that I had trouble getting through my everyday life normally.
My doctor first diagnosed me with a large intestine condition called lymphocytic colitis. This is a disease considered incurable, and its exact cause is still unknown to this day. This diagnosis put an extreme strain on me, not just physically but psychologically too. Was I supposed to suffer from chronic diarrhoea forever? That would have meant the end of my career!
But because I know that problems shouldn't make you give up, I started researching my illness and its causes. A blood test finally pointed me toward a parasitic infection. Further tests then confirmed that I had a gut parasite (Anisakis), which is mainly found in sushi. I used to love eating sushi.
What should you do about a parasitic infection?
This time I turned to a naturopath. He prescribed me a juice cure meant to kill the gut parasite. Alongside this, I took antibacterial and antiviral remedies like garlic extract and wild oregano oil. I felt a lot better very quickly.
I didn't want anything to do with such severe gastrointestinal problems ever again. So I decided to eliminate all sources that carried a risk of a new parasite infestation.
Up until that point, my diet had actually been very meat-heavy — as is often common in the bodybuilding world. But my diagnosis motivated me to look into a vegan diet. And so I ultimately overhauled my nutrition plan radically. Within just three to four weeks, I had no symptoms left at all. I could finally get back to my normal everyday life.
Why a vegan diet is good for your gut
As you learned in the first part of our blog series on gut health, your diet, the amount of physical activity you get, stress and taking medication all influence your gut flora and its bacteria. To be healthy, fit and feel good, a healthy gut flora is very important.
An unbalanced, one-sided diet containing a lot of animal products and highly processed foods damages your gut flora. If your gut flora is disrupted, your immune defence is weakened, allowing bacteria, fungi and viruses to spread more easily in your body. Serious digestive problems, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and even bowel cancer can be further consequences.
A healthy, plant-based diet (with mostly fresh foods), however, can ease gut conditions and, of course, above all prevent them. A varied, fibre-rich vegan diet made up of plenty of fruit, vegetables, oats, whole grains, legumes and healthy fats from nuts and seeds is real medicine for your gut and brings your gut flora back into balance.
Want to cut back on animal protein going forward?
It's worth considering cutting back on animal protein going forward and adding more plant-based foods to your meal plan!
I'd be happy to show you how to successfully transition into a vegan diet, make your gut happy and eliminate gut parasites. If you're not currently suffering from acute symptoms, a step-by-step transition might also work for you. Before cutting all animal products from your nutrition plan, a vegetarian diet can also be helpful.
I offer nutrition coaching as part of holistic support in personal training, which can take place in person or also online from my virtual 360-degree studio.
Book a free, no-obligation 30-minute consultation with me. I look forward to hearing from you.