Dear Subscribers,

I suppose we are heading for a huge harvest moon? For the last 3-4 days, people have been writing about pet problems and my brain, poor brain, keeps churning and churning.

As many of you know, I usually recommend starting the parasite protocols right before the full moon and this moon is an important one for several reasons. We are past the warm weather for the Northern Hemisphere so it's time to get rid of parasites. Who might have parasites? Let's see. . .

• Anyone who ever had an insect bite, even 20-30 years ago
• Anyone who ever was intimate with someone who had a bite
• Anyone who was intimate with someone who was intimate with someone else who had a bite
• Anyone with pets
• Anyone whose food was handled by someone who was infected

This may sound extreme, but you don't have to have gone on an ecotour to Peru or a photo safari in Africa to be infected because our food comes from all over the world and our food handlers and bank tellers and so on and so forth also come from all over the world. So, you could lock yourself in your home and rarely go outside but if your partner hikes on weekends, well, that's one story and it's only the beginning. The insect is what is called a vector and it may deposit larvae or other hazardous substances into your body, but countless other avenues of infection also exist so the reality is that no one is impervious to parasite infection.

My purpose is not to scare you but rather to empower you and also seduce you into sharing my love of herbs through a fascinating game of dots . . . oh, yes!

You may think I am fickle. One day it's wormwood and another it's figwort and today it is vidanga, but it's all about coming into relationship with the natural world and learning to appreciate its gifts and complexity.

There was very little in my childhood that was suggestive of where I'd be 60-70 years later. I always wanted to heal and started with a little infirmary for wounded wild animals in my bedroom. I had a kingfisher and mobilized all the children in the neighborhood to find small fish but then I didn't know how to feed him, but he taught me and that was an incredible experience. I'm sure most people thought I was crazy but I was very devoted to my patients and there were a surprising number of them over the years.

I knew nada, as in absolutely nothing, about plants. Unfortunately, my father had allergies so he took no responsibility for the garden. My mother liked flowers but was clueless about their medicinal properties though, to her credit, she became very interested in huna medicine once moving to Hawaii.

To be totally honest, my idea of a garden was entirely aesthetic so if I got a book on gardening, it would be something like a temple garden, Zen-like, interesting, but not practical. I became a little bit practical when living in Santa Fe and I named each plant. For instance, all the chaste trees were named for nuns who took vows of celibacy. I could keep their names straight because there were not so many of them. There were a few other plants, not a lot because the desert is hardly conducive to botanical abundance or diversity, but this was an advantage because the slow growth and distances between the plants gave me lots of room for observation. I started to notice behavior and was fascinated by how vinca moved itself where it wanted and I began to realize that plants with this capacity tend to have excellent lymphatic benefits. They know exactly how to organize to get as much sun and shade as they like and about the time I was waking up to these tiny details, I wrote the book on botanical cancer treatments. It was only then that I began making formulas myself.

One of the most fascinating tidbits of information that emerged when researching the cancer book was how many of the herbs used for cancer treatment were also parasiticides and sometimes also beneficial for the eyes. Since parasites like moisture, they go where there is moisture so the aqueous fluid of the eyes is a favorite haunt for some parasites but since they also like it dark, they may disappear when you open your eyes. This is really disturbing, frightening, but if you don't know such facts, you are actually more vulnerable so it's better to know and then to psych yourself up to doing something.

In Europe, I watched a lot of blood parasites, sometimes for hours on end. I noticed that they all have different behavior, different food preferences, different hunting tactics, and apparently also differing levels of toxicity. In fact, some parasites are so dangerous that a single rupture in the skin can be fatal to a small animal or child. So, it came as no surprise when I began reading about herbs for parasite infections that some mentioned the intestines and brain and others mentioned the skin and blood and others mentioned the nervous system and toxicity so the same herb might be used for snake bites as for intestinal parasites or it might be used for epileptic seizures and dysentery or it might be used for blindness and itchiness as well as parasites. These ancient texts were not written by goofs but by people with profound powers of observation and perhaps some divine insight or ability to communicate with plants. Occasionally there is an herb that is practically the mother lode for all that ails us: it aids digestion, stops diarrhea, cures skin sores, restores vision, calms the nervous system and lets us sleep better, increases fertility (or decreases it), relieves coughing, eliminates migraine headaches and dizziness . . . and just how would one herb be so ingenious? Well, it's because it's a parasiticide.

