There are many ways to cleanse the colon but some of them may have harmful and unwanted effects. Hence, it is always better to go for some natural remedies that can cleanse the colon effectively without producing any side effects. Here are few of the dietary items that can help removing toxins from the intestines and can restore the hormonal and enzyme levels in the body.

Wormwood

Wormwood (Artemesia annua) has been a favorite among many holy medicinal practitioners for intestinal worms and to cleanse the bowels. Preliminary researches suggest wormwood can terminate Ascaris lumbricoides, Giardia and Plasmodium. The anthelmintic action of the herb is probably due to sesquiterpene lactones, which can weaken parasitic membrane and kill them.

Pumpkin Seeds and Grapefruit seed extract

Traditionally, pumpkin seeds (Curcubita pepo) are considered to be effective against tapeworms and roundworms. In a same way, grapefruit seed extracts are also said to be very effective in various parasitic infestations in human body.

Black walnut

Black walnut is another effective herb that can do bowel cleansing. Black walnut is also used to treat ringworm and athlete’s foot.

Garlic and Goldenseal

Garlic (Allium sativa) has been considered to be effective against Ascaris (roundworm), Giardia and Leishmania types of worms. Garlic can be taken as a pill or as raw garlic cloves. In a same way, the herb goldenseal (Hydrastis Canadensis) has been prescribed for treating various parasite infestations in many of the ancient medicinal systems in many countries. Goldenseal also helps treating infections present in the mucous membranes that line internal organs and tracts like respiratory and elementary. The herb is found effective against Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia and Plasmodium.

Apart from these herbs, one should also take care of the dietary habits. Coffee, refined sugar or any refined flour items, chocolates, cheeses, junk foods etc are the trigger factors that can get you intestinal parasites. Eating pineapples can also be a great way to cleanse the bowels naturally since they contain the digestive enzyme bromelain, very useful ingredient to terminate tapeworms. Other foods such as carrots, radish and squash contain abandon amount of beta-carotene, a precursor for vitamin A and Vitamin A is considered to increase resistance of the cells against the penetration of larvae.

Turmeric is another valuable herb to cleanse the intestines naturally. Turmeric is a natural healer and also an anthelmintic. One can use dried powder of turmeric or can go for raw rhizomes. There are many herbal manufacturers that produce vegetable pills. One can go for garlic, ginger, mint, Neem, papaya seeds and capsicum seeds. They all contain colon cleansing property.

Body purification programs such as ‘Panchkarma’ in Ayurveda are drawing everybody’s attention since it contains fiver natural process to cleanse the entire body including intestines. Purgation and enema are two of the main procedures that can focus on intestines and can terminate unwanted, wasteful and toxic materials from the body.

