Parasite Symptoms: How to Tell If You Actually Have Parasites
Episode Summary
Cole Siefer and Dr. Sasha Rose address the growing patient interest in parasites as a root cause of chronic symptoms. Dr. Rose explains the clinical picture that actually warrants parasite testing (concurrent digestive symptoms plus systemic complaints), pushes back against the trend of attributing every symptom to parasites, and describes the comprehensive stool test as her most-ordered diagnostic tool regardless of whether parasites are suspected. She walks through a real patient case (giardia identified, treated over 4-6 weeks with nitazoxanide and botanical protocol), explains how binders work and how to use them safely, and closes with a direct comparison of the Med Matrix approach vs. a DIY internet parasite cleanse.
How do you know if you have parasites?
Dr. Rose starts with the clinical reality: it's pretty rare for someone to have an actual parasitic infection and for their digestion to be completely fine. The one thing she always asks patients who suspect parasites is whether they also have concurrent digestive symptoms. Diarrhea, urgency, abdominal cramping, nausea, blood or mucus in the stool, or visible changes in bowel habits all make a parasitic infection more likely.
If someone has fatigue, headaches, body aches, and brain fog but their digestion is normal, she's less inclined to suspect parasites as the primary issue. Those symptoms overlap with hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, poor sleep, and chronic stress, all of which are more common root causes.
Clinical history matters too. Has the person traveled internationally? Where did they go and what were they doing? Do they hike or camp? Drink unfiltered water from rivers or streams? Have pets in the house? Spend time gardening with hands in the soil? All of these factors increase the likelihood of exposure.
Parasite symptoms vs social media hype
Dr. Rose acknowledges that parasites are a trending health topic, and she pushes back on the oversimplification. A parasitic infection can cause fatigue, headaches, body aches, and malaise. But so can a dozen other things. She's direct about it: "It's a lot easier to glom onto the parasite thing rather than really looking at the quality of your sleep and how well you're taking care of yourself with those boring foundational pieces like exercise, nutrition, sleep, and emotional health."
Not every influencer knows what they're talking about. Not everything online is accurate. And just because someone had a great experience with a protocol doesn't mean their physiology, chemistry, or gut microbiome is the same as yours.
How common are parasites in humans?
Less common than social media would suggest. Dr. Rose says actual positive parasite findings on the stool tests she runs are rare in her clinical experience. Some parasites are symbiotic and appear below detectable limits on testing. When they do show up, the most commonly encountered parasite in her practice has been giardia.
That said, she doesn't see harm in testing. The comprehensive stool test she orders (roughly three times per day for patients with gut issues) provides a baseline for far more than just parasites: microbiome balance, immune function, nutrient absorption capacity, pancreatic enzyme activity, and digestive fat breakdown.
How to test for parasites (and what a stool test shows beyond them)
The comprehensive stool test is Dr. Rose's most-ordered diagnostic tool regardless of whether parasites are suspected. Every time she orders it, there are unexpected findings. There might not be a parasite, but the microbiome is out of balance, or there's a bacterial infection the person wasn't aware of, or they're not breaking fats down optimally, or their pancreatic enzymatic activity is compromised.
Multiple stool test options are available, and choosing the right one depends on the individual patient's history and presentation. That clinical judgment is part of what makes working with a trained provider different from ordering a test yourself online. Interpreting the results and building a plan around the specific findings is where the real value lies.
Do parasite cleanses work?
Regular cleanses practiced in some countries likely provide broader benefit than just parasite clearance. Dr. Rose suspects they address bacterial overgrowth, candida, and general gut debris even when no specific parasite is present. There's something to be said for periodic gut maintenance.
The issue is when people try to DIY a cleanse without proper preparation. Binders (charcoal, bentonite clay, cholestyramine) work by trapping organisms and toxins and routing them through the stool. But if elimination pathways aren't functioning properly first (constipation, dehydration, poor sweating), the toxins have nowhere to go and the person feels significantly worse.
