My parasite research has led me to a man named Jasper Lawrence. He had terrible asthma and he stumbled onto the research of a UK scientist Dr. David Pritchard. He was interested to try hookworm infections for himself. He had to travel to Cameroon to find grassy areas where people defecated and walked barefoot in them to infect himself with hookworms. He did get infected with hookworms and cured his asthma. Amazing.
This thankful passion led Jasper to promote the idea of helminthic therapy to the world. Below are several websites he has made for the public to be able to benefit and actually do helminthic therapy:
http://www.asthmahookworm.com/
http://www.jasper-lawrence.com/ (his blog)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/helminthictherapy/
http://www.radiolab.org/2009/sep/07/ (radio podcast)
http://autoimmunetherapies.com/ (website where he sells his hookworms)
Below is a summary of why hook worms may be good for you.
The hook worm was found in the south in rich soil while it was not in the not rich soil so all the wealthy were sick and slow because of the worm it got from person to person by crawling 4 feet from were some one desecrates so they made out houses 6 feet deep and that stopped the hookworms. The invention of the toilet stopped so many parasitic problems. Hookworms help stop allergies because they have coevolved with the human immune system making the immune system stronger. Hygiene theory states that we are too clean and have ridden ourselves of some parasites that help us.
from http://mrhartansscienceclass.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/wnyc-radiolab-parasite-podcast/
Sounds good. I’m wonder if my eating of a raw paleo diet has imbibed me with beneficial parasites.