The human body acts as a host to a large number of parasites. These parasites are in the form of roundworms and flatworms, and they are found in both adults as well as children. However, children have a greater chance of getting these intestinal parasites. Some of the common worms that are found in human intestines are:
a) Roundworms – pinworms, threadworms
b) Flatworms – tapeworms
In Ayurveda, parasitic infestation in the digestive system is called as Krimi Roga. Different worms cause different problems with the digestive system. Constipation, diarrhea, abdominal cramps are all common complications. In some cases, bronchitis, anemia, urticaria and fevers may also occur.
Useful Herbs in the Treatment of Parasites
- Ash Gourd (Benincasa hispida)
Ash gourd can promote tissue growth within the digestive system. When taken with coconut milk it helps to expel tapeworms and other such kind of intestinal parasites from the human body.
- Bamboo (Bambusa bambos)
The leaves of the bamboo plant are effective in the removal of threadworms. They are taken in the form of a decoction when there is a threadworm complaint.
- Belleric Myrobalan (Terminalia belerica)
The belleric myrobalan is popularly known as behera in Ayurveda. It is a component of the Triphala choorna. In case of worm complaints, it is taken in mixture with the ground seeds of the palash. Behera with palash forms an excellent anthelmintic, i.e. a medicine that helps fight worms.
- Butea (Butea monosperma)
The butea is also known as palash in Indian language. Its seeds have anthelmintic properties. They are taken mixed with behera. Even otherwise, they can be taken as a paste with honey. The seeds of the butea are excellent for removal of roundworms and tapeworms.
- Chirayata (Swertia chirata)
The chirayata herb is remarkable for its properties in the removal of all kinds of intestinal worms. An infusion of the herb is prepared and taken regularly during parasitic infestations.
- East Indian Rosebay (Ervatamia coronaria)
The East Indian Rosebay is known as chandi, meaning silver in Ayurvedic medicine. Both its root and its milky white sap possess anthelmintic properties.
- Indian Acalypha (Acalypha indica)
The juice of the leaves of the Indian acalypha taken with a little garlic has good properties to expel intestinal parasites.
- Indian Aloe (Aloe barbadensis)
The Indian aloe is used especially in children to kill and expel parasites in the intestines due to its mild action. The juice of the leaf is used for it purpose. It is condensed by boiling in water.
Dietary Treatments for Parasites
When there is a worm infestation, light diet must be preferred which can be digested fast. If the food remains in the bowels for longer time, then the worms get a chance to breed more. Hence, all spicy and oily foods must be avoided. The diet should be kept vegetarian and perfectly natural, i.e. no synthetic substances must be consumed. Sweet foods promote the growth of the worms; hence they must be avoided. Try to eat as many bitter foods as possible such as bitter gourd, bitter drumstick and neem. Bitter foods can expel the worms from the bowels. Fasting for a day is recommended.
Ayurvedic Treatments for Parasites
There is a host of Ayurvedic preparations that can be used to get rid of intestinal worms. These are Krimi Kuthara rasa, Krimi Mudgara rasa, Krimi Kalanala rasa, Krimi Hara rasa, Vidanga arishta, etc. These preparations are available at any Ayurvedic shop, but you must take it in consultation with a physician so that the medicine specific to your cause can be given.
Home Remedies for Parasites
- Take about twenty drops of the juice of the raw turmeric and put a pinch of salt in it. This must be taken early in the morning. It is a good remedy to expel the worms while passing stools.
- Extract the juice of a fresh radish. Add a pinch of salt to it. Drink this juice twice everyday; once in the morning and once in the evening. Continue this for four days. This will flush out all the wastes in the stomach along with the parasites.
- Buttermilk is a good remedy for curing intestinal parasites, especially if they are very persistent and do not go despite other treatments. Add some roasted cumin seed in the buttermilk, and some salt and ground black pepper. This must be drunk in a glassful quantity three to four times in a day. Within a week, even the most resistant of intestinal parasites will be removed from the guts.
- Mix equal parts of bitter gourd leaves and coriander and keep them soaked overnight in twelve parts of water. Filter this water in the morning. Divide the filtered water into three parts and drink them at equal intervals throughout the day. Within a few days the worms will be expelled from the digestive system.

* Avoid simple carbohydrates such as those found in refined foods, fruits, juices, dairy products, and all sugars.
* Eat more raw garlic, pumpkin seeds, pomegranates, beets, and carrots, all of which have antiworm properties. Drink a lot of water to promote good bowel elimination.
* Consume more fiber, which helps get rid of worms.
* Supplement your diet with probiotics, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacilus plantarum, Saccharomyces boulardii ( 250 mg, taken one time per day between meals), and bifidobacteria, to keep parasites from spreading.
* Digestive enzymes will help restore your intestinal tract to its normal state, which makes it inhospitable to parasites. Papain taken 30 minutes before or after meals helps kill worms.
* Vitamin C (250 - 500 mg two times a day) or, if well-tolerated, much higher doses of up to 6,000 mg per day in otherwise healthy adults) and zinc (20 - 30 mg per day) support the immune system. Lower vitamin C dose if diarrhea develops.
As with any therapy, it is important to work with your health care provider on getting your problem diagnosed before you start any treatment. You may use herbs as dried extracts (capsules, powders, teas), glycerites (glycerine extracts), or tinctures (alcohol extracts). People with a history of alcoholism should not take tinctures.

Many of the herbs used to treat intestinal parasites have toxic side effects. Use them only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. Your health care provider will treat you with the most gentle herb that is effective for the type of parasite you have. A few of the herbs that your health care provider might consider include:

* Garlic (Allium sativum)
* Barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
* Goldenseal ( Hydrastis canadensis )
* Oregon grape ( Berberis aquifolium )
* Tea tree oil ( Melaleuca alternifolia )
* Anise ( Pimpinella anisum )
* Wormwood ( Artemisia annua )
* Curled mint ( Mentha crispa )
* Black walnuts ( Juglans nigra)

Herbs
Barberry
Garlic
Goldenseal

Supplements
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
Zinc
Intestinal parasites

Also listed as: Parasitic infection - intestinal

* Signs and Symptoms
* What Causes It?
* What to Expect at Your Provider’s Office
* Treatment Options
* Following Up
* Special Considerations
* Supporting Research

There are two main types of intestinal parasites: helminths and protozoa. Helminths are worms with many cells. Tapeworms, pinworms, and roundworms are among the most common helminths in the United States. Usually, helminths cannot multiply in the human body. Protozoa have only one cell, and can multiply inside the human body. In the U.S., the most common protozoa are giardia and cryptosporidium.

Signs and Symptoms

Parasites can live within the intestines for years without causing any symptoms. When they do, symptoms include the following.

