Losing weight with worms

In today’s society people try many different ways to help them lose weight, and as people get more and more desperate they turn to weirder and weirder ways to do this. The most bizarre is the tapeworm diet. Many people believe that eating a worm will help them lose weight quickly and easily. With the pros of losing weight there are many different cons to eating a live worm to lose weight.

The most common tapeworms are Taenia solium, Taenia saginatum, Taenia asiatica, Diphyllobothrium, Hymenolepis, Dipylidium caninum, Echinococcus, Spirometra, Taenia multiceps (Irizarry, 1994: Medscape). Tapeworms by attaching their head, known as the scolex, to the mucosa of the intestinal tract, using suckers and hooks as anchors, and absorb nutrients and proteins directly from the intestinal lining. More commonly, infected humans are the primary host, meaning the tapeworm is confined to the intestinal tract, from eating meat that contained a cyst. There were several weight-loss pills on the market that were in fact capsules containing tapeworm segments. How well or badly this worked out, I don't know.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/parasites/ParaSites2010/Jolene_Kokroko/Jolene%20Kokroko%20ParaSites%20paper.htm
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/2998/

Despite these risks, “the Tapeworm Diet” claims that you can and will loose about 1 to 2 pounds per week. In today’s culture of instant gratification with minimal input, the tapeworm diet has resurfaced as a way to lose weight fast. “The Tapeworm Diet: all natural weight loss,” an internet product which claims to help people loose weight, is no exception. The “Tapeworm Diet” is based on the idea that worms and humans coexisted as a means to keep the human immune system in check. Because it is not FDA approved, customers have to leave the country and obtain and ingest the tapeworms in Mexico in order to participate in this diet. Their website, www.tapewormdiet.net, states that Taenia saginata has the lowest side effects and risks which is why this is the worm of choice. According to some scientists, tapeworm infestation can result in a loss of one to two pounds per week. Once the target weight loss is reached, an antibiotic is given, which kills the tapeworm so it can be expelled.
Weight loss is very likely.
Some scientists believe that tapeworms can also help to alleviate allergies such as hay fever.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/parasites/ParaSites2010/Jolene_Kokroko/Jolene%20Kokroko%20ParaSites%20paper.htm
http://www.everydiet.org/diet/tapeworm-diet-using-beef-tapeworms-in-humans

Within humans, the tapeworm causes a wide range of presentations and symptoms which are highly dependent on each host. The only guaranteed typical symptom from hosting a tapeworm is the passage of proglottids through the feces; rarely appendicitis occurs due to proglottids migration (CDC, 2010). Lisandro Irizarry, a doctor of Cornell School of Medicine and Medscape reporter, stated that the proglottids have the muscle capacity to migrate out of the rectum which may also causes itching (Irizarry, 1994: Medscape). More common symptoms but dependent on each host are abdominal pain, change in appetite, diarrhea, nausea, infection, anemia, fever, eosinophilia, and weight loss (Song et. al., 2004). Dr. Irizarry also noted that malnutrition often arises from a specific species’, Diphyllobothrium, absorption of vitamin B12. Additionally, ascites, a response to parasitic infection causing the build up of fluid in the abdominal cavity resulting in a swollen and extended belly, often occurs (Song et al., 2004). This symptom is counter to the weight loss desired. Lastly, and perhaps most important is the danger of cysticercosis which occurs when a human host digests a tapeworm egg instead of the cyst. When this occurs, the tapeworm larvae burrow into the bloodstream and can end up encysted anywhere in the body, particularly in the brain, eyes, and lungs (Song et al., 2004). In rare cases, neurocysticercosis occurs in which the cyst forms in the central nervous system or skeletal muscles causing seizure, epilepsy, major brain damage, and dementia (Irizarry, 1994: Medscape). However, using tapeworms for weight loss requires ingesting a cyst form of the tapeworm, not the egg. Cysticercosis would only occur if given the wrong form of the tapeworm which is a risk tapeworm dieters would have to take. The Center for Disease Control recommends that tapeworms be killed, not tolerated, using Praziquantel and then passed through the feces (CDC, 2010). Tapeworms can be diagnosed by microscopy of the eggs, antibody detection, and morphological comparisons of the actual worm (CDC, 2010). Though the use of tapeworms for weight loss seems promising, there is not enough evidence available to suggest that this type of weight loss is sustainable, healthy, and actually effective. Historically, this practice was not widespread and with good reason. The majority of the evidence currently available suggests that ingesting tapeworms for weight loss is ineffective and even harmful to the host. Having a tapeworm in your body comes with substantial risks that are shown to outweigh the potential weight loss. There is evidence that hosts do lose some weight while having a tapeworm inside of them; however, this is not known to be due to the absorption of calories and nutrients alone, but from other side effects that occur in conjunction with hosting a tapeworm. People seeking to lose weight would be better off cutting calories and exercising than risking hosting a tapeworm in their intestines. Thankfully the use of tapeworms as a diet aid is illegal in the US and for good reason. Tapeworm infestation can result in the formation of cysts in the liver, eyes, brain, and spinal cord with potentially lethal consequences.
Extremely dangerous, can cause unpleasant side effects and in some cases can be lethal.
Does not appear to be adequate protection for consumers in regard to regulation and safety analysis.
Rebound weight gain is most likely once the tapeworm is expelled.
Tapeworms can cause a swollen stomach which is not physically attractive and goes against the desired result.
Not available in most countries.
Treatment is expensive and will also need to include travel expenses.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/parasites/ParaSites2010/Jolene_Kokroko/Jolene%20Kokroko%20ParaSites%20paper.htm
http://www.everydiet.org/diet/tapeworm-diet-using-beef-tapeworms-in-humans

In conclusion as more and more people want to look like the super models they see on TV they come up with ideas like eating a tapeworm to lose weight. The cons to this messed up way to lose weight outweigh the pros by far. This procedure is illegal in most countries including Canada, but if someone would ever want to lose those unwanted pounds, they just have to go to Mexico and pay over $1500 or they could just go to a farm and eat some cow poo.


Erik Granander