So, you’re thinking about swallowing a tapeworm in an effort to lose weight. And, naturally, you want to know more about it. The first steps, meaning the fact that you are researching the idea, is the good way to go about it. The procedure is a highly debated one, and you’re about to find out why.
Before we begin, here are some notes from Jolene Kokroko, a researcher from Standford University, author of Tapeworms and the Search for a Slimmer Waist:
[blockquote style=”1″]Though weight loss is a known side effect of hosting a tapeworm, little evidence shows that this weight loss is due directly to the tapeworm’s absorption of food and nutrients in the host. Additionally, the risks and potential complications do not appear to be outweighed by the slight reduction in weight that sometimes occurs. […] Tapeworms cannot absorb the amount of calories that humans consume and when placed on restrictive diets, people with tapeworms often become malnourished.[/blockquote]
Here are the pros and cons of the tapeworm diet:
The PROs
[list][item icon=”fa-arrow-up”]The diet does seem to work. According to most people who have engaged in it and then wrote about in on the internet, swallowing a tapeworm appears to make you lose weight and fast.[/item][item icon=”fa-arrow-up”]You can eat whatever you want. Given the fact that the parasite will consume most of the food you are actually eating and its nutrients anyway and, thusly, make you lose weight, you can, therefore, eat all the food you want.[/item][/list]
Unfortunately, this is where the pros end as far as the tapeworm diet is concerned. Now let’s take a look at the cons.
[easy-tweet tweet=”Here’s why you should NEVER try the Tapeworm Diet!” via=”no” hashtags=”diet,neverdothis” url=”http://bit.ly/2xiRSTg”]
The CONs
[list][item icon=”fa-arrow-down” ]This procedure is illegal in the United States. Yes, you read that well. It is against the law to willingly swallow a tapeworm to lose weight.[/item][item icon=”fa-arrow-down” ]Tapeworms are not available in the United States, given the fact that this weight loss treatment is not legal. Therefore, procuring them might get you into trouble.[/item][item icon=”fa-arrow-down” ]You need to understand that this is an infestation and, thusly, you shouldn’t take it lightly. Once ingested, the tapeworm feeds off the food you eat and continually grows inside of you. People have actually reported feeling it moving inside.[/item][item icon=”fa-arrow-down” ]Saying you lost weight after the tapeworm diet is exactly like losing weight after a disease. The parasite eats not only the food you ingest, but also your nutrients, vitamins, and calcium. It does not discern. Therefore, you can feel sick.[/item][item icon=”fa-arrow-down” ]The tapeworm can deviate to some other parts of your body, which includes your brain, through the bloodstream. Needless to say, if that happens, the damage could be irreversible.[/item][item icon=”fa-arrow-down” ]The tapeworm cannot be shed naturally. You have to have it surgically removed from your body. Even though some people take pills and try to kill it before the operation, you still need to go under the knife to take it out.[/item][item icon=”fa-arrow-down” ]This is only a short-term solution. Even though you lose weight, you will put it back on after the worm is taken out of your body. The reason is that you haven’t truly formed any weight-loss habits. You simply had a parasite infestation that caused you to lose weight while you kept on eating piles of food.[/item][/list]
The Verdict
Although it makes you lose weight, it is definitely not worth going for the tapeworm diet. It is much too dangerous and illegal. Apart from that, it can have severe results if the worm gets into the bloodstream and finds its way to other parts of your body. Therefore, perhaps some other form of diet (we recommend the long term adjustable diet) or sport (see casual exercises that work) would be a better-indicated form of losing weight than a parasite infestation.
