Top 10 Herbs for Parasites
How else do you think people hundreds of years ago managed to make it out alive without getting full on infestations of the pesky parasites in their environments?
Well, they used the herbs and plants that nature provided, and in the same way that the wild bucks and fowl managed to stave it off, so did we. We were just a little more direct about how we targeted it.
Here are the herbs, and various flora that’ll keep you, and your animals healthy:
Black Walnut
Nowadays people avoid these very edible nuts, because they’re so much hassle to crack open and they stain just about everything that they come into contact with. So we feed it to our pigs instead.
But goats like them just as much, and since they grow so prolifically in the USA, it would be a shame for us humans to pass up this very effective and quite frankly delicious remedy for worms.
Black walnut has a slight diuretic effect, so it doesn’t just kill the bugs off, it allows you to pass them out of your digestive tract for good measure too.
Ringworm, pinworm, tapeworm and roundworm, all parasites that live both in humans and animals are effectively treated by black walnuts.
Interestingly enough, it treats indigestion, gall and kidney stones, hypothyroidism and it’s a fantastic aid for fungal infections and mould sensitivities.
Walnuts in general are so high in nutrients, vitamins and minerals that the list for all of the things they can treat is almost endless.
Black walnut trees are big and they need space, but that's about all of the care they’re going to require of you. Besides an annual feeding, they’ll be happy to supply you with all you need for generations to come.
So get a few saplings and get them on your grounds yesterday already!
Garlic
We all know garlic is the master of just about every cure out there, it’s such an all around good source of nutrients and curative properties that you can never have enough of it.
Garlic doesn’t kill parasites, but it creates an unpleasant environment in the gut for them. And that counts for all of the most common parasites that live in the digestive tract. So it’s used more as a preventative measure, as opposed to a cure.
For a more direct approach when parasites have already made their home in your gut, then you’ll need to consume it raw. It’s going to taste terrible, but it is effective in high doses.
Animals aren’t fond of garlic, so this is strictly for human use. And are you even complaining? Bring on the garlic bread!
Sweet Wormwood
Sweet wormwood is not sweet at all. But this extremely bitter herb wasn’t fibbing about its parasite killing superpowers!
It's one of the only natural cures for the most deadly parasite of all, malaria. The fact that it treats malaria should be a good indicator for what it does for the more exotic parasites that don't necessarily live in the gut.
It effectively travels to the spinal cord, the soft tissues and inside the bone. The only place it can’t get to is the brain.
It's more appropriate for human use, since animals naturally avoid the bitter taste. But it can be snuck in small increments into their feed. They’ll eat it, as long as it doesn’t overpower the rest of their food troughs.
This variety of wormwood does not do well in wet and cold environments. They want their surroundings dry and on the hotter side.
Since Wormwood is such an effective treatment for parasites, it makes it worth going through the effort of cultivating them indoors or inside a greenhouse.
Oregano
Oregano might come as a surprise on this list, but it's a very well rounded treatment option for bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections.
The trick about oregano is not just to make it a part of your daily diet, it’s about using it in its concentrated form.
The high amounts of carvicol found in Oregano has been through a battery of clinical trials and every time it comes out as one of the best fighters against viral and bacterial infections.
But it’s the thymol in oregano that kicks the worms’ butts at the end of the day. That thymol is a great topical treatment for outward fungal infections on the scalp and feet too.
Since it grows so easily and in such a wide variety of conditions, it’s hardly too much to ask to have an oil or a tincture at hand for a good and proper seasonal dose.
Cloves
Cloves are nothing short of a powerhouse when it comes to all of the bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections.
But Cloves go the extra mile, they don’t just kill parasites, it kills their eggs too. This is due to the fact that it’s made up of up to 85% anthelmintic compounds, that can break the tough outer shell of their eggs and the mucous lining around the larva.
Clove trees aren’t massive, so it shouldn’t be too hard to carve out a place for some saplings. But a climate that gets snow in the winter just won’t do.
These guys like it hot, humid and with plenty of rainfall. They can thrive in desert climates, if you supply them with the necessary amount of water.
Gold Thread
Goldthread is a well known Chinese medicinal herb, used for its treatments of topical parasites, like ringworm.
It’s a pretty good treatment for intestinal parasites too, though it cannot penetrate the parasitic eggs and larvae, therefore using gold thread is usually advised in the long term, killing off multiple generations, until they’re too young to reproduce, eventually wiping the infestation out completely.
Goldthread is easily obtainable at Asian markets, but it’s a relatively easy herb to keep around permanently, so you might as well just plant it and have it around all the time.
Skullcap
Next up is the creepy sounding herb, skullcap. Don’t be put off by the name, it’s actually a very bright and pleasant looking decorative plant, as well as a herb renowned for its medicinal properties.
It’s got a very lengthy list of treatment options,so we’ll focus on the parasitic end of the treatment scale for this round.
Barbesia is a malaria-like parasite that also infects 40% of patients with lyme disease and is one of the few parasites passed along through tick bites.
It’s also one of the more difficult parasites to treat, because like malaria, it can take residence anywhere in the body, there’s just no telling where it will land.
And to hit the nail on the skullcap, so to speak, John’s Hopkins University ran a study on treating Barbesia specifically with medicinal herbs, because the only antibiotics available had so many side effects that they were getting desperate to find alternative treatments that could kill off the parasite, without the immense pressure of treating all of the negatives that came with the antibiotics.
And skullcap came out as one of the best treatments available in the natural world.
Glasswort
In that very study of Johns Hopkins University, Glasswort had even better results, sometimes performing even better than the antibiotics did, without the side effects.
Meaning that it could be used for longer periods of time, giving doctors and patients the opportunity to completely wipe out the infestation, without needing to take breaks in between treatments that were needed for the body to recover.
Pumpkin Seeds
You’ve probably heard of pumpkin seeds as a cure for treating worms before. And it’s true! Pumpkin seeds don’t necessarily kill parasites, but they contain compounds that paralyse the worm, allowing it to detach from the intestinal wall, and be expelled naturally.
When using it alongside another parasite killer, you’ve got a match made in heaven. And they are by far the easiest and most versatile animal feed to give to your chickens and other livestock as a precautionary measure, while keeping their diets nutritionally well rounded.
Besides, who doesn’t like munching on pumpkin seeds, it's a tasty treatment that won’t be a schlepp to swallow!
Miscellaneous
For the last part, any plant sort that’s high in tannins and polyphenol is going to help the fight against parasitic infections both as a preventative measure and as a treatment when concentrated.
It can, and should, be a part of your family’s daily diets and an automatic addition to livestock feed. Cloves, pomegranate,guava leaf, thyme, passion flower, grapefruit seeds and cinnamon are all equally high in both of these compounds.
Guava and pomegranate grow in very much the same conditions that clove does, and neither are huge trees that need boat loads of space.
Cinnamon is a little more tricky. Besides being a huge tree, it just needs to be in a tropical environment, even the least amount of frost will kill it off.
Passionfruit is surprisingly easy to grow, they just need a little room to vine, and the flower is also a good stress reliever and sleep aid.
Ready to get started growing?
Check out this amazing Medicinal Garden Kit. All these seeds have been handpicked from the very best plants, as I wanted nothing less than premium quality.
With your seeds kit, you’ll also receive a FREE copy of Herbal Medicinal