A Paracite Inside You
Tapeworms ingested for diets
What is the Tapeworm Diet?
The tapeworm diet, also known as taeniasis, is a method that involves ingesting parasites called tapeworms, which potentially can cause a person to become seriously ill and can even lead to fatal complications.In this diet, a person swallows tapeworms that go on to absorb some of the food that he or she eats, causing him or her to lose a significant amount of weight.
The Positives of the Diet
Before the modern world we live in today, people's bodies had a variety of worms found inside. Now that most, if not all, worm have been removed, the body still looks for worms living in us. This can cause the body to become more sensitive to foreign materials which creates an imbalance in the immune system. The purpose of getting a tapeworm inside you is so that the food you eat can be split with the worm.
Finding A Home
Tapeworms can live in a host's body for several of years.
Long Distance
Tape worms start about 3mm to 5mm but can grow to be 30 feet in humans; sometimes even longer.
Hooked On You
Tapeworms get into the human body, and hook onto the stomach with their hooks to digest what the human is eating.
The Negatives
The tapeworm diet is viewed as a positive for a few reasons, but the negatives outweigh the positives, making this choice of diet very deadly. Digesting a tapeworm for a diet is not a smart thing to do because the tapeworm is a foreign organism that the body will attack. Just because the dieter wants the tapeworm to remain in the stomach; does not mean it will stay there. It is very possible for the tapeworm to go into other parts of your body through your bloodstream, including your brain, which would end with a deadly result. One tapeworm can grow around 30 feet long, and a tapeworm has both male and female reproductive systems. A woman who starts with one worm could be spreading a bunch of fertilized worm eggs every time she uses the restroom. For weight loss, yes, this diet will result in fast weight loss, but this one good reason isn't good enough for the list of bad things that happen because of it. "Ingesting tapeworms is extremely risky and can cause a wide range of undesirable side effects, including rare deaths" a doctor named Quinlisk wrote. Also, "One tapeworm can't absorb enough food and nutrients to make a big difference in weight... the parasite can cause anemia and malnutrition" which is what USA said.
The Side Effects
- Abdominal pain
- Weakness
- Headache
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Bloating
The Entrance and Exit
Tapeworms can get into the human body in many ways. The normal way of being infected is if you eat raw meat, become in contact with infected faeces, or other foods containing tapeworms. For the people who get the tape worm for a diet usually take the tapeworm in a tablet form. But possessing a tapeworm for dieting reasons is also illegal in America. It eventually moves out of the body with bowel movements which is very unpleasant physically and psychologically. People have been known to take drugs to kill the tapeworm before it is removed from the body.
This is the longest tapeworm that was ever found in a human body. This tapeworm was in Sally Mae Wallace, and removed on September 5, 1991. This tapeworm stretched itself through the intestines. The tape worm was 37 feet long and pulled out through her mouth. She did not ingest this tapeworm for the diet, but this shows the severe affects that come with tapeworms.