Why DIY parasite cleanses backfire
The protocol order matters. Step one is adequate hydration and regular bowel movements. Step two is optimizing all elimination pathways: bowels, urine, sweat, and breath. Step three (and only step three) is introducing binders at low doses. Starting too high or skipping the preparation phase causes flu-like die-off reactions.
Dr. Rose shares a patient case study to illustrate the right approach. A woman with previously normal bowel movements suddenly developed watery, unformed stool with urgency and cramping. Testing revealed giardia. Treatment included a short course of nitazoxanide (prescription antiparasitic) alongside a botanical antiparasitic protocol using herbs like black walnut and garlic. The patient cut back on unnecessary supplements to reduce liver and kidney burden, followed an anti-inflammatory diet, and prioritized sleep and rest during the cleanse period.
Recovery took four to six weeks with gradual improvement. It wasn't an overnight fix. That's normal with functional medicine: the body heals on its own timeline, and supporting that process rather than suppressing symptoms is what produces lasting results.
Botanical protocols vs prescription antiparasitics
Both have their place. Botanical protocols use herbs like black walnut, garlic, and other broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Prescription options like nitazoxanide and ivermectin are short-course, intense medications reserved for confirmed parasitic infections. Dr. Rose sometimes uses both simultaneously, pairing the pharmaceutical with a botanical protocol and binders (typically starting with charcoal) to support elimination.
The advantage of working with a practice like Med Matrix versus going it alone: a trained provider selects the right test, interprets unexpected findings, builds a protocol specific to your results, and monitors your response throughout treatment. As Dr. Rose puts it, "Not every influencer knows what they're talking about. Everybody's different." If you're experiencing persistent gut symptoms or suspect something beyond the usual explanations, get tested first. Then treat what the test actually shows.
Key Moments
Key Topics
- 1
Why parasites are a trending health topic and how to separate real clinical concern from social media hype
- 2
What symptoms actually suggest a parasitic infection vs. other root causes
- 3
The role of patient history (travel, pets, gardening, drinking unfiltered water, occupation) in evaluating parasite risk
- 4
How common parasites actually are vs. how often patients suspect them
- 5
The comprehensive stool test: what it reveals beyond just parasites (microbiome balance, digestive enzyme function, immune markers, nutrient absorption)
- 6
Botanical antiparasitic protocols vs. prescription antiparasitic medications
- 7
How and why to use binders (charcoal, bentonite clay, cholestyramine) during a cleanse
- 8
Why the order of a detox matters: elimination pathway preparation before binders to avoid die-off reactions
- 9
When the body cannot clear a parasitic infection on its own
- 10
Why a personalized, supervised protocol produces better outcomes than a DIY cleanse
Quotable Moments
“It's pretty rare in my clinical experience for somebody to have an actual parasite and for their digestion to be 100% fine. So yes, if somebody's having all of those unexplained systemic symptoms and they're having diarrhea, urgency, abdominal cramping, nausea, I'm more likely to think they might have a parasite.”
“The stool test that rules out parasitic infection is one that I order probably three times every day anyway for people who are having gut issues and not necessarily wondering about a parasitic infection. It gives us a great baseline for not just digestive health but immune health, your ability to absorb nutrients, your basic microbiome.”
“Every time I order it, there's unexpected test results. There might not be a parasite, but we definitely see the microbiome is a little out of whack. There is a bacterial infection the person wasn't aware of. They're not breaking fats down optimally. Their pancreatic enzymatic activity is compromised. You're not going to know any of that unless you do this test.”
“If you're stressed, that's going to affect your gut. Cortisol is disregulated, sleep is not great, someone's running on caffeine. You're just more vulnerable to a lot of things, including a parasite.”