For instance, I read about a tropical parasite that hangs out in the genitalia between midnight and two a.m. If you happen to get an ultrasound at that time, you might be able to see the wiggling but parasites are foragers so they move around and they completely disrespect your lungs and brain and may even make holes through tissue to get where they are going using a shortcut. Someone told me he used to clean up the OR after surgery and found parasites all over the floor where gall bladders had been removed. Of course, the day came when someone sent me a picture of a gall bladder that had dozens of parasites wiggling in it, gross, but wouldn't you know that there are herbs that are specific for aiding gall bladder function that are also parasiticides. Someone knew and wrote it down for posterity and we are all the richer and wiser because of this.

The emails I get come from all over the world. Someone wrote that her dog had parasites that looked like spaghetti and her son had the runs. Now, how surprising would that be? Knowing what I know now, as opposed to what I used to think and feel when creating a garden, I would give a lot of thought to what I planted where my dog relieves herself. First of all, I don't want her paws to become infected, and secondly, I don't want anything she might pass to find that living in the dirt is next best to living in a gastrointestinal tract of someone who is, thanks to the unwelcome stowaway, malnourished and heading for an earlier demise than is normal for Earthlings at this time. I am not on a rampage to murder parasites, but I would like them to adapt to life outside the body.

It cannot surprise anyone who has been a subscriber for a while that my animal communicator and I had a chat about this once. At first the parasites were very brave and said they were not afraid to die. I said, "Well, to be honest, I prefer not to kill you so if you can adapt to living somewhere else, I would like to discuss a win-win situation with you." I gave them some options based on what I was studying and after 10-15 minutes, they said that of everything I mentioned, they preferred the idea of warm milk. This method involves sitting on a potty with warm milk, a bit sweet, and waiting for the smell to attract the parasites who are interested enough to crawl out and drop into the pot. I promised the parasites that if any of my subscribers do this, they will not kill the parasites but rather give them a chance to live outdoors somewhere. I also had a long and rather interesting talk with the worm lady at the farmer's market. If you are professional about such things, you can laugh while you learn. She told me that worms really hate the light. I always wondered why they risk both light and birds because if the early bird gets the worm, it is also true that the early worm gets gobbled. Sleeping in might be a better fate.

People are surprised that I can see parasites in the blood. The parasites really hate the microscope light but they get used to it. They don't move at first but if you just give them lots and lots of time, they begin to adjust and forage. So, I know a lot more about microscopic parasites than visible ones but they are all miniature snakes with as many variations as we find in the world of snakes. Snakes give me the whim whams but these tiny ones are fascinating but potentially every bit as dangerous.

So, now to today's star, Vidanga, one of the most important Ayurvedic parasiticides. It grows everywhere from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka so is well adapted to many different climates and elevation. It has a fruit that looks a lot like black pepper and so is sometimes called false pepper. It is used for oral infections, parasites, tumors, coughs, flatulence, cardiac debility, and so on and so forth. Why? You all know now: parasites travel and while I do not agree that all tumors are caused by parasites, I am sure that some of them are. Naturally then, this herb is effective for some cancers and not all; however, this herb is both antiparasitic and antifungal so that extends its reach just a bit more since some tumors are no doubt fungal. . . but not all. I could even interject something that is possibly relevant but not always relevant. When a parasite dies, it has to flushed out or disposed of in some other way. One method I have seen in the microscope is that bacteria eat the dead parasites. When they are finished, white blood cells eat the bacteria. Patients feel a bit achy when this is happening, but it doesn't happen if the white blood cells are compromised or if the bacteria have been destroyed through the use of antibiotics. So, if no bacteria come to the funeral to forage, the parasite decomposes through fermentation and this contributes to fungal infections. That's called a loop! We have gone full circle and need to find a way out.