* Diarrhea
* Nausea or vomiting
* Gas or bloating
* Dysentery (loose stools containing blood and mucus)
* Rash or itching around the rectum or vulva
* Stomach pain or tenderness
* Feeling tired
* Weight loss
* Passing a worm in your stool

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and Yale University have discovered that a natural protein produced by Bacillus thuringiensis, the bacterium sprayed on crops by organic farmers to reduce insect damage, is highly effective at treating hookworm infections in laboratory animals.

Their discovery, detailed in this week’s early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could pave the way for the development of more effective treatments for hookworm and other soil-transmitted nematode infections, which are a major global health problem in developing countries. Many of the nearly two billion people worldwide infected with these intestinal parasites are children, who are at particular risk for anemia, malnutrition, and growth delay.

The UCSD-Yale team found that a protein produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, when given orally to laboratory animals infected with hookworm was as effective as mebendazole in eliminating the parasites, curing anemia, and restoring weight gain in the hamsters. Mebendazole is one of the drugs currently recommended to treat infections in humans. The scientists also discovered that this protein, called Cry5B, targets both developing, or larval, stages and adult parasites, and impairs egg excretion by female worms.

Hookworms cause anemia and weight loss by attaching to the intestine and feeding on their host’s blood and nutrients. The researchers report that this naturally-produced protein has the potential to substantially improve this global health problem because it is safe to humans and other vertebrates and can be produced inexpensively in large quantities.

“Our ability to control parasitic nematode infections with chemotherapy on a global scale is dependent on the availability of medicines that are safe, effective, and inexpensive to manufacture,” said Michael Cappello, one of two principal authors of the study and a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology & public health at Yale School of Medicine. “We believe that Bt crystal proteins not only meet, but exceed these essential criteria.”

This discovery is particularly relevant in light of concerns about the potential resistance in human intestinal nematodes to currently available medications. “There are few new agents under development for the treatment of hookworm and other intestinal parasite infections,” said Raffi Aroian, an associate professor at UCSD and co-principal author of the study. “Crystal toxins are safe to humans, mammals and other vertebrates. And it might be possible to improve the efficacy of current treatments by giving mebendazole and Cry5B simultaneously.”

Other authors of the study are Richard Bungiro and Lisa Harrison at Yale School of Medicine and Larry Bischof, Joel Griffitts and Brad Barrows at UCSD.

Aroian and his UCSD colleagues discovered five years ago that the roundworm C. elegans and other nematodes are susceptible to the effects of Cry5B, then known primarily as an insecticide. The toxin forms tiny holes in the membranes of the cells of nematodes and insects. However, since the toxin cannot bind to the cells of mammals or other vertebrates, they do not hurt humans.

“Crystal proteins had been used for decades by organic farmers who sprayed their crops with Bt to kill insects,” said Aroian. “Until now, however, no one has used a purified Cry protein to treat a parasitic nematode.”

At a meeting of the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund, Aroian met Cappello, a Pediatric Infectious Diseases specialist who studies hookworm. They decided to collaborate on a project to see if crystal proteins could be effective against hookworm infections. Three years ago, Aroian and his colleagues purified Cry5B toxin and sent it to Cappello at Yale Medical School, who then tested the compound in a laboratory model of hookworm infection.

The following information comes from various USA sources, resulting from recent developments in diagnosing and treating intestinal parasites.

Dr Leo Galland, a physician from the USA recently stated “every patient with disorders of immune function, including multiple allergies (as well as) patients with unexplained fatigue or with chronic bowel symptoms, should be evaluated for the presence of intestinal parasites.”

Over recent years, according to Dr Galland, the technology for diagnosis and treatment of intestinal parasites has improved markedly. This fact has helped to provide evidence for the view that intestinal parasites are responsible for a higher proportion of chronic illnesses than was previously thought.

Two intestinal parasites are of particular importance. They are Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica. It is important to realise that both these organisms have a cosmopolitan distribution.

G. lamblia can produce symptoms that include nausea, bloating, weight loss, vomiting, loss of appetite, epigastric pain, abdominal cramps, food intolerance, chronic fatigue, chemical intolerance, immunological dysfunction, diarrhoea and others. Irritable bowel syndrome can sometimes actually be caused by G. lamblia.

E. histolytica can produce diarrhoea, food intolerance, fatigue, dysentry and other symptoms. Not all patients infected with intestinal parasites display gastrointestinal problems, but can have other symptoms which improve once their infection is treated. It has been shown recently that some non-pathogenic parasites can cause disease in immuno-compromised patients. How relevant this is to CFS, I am not sure. Ulcerative colitis can sometimes be a mis-diagnosed E. histolytica infection.

As you can see, many of these symptoms may be confused with those exhibited by CFS patients. It should be understood that only a proportion of patients diagnosed with CFS may actually be suffering from intestinal parasites and improve once their infection is treated. The chronic illness produced by intestinal parasites may in fact be CFS in some cases; it is just that the trigger in these cases was an intestinal parasite. In other cases, parasites may produce illnesses that cannot be classified as CFS.