“I think yes, parasites can be a trend. It can be difficult because a parasitic infection can cause fatigue and headaches and bodyaches. But it's a lot easier to glom onto the parasite thing rather than really looking at the quality of your sleep and like how well you're taking care of yourself with those boring foundational pieces like exercise, nutrition, sleep, and emotional health.”
Treatments Mentioned
FAQ
Gut Health FAQ
The strongest clinical indicator is concurrent digestive symptoms: diarrhea, urgency, cramping, nausea, or changes in bowel habits alongside systemic symptoms like fatigue and brain fog. If digestion is completely normal, parasites are less likely than other root causes like nutritional deficiencies or hormonal imbalance.
Less common than social media suggests. In clinical practice, actual positive parasite findings on comprehensive stool testing are rare. When they do appear, giardia is among the most commonly identified. Travel history, pet ownership, and outdoor activity habits all increase exposure risk.
The test provides a full baseline of gut health: microbiome balance, immune function markers, nutrient absorption capacity, pancreatic enzyme activity, digestive fat breakdown, and screening for bacterial, viral, and candida infections. Unexpected findings show up almost every time, even when parasites are not present.
DIY cleanses carry real risks if done without proper preparation. Binders and antimicrobials can cause flu-like die-off reactions if elimination pathways (bowels, urine, sweat) aren't optimized first. Starting at too high a dose or skipping the preparation phase is the most common mistake.
Binders like activated charcoal, bentonite clay, and cholestyramine trap parasites and their toxins, encapsulating them for elimination through the stool. They don't damage the gut microbiome. The key is starting at low doses after ensuring bowel regularity and adequate hydration.
Recovery is gradual, not overnight. In a documented giardia case, the full cleanse period was four to six weeks with slow, progressive improvement in stool quality and reduction of urgency and cramping. The body heals on its own timeline when properly supported.
Yes. A trained provider selects the right test for your situation, interprets findings you wouldn't expect (bacterial infections, microbiome imbalances, poor fat absorption), and builds a protocol specific to your results. Following an online protocol without testing means treating something you may not even have.
Nitazoxanide is a commonly used prescription antiparasitic, particularly for giardia. Ivermectin is another option. These are short-course, intense medications used when testing confirms a specific parasitic infection. They're often combined with botanical protocols and binders for a more complete approach.
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Full Transcript
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All right, everyone. Welcome to the MedMatrix Method podcast. My name is Cole Seafur, uh, one of the co-founders of MedMatrix, also head of marketing here. So, today we're joined by Dr. Rose, who's one of the providers here at MedMatrix. Uh, today we're going to be talking about parasites, which is something we hear a lot from new patients, existing patients. It's kind of a hot topic right now. So, we're going to be diving into uh, parasites. So, um, Dr. Dr. Rose, why don't you talk a little bit about kind of your expertise with parasites, what you've experienced um and yeah, that'll that's kick to kick us off. Okay, great. Thanks for having me on today. Um so, yes, I would agree parasites are kind of the hot topic. We do get a lot of people uh wondering, suspecting if they have some kind of parasitic infection. And um the confusing thing about parasitic infections is that they can often cause symptoms like fatigue and headaches and overall body aches and brain fog. And as we know, a lot of other things can cause fatigue and brain fog and headaches. And so, um, the one thing that I'm always asking a patient about who is asking me if they that they, you know, suspecting that they might have parasites is about gut concurrent digestive or gut symptoms. Um, it's pretty rare in my clinical experience for somebody to have an actual parasite and for their digestion to be 100% fine. So yes, if somebody's having all of those kind of un unexplained um other systemic symptoms and they're having diarrhea, uh urgency, uh abdominal cramping, nausea, um obviously blood in the stool, mucus in the stool. if they've seen something in the toilet, then um I'm more likely to think that, yeah, they, you know, they they might have a parasite, and that definitely warrants testing. Um if somebody's having all of those other kind of hard to put your finger on kind of amorphous, multi-system symptoms like headaches, fatigue, bodyaches, brain fog, etc., and their digestion is fine. Um, I'm not like a 100 percent against testing for it, but it's it's in my head it's probably