Photographs used with permission: http://natureloveyou.sg/Embelia%20ribes/Main.html

Vidanga has more to teach us. The fruit is pungent, astringent, and bitter. There are six tastes recognized in Ayurveda. The tastes explain the pharmacology of food and herbs. The fire element is strongest in pungent (spicy) foods and herbs and this is the exact opposite of the sweet taste which is watery and the taste favored by parasites. Fire is catabolic; water is anabolic. The digestive system, third chakra, relies on the fire element and the reproductive system, second chakra, depends on the water element. Vidanga is strong enough to inhibit fertility. A study involving 48 women supplied with 10 tablets of Vidanga a month, starting on the fifth day of the cycle and going to the middle of the cycle. There were no pregnancies among any of the 48 women in the year this experiment was conducted. Vidanga also has a spermicidal effect on men but all the fertility issues self correct when use of vidanga is suspended; i.e., there are no long-term consequences.

Fire: Catabolic	Water: Anabolic

Now, we can go to the next fire-water issue that concerns many people today: insulin and blood sugar. Insulin is fiery and blood sugar is watery. Vidanga lowers blood sugar as we would expect of any herb that is both pungent and bitter. Taking this one more step, we know that the bitter taste is due to alkaloids which, of course, are balancing to acids which are found in sour foods. Toxins are generally acidic and bitters are detoxifying.

Vidanga is an ingredient in many Ayurvedic parasite cleansing formulas but you can use it as a standalone treatment or you can improvise. Some people take heavy doses of the powder made into balls with honey for one day. This is done on an empty stomach and no food is eaten that day.

My guess is that no parasites will survive because this is easily observed in darkfield microscopy with good parasite formulas so similar consequences must ensue in the gastrointestinal tract, particularly with tape worms. The honey provides temptation, an invitation to dinner. It also makes it easier to swallow the herb. You can also go a softer route by mixing triphala powder and dashmool into a concoction with vidanga.

Now, to give this an even wider context, I used the search feature on ayurvedicbazaar.com to see how many formulas contain vidanga. The answer was "lots": Acnenil, Detox, Bladder Support, Cholest Control, Slim Aid, and Vascular Aid from Vadik Herbs and Para Cleanse, Joint Support, Liver Formula, Trim Support, and Yogaraj Guggulu from Banyan Botanicals. In addition, I am adding the bulk powder and capsules to the site as we speak!

How often should you do a parasite cleanse? I think that people who have never done such a cleanse ever before should commit to doing a 2-6 month cleanse now. The main treatment is 1-2 days and then there is die off. In all my years of working with people, even very, very sick people, no one had such a bad reaction that he or she felt the need to stay in bed all day. Some were very achy for a few days and this is because of the normal bacterial infection accompanying the die off. With intestinal parasites, you can cleanse faster by swilling down some oil or using something to promote really rapid transit through the gastrointestinal system; however, with blood parasites, this option does not exist so the die off phenomenon is inescapable. This is why I formulated Dragon Dreams for use during the die off and Phoenix Rising for recovery after the die off. If the cleanse is repeated every full moon for a few months, it will be clear that each month is easier and easier, but, of course, you don't really know that at the beginning. You just have to take my word for it.

Once one develops the habit of cleansing, it can be done following any close encounter with a potential carrier or once a year. You will be so glad you committed to this once you see the improvement in so many physiological functions.

Many blessings,

Ingrid

Copyright by Ingrid Naiman 2011

Part II

Parasite Protocols for Children || Blood Parasites || Types of Parasites
Miniature Snakes || Fashions in Medicine || How Parasites Die || Spirochetes
Moss amd Mosquitoes || Mosquito Bites || Artemisia Annua || Wormwood || Bitter Taste

Introduction to the Dhatus
Essay #1 || Essay #2 || Essay #3 || Root Chakra
Chyawanprash || Ayurvedic Herb Import
Hair Color || Energetics Behind Vision || Air-Water Balance

Dosha Balance Questionnaire || Articles on Ayurveda || The Ayurvedic Bazaar

Design by Damien Francoeur