Dr Galland, who has been involved in some of the pioneering work in this area, estimates that 20% of patients in the New York area who had been diagnosed as having CFS, actually had intestinal parasitic infections and improved once these infections were treated. The figure for Australia is unknown, but would be interesting. Patients diagnosed with CFS who were actually suffering from intestinal parasitic infections, tended to have more night sweats, fever, and muscle aches and pains. These symptoms can sometimes be clues that intestinal parasites may be present.

According to Dr Galland, current diagnostic techniques have a poor success rate in picking up these parasites. Newly developed immunofluorescent stains are now available, and when coupled with specific specimen collection methods, reportedly provide a much higher rate of detecting these organisms. Some laboratories in the USA are now using the new techniques.

It has been shown that current prescription drugs are often only effective with acute infections. Chronic infections can cause severe disability lasting months or even years, and often need to be treated for a much longer period of time. Most prescription drugs are too toxic for such long term treatment. Some doctors in the USA are using non-prescription drugs to treat intestinal parasites, and these are claimed to be safer than the prescription drugs.

Unfortunately the new diagnostic techniques are only available in the USA and UK as far as I am aware. One such laboratory claims to have examined over 40,000 specimens over the past 3 years.

Helminthic infection is readily passed on through contact; therefore, rigorous hygiene measures should be employed. Ideally, the infected person and all family/community members should wash their hands thoroughly prior to preparing, handling or eating food. Fingernails should be kept short and scrubbed with a nailbrush. Children with intestinal worms should wear underpants under pyjamas to prevent the transmission of eggs to their fingers if they scratch during sleep. Finally, infected patients should wash in the morning to remove any eggs laid overnight.
Signs and Symptoms
Parasites can live within the intestines for years without causing any symptoms. When they do, symptoms include the following.

* Diarrhea
* Nausea or vomiting
* Gas or bloating
* Dysentery (loose stools containing blood and mucus)
* Rash or itching around the rectum or vulva
* Stomach pain or tenderness
* Feeling tired
* Weight loss
* Passing a worm in your stool

As yet there is no confirmed report of anthelmintic drug resistance in a soil-transmitted nematode infection in humans. However, resistance to benzimidazoles, levamisole, and, to a lesser extent, avermectins, are commonly reported in the veterinary literature. Thus, there is understandable concern that this problem may threaten the use of anthelmintic drugs for the control of soil-transmitted nematodes in humans.

Chemotherapy should be used in such a way that the emergence of drug resistance is delayed or circumvented, while health benefits continue to accrue. Factors that can act against the development of drug resistance include.

* treatment of only a proportion of the population in an infected community (e.g. targeting school children), which will ensure that some nematodes remain in the community and that the genes of these survivors will dilute those of the nematodes experiencing selection pressure
* giving treatment at intervals greater than those of the nematode’s generation time
* changing the drug of choice for a particular control program.

At the same time, development of a protocol for the detection of suspected drug resistance, e.g. fecal egg count reduction tests, would be prudent.

The combined administration of cimetidine and mebendazole to patients with hydatid cysts has been reported to result in greater serum concentrations and therapeutic effects of mebendazole than when mebendazole was used alone. In addition, a recent report on the use of cimetidine in combination with albendazole for the treatment of cystic echinococcosis also found that concentrations and therapeutic effects of albendazole were significantly higher in patients receiving combination therapy than in those receiving albendazole alone.

Simultaneous administration of praziquantel and a benzimidazole has been suggested as a simple and cheap means of delivering treatment against all 3 major geohelminths and the schistosomes.

Results from a multi-center, double-blind trial have shown that the efficacy of concomitant albendazole and praziquantel therapy was indistinguishable from the efficacy of each drug alone, and that the frequency and severity of adverse effects were also unaffected.

Helminths have complex life cycles, but in many of the species of human parasites (with a few important exceptions), the adult worms do not actually multiply in the human host. Thus, in most of these helminth infections, each individual parasite may be considered to be the result of a separately acquired infective stage.

However, a few of the helminths that infect humans can either complete their entire life cycle in the same host (such as in strongyloidiasis) or infect humans only during the larval phase (e.g. larva migrans, hydatidosis, cysticercosis). They are much less common, but can cause much more serious disease. Thus, the principal value of chemotherapeutic agents in these infections is in the treatment of the individual rather than in controlling transmission.

Many of the anthelmintics available for human use are effective against several helminth species, and although there are over 20 different species of helminths that cause disease of global significance in humans (see table 1), almost all of these infections can be treated or controlled with one of 5 anthelmintics: the benzimidazoles albendazole and mebendazole, diethylcarbamazine, ivermectin, and praziquantel.