less likely. Okay, gotcha. So, I have so many questions here from that answer. Thank you for the kind of thorough 10,000 foot view of parasites. Um, like so my understanding is everyone has parasites. Is that right? Like to some level we have parasites. Is that correct? Is that a correct statement? Um, [sighs] yes and no. I mean I think like if on the tests that we run and I can get into those in a second, you know, it does it is listed as like below detectable limits. So yes, there are some parasites that are kind of considered to be symbiotic or um you know they don't harm us in any way. They we're not going to have symptoms from having them. Um, but I think when people are wondering if they have parasites, it's usually referring to ones that are not supposed to be there and or like, you know, excessive number and they're wondering if what they're experiencing, if their symptoms are due to parasites. So, for the most part, no. I don't think we're really supposed to be walking around with like, you know, high levels of parasites and and just feel fine. Um, the other piece that I should pick out is that the clinical history is also important. So, has the person been traveling um internationally and to and if so, to what countries and what were they doing while they were traveling? Um, yes, there are domestic parasites for sure. Um, what have they been doing if they haven't been traveling internationally? Have they been traveling domestically? Have they do they hike a lot? Do they drink river water, stream water? Um, do they have pets in the house? Like kind of the classic questions. Um, and are they working? You know, are they gardening? Are their hands in the dirt a lot? What's their occupation? So, all of that matters. And I'm not saying it to, you know, there's certainly times when it's like it's not really obvious how or why somebody got an a parasitic infection. Um, and so it doesn't always hurt to test, but the history does matter. How often, cuz I know like a lot of patients come in and they're pretty like gungho on parasites, parasites. How often are you like talking patients off the ledge of like, hey, like this really isn't an issue. Like there are other things going on that we need to fix versus like, okay, we'll just do some parasite testing. Um because that's like one of the big complaints in conventional medicine, like if you went to your primary care and said, hey, I think I have parasites. More often than not, from what I've heard from patients, you kind of get shut down, right? So how often are you um actually like, "All right, let's do some parasite testing." versus um you know this is kind of just hype and the patient's kind of going down the wrong track and this isn't going to be isn't really what's going to move the needle with their health. Yeah, it's a good question. Um I mean part of the art of medicine in my opinion is meeting the person where they're at. And so every person is different, every case is different. And um you can have certain conversations with some patients and then other people are just so set on what they think is going on, they're so gung-ho that um sometimes you just have to work with that um with lots of respect along the way. Um I think it comes down to what's going on. What are their gut symptoms? Are they, you know, how often are bowel movements? Are they formed? Are they loose? Is there urgency? Um, like I said originally, cramping, like all of those things. If they have, and if there's been a change, like maybe somebody who had stellar digestion up until a year ago, and then it's just kind of been really unpredictable, really irregular, they can't leave the house um because they have to be next to the toilet, etc. Yeah. Then I'm more likely to want to test. Um, and what's, [clears throat] you know, as I just said, kind of are their pets? Have they been traveling? Are they, you know, are they hiking, camping, out in the wilderness, etc. Um, that that said, it there's not really any harm in testing in my opinion. And you know that the stool the comprehensive stool test that um rules out parasitic infection is one that I order probably three times every day anyway um for people who are having gut issues and not necessarily wondering about a parasitic infection. It gives us a great baseline um for not just digestive health but um immune health um just your ability to absorb nutrients your basic microbiome. So, it's information I like to have on everybody anyway. And so, I don't see any harm in kind of running that comprehensive stool test. H yeah, fair enough. Um, how often do you see parasites come back as an issue on these tests with patients? Um, honestly, rarely really. Okay. And then when you do see parasites come back as an issue, I guess what are some common treatment plans or uh strategies that you use to help patients get parasites out of the body? Um there's some pretty [sighs] good um botanical antiparasitic protocols. Um, with any kind of infection like this, you do um really want to make sure that the that um as much as possible that they kind of are eliminating, you know, unless that they're eliminating well, right? Because it can be kind of intense. So, you know, the classic ones are like black walnut um is kind of a classic botanical that as an antiarasitic. Um but even some of the broadspectctrum um ones like garlic, you know, those all kind of help as well. So there's like a botanical protocol. Um there's also some medications that are kind of more shortterm because they're pretty intense. So we'll do like a two week course of a um prescription antiparasitic. Um [clears throat] um nitoxinide is kind of a classic one. Um, so that is often where I'll start and then depending. So you kind of have to get rid of the parasite first. You have to find out why we think they're infected if it is kind of brought in by a dog in the house. if um there the patient's children also have it, you know, you kind of have to look at, you know, what's going on in this person's world. Um and make sure that there's not going to be kind of reinfection, but um yeah, and then, you know, there's always Ivormectin. Okay. Gotcha. Um, so what are So there's countries out there apparently from what I've heard, this may or may not be true, um, that do parasite cleanses routinely. Every year they do a parasite cleanse. Is is that true? And then if so, is that something that's like beneficial? You know, um, I don't know because I haven't really seen that in my own clinical practice. like I haven't I haven't prescribed that for anybody to do that routinely. I also haven't seen enough people maybe from those other countries or um who to really speak to literally like patients that I've seen that have had success or not success. I do think that there's something to be said for a regular cleanse like um for whatever reason, right? Like I think there is, you know, maybe you think you're addressing parasites and maybe you are, but you're probably like cleaning out the system. Like there if there is a bacterial overgrowth in the gut, you're probably addressing that. If there's a fungal or candidal overgrow candida overgrowth, you're probably taking care of that, right? Like things that you might not be even aware of, you're kind of like just cleaning house. you're detoxing and everybody's going to benefit from that probably. I don't think that's necessarily diagnostic that that means that the people all have parasites. Okay, gotcha. Um, and so they use what are called binders, right? Can you explain what those are? And then also binders can be misused, right? You can kind of take them too far. Can you explain that? Yeah, so binders are like a classic example of a binder would be charcoal or um bentonite clay. charcoal or bentonite clay are kind of um or colasty. Those are some commonly used binders. The idea is that um that you basically um are kind of um trapping you're kind of kind of trapping the parasite and and basically encapsulating in a way that it can easily be passed out through the stool. um and um in a good way. It doesn't really damage the microbiome. Um so that's kind of the it's like one step along the way um when you're doing any kind of cleanse or detox. Um it's not limited just to like a paras parasitic cleanse but um if the body is not eliminating properly first if you don't do this the kind of adequate prep before the binder stage um people can have pretty intense reactions you can have like a it's almost like flu-l like symptoms. Um so [sighs] usually what you want to do is um ideally make sure that like you're like you hydrate you take you do the first step which is like hydrating really well and um making sure that you're not constipated. There's this oldfashioned term called amuntories and amuntories basically means modes uh amunctry is a mode of elimination. So the best way that the body eliminates is through the stool or the bowels. The another way the next efficient way is um through the urine I guess and that the kidneys and then the breath and then the least efficient amuntery is sweating. it's through the skin. And so if somebody is constipated, they're just not like you can kind of use your binders and you can kind of do all this great work, but if the body isn't able to actually eliminate the toxins or the parasite, the person's going to be pretty symptomatic and not feel very good. So I think what we see with the negative reaction with binders is like too much too fast. Um and just really making sure that the person is like they can persspire well they're like respiratory you know they're breathing well so part [clears throat] so in addition to kind of like optimal bowel movements we see people you know gentle saunas like you know making sure they can sweat um if that's done right and if you don't start with like super high doses of bentonite clay colostyamine um charcoal charcoal then you're probably doing well. Yeah. Okay, good to know. What So, what what are some like the um advantages that are maybe not um that wouldn't come to mind immediately as far as working with, you know, a functional medicine practice like Med Matrix to do a parasite cleanse versus just kind of diying it at home? Well, one, I think I think that the testing that we have is pretty great. Um, I think that, you know, by meeting with one of the providers, you can figure out, um, you know, I kind of went over the the test that I use most frequently, but there's like a number of different stool tests that we have, um, that can be used, you know, for in different for different people in different situations. So, ideally, you meet with somebody first and then you depending on your health history, all the things that I've already gone over, the provider can kind of pick the right test um the one that's most appropriate for the patient at that given time. Um, and then review the results, right? And then go over and because there's like every time I order it, there's unexpected test results. There might not be a parasite, but we definitely see like the microbiome is a little out of whack. There is kind of a bacterial infection that the person wasn't aware of. You know, they're not breaking fats down optimally. Their pancreatic enzyatic activity is compromised. And so, you're not going to know any of that unless you do this test. And you're not and it the provider's job is to re, you know, we go over these results all the time. We're trained in the interpretation. And so, um, just to have a trained individual review those results and then come up with an appropriate plan that is customized to the patient is way more effective than just kind of googling parasite cleanse because you think you might have a parasite. Yeah, sure. How many can you give it uh maybe like one or two examples of a patient that you saw maybe more recently who had parasites and kind of like what symptoms they had, what testing you did, what treatment you did and then kind of the results of that. Um [sighs] yeah, so um this is somebody that I saw it was probably three months ago maybe. maybe three or four months ago. Um this one was a little I mean this was like there were digest you know there was kind of the abdominal cramping there was um uh person had previously had really pretty normal regular bowel movements um and then kind of overnight didn't right and so there was like watery stool there was unformed stool urgency etc um and um after the testing it kind of clear that there is um giardia and we did I think we did nidazoxinide um as well as like a botan botanical um parasitic cleanse at the same time but we did it really slowly you know what I mean like I didn't have to worry about constipation with this person but I did want to make sure that she was like really well hydrated and um kind of ready I guess for that cleanse. And so, um, if I'm recalling correctly, um, I think I might have in the short term kind of cut back on her supplement regimen just just because it was like these weren't things that these were things that she could do without for a couple months. Um, and I just wanted to kind of take the burden off the liver, off the kidneys as much as possible and just focus on this cleanse. And so, um, pretty much an anti-inflammatory diet, um, you know, simple foods and, um, made sure that she was, you know, her sleep was optimized, she was getting rest, um, she wasn't kind of taking unnecessary supplements, taking inflammatory or processed foods on a regular basis, not really overextending in her life in ways that she didn't really have to for this period of time, just so that her body could heal. and that could kind of you know internally focus on the cleanse. Um so and so she had that intention, I had that intention and um we did the medications, we did um I think with her it was probably charcoal. That's usually the one that I start with. and um took a little took a few weeks, but her stools started to kind of you know there was less urgency. Usually what I usually like to say with this in a lot of cases, but even with a cleanse is that it can it can kind of feel sometimes like a slow medicine. um it's not, you know, we're not suppressing anything. And so it can take the body couple weeks um in this case in this kind of situation to fully eliminate the parasite to kind of come back to normal. And so it's not, you know, she didn't wake up one day, she didn't, it wasn't like one day she was having abdominal cramping and loose stools and the next day it was like, you know, perfectly formed, no urgency, no cramping. It was gradual and but that's okay. Um, and that's just a sign that the body's kind of healing on its own. Um, so it probably took the whole thing probably took um I want to say four to six weeks. Okay. Gotcha. Yeah. So, that was a pretty holistic approach. What um did she go to like a normal doctor or primary and they said everything was fine? I know a lot of patients have had that experience. or did she just come right to us if you remember? Um I I think she just doesn't have a I don't think she tried cuz I don't I think there had been other situations for her where she had tried to get help through her primary the primary care office and um just felt kind of dismissed and just felt like they were going to say, "Oh, it's you again." Like you're just, you know, you're kind of making it up. And I think there had been other situations where she just felt not listened to or not really heard. And she she was just feeling so poorly from this infection that she kind of just didn't really have the energy to even try and we already had a relationship. Yeah. It's awesome. She's feeling better. Um All right. When So when will parasites just because I imagine, you know, our bodies are pretty amazing. At some point our bodies will just uh poop them out, right? But when when do parasites come an issue where our body isn't able to get rid of it on its own and it needs extra help from things like binders, etc. Um I think in oftentimes it's like everything else. It's like when the systems kind of run down, it's harder to fight any kind of infection including parasitic. So if you know cortisol is really disregulated, stress is high, sleep is not great, someone's running on caffeine, um diet, you know, dietary wise, they're just kind of a lot of processed foods, there's just not, you know, all the things, not taking care of oneself for whatever reason. You know, don't feel like person doesn't feel like they have time to exercise. Um that's physiologic stress, all of that. and you're just more vulnerable to a lot of things including a parasite. Um, and you know, I think we sometimes think of all the parts of the body as being so separate from each other. Well, there's the gut and then there's the immune system and then there's the mental health or the nervous system, but they're all so intertwined. It's such a inner that it's gonna, you know, if you're stressed, that's going to affect your gut. So, what do you have to say to the people who think like parasites are the holy grail? [laughter] Is it just a trend? Um, I think I think a I think yes and no. I think it's a trend. Um, I think as I said in the beginning, it can be difficult because a parasitic infection can cause fatigue and headaches and bodyaches and like that, you know, that term malaise. You're just, you know, that you're off. Something's not right. And yet, we see, you know, with someone with a hormonal imbalance is going to feel that. Some, you know, there's so many things that can cause that. Lack of sleep, like so many things. And I think it can um with symptoms like that, it can be um really hard as an individual, even as a provider to figure out what's causing it. Um, I think so. Sometimes, yes, it's a parasite, but I also think that sometimes it's just a lot more complicated. And it's like the parasite thing is really easy to glom on to. And it's like if you if you go online, it's like, yeah, I have all those symptoms. I must have a parasite. And um it's a lot I don't know if this is a fair statement, but it's a lot easier to kind of go down that road rather than like really looking at the quality of your sleep and like how well you're taking care of yourself with those boring foundational pieces like exercise, nutrition, sleep, and emotional health. Yeah, 100%. Is there anything else that um you feel like patients should know about parasites? Um, I think I'll just repeat that I if you really do suspect that you have one, I do think it's worth testing for and working with a provider um to have a provider who will spend the time and take you seriously. um to really kind of investigate the question and provide testing if it seems appropriate and um like a safe well-paced treatment um that is specific to you rather than kind of a DIY thing. Cool. And if someone's like, and this again, this is not medical advice, but if someone's thinking on their own like, "Hey, I want to do a parasite cleanse, um, should they just go and do it or should they reach out to someone like Med Matrix first and make sure they're doing the right thing?" I of course I'm going to say they should reach out um to a place like Med Matrix. Again, I think there's, you know, there's pros and cons of what we have at our fingertips now with the internet. Um, and not every influencer knows what they're talking about, not everything you read online is is um truth. So, um, and and everybody's different. So, just because somebody online had some great experience, like their physiology is different, their chemistry is different, their gut microbiome is different than yours, and so you don't know how you're going to respond to the same protocol. All right. Awesome. Cool. Dr. Rose, thank you so much. That's time for uh the parasite episode. Um if you are a patient interested in working with us, um just go to our website and click get started and schedule a call with one of our patient coordinators. They'll be able to help you out. Um if you like this episode, make sure share it with your friends, like uh and subscribe. Hi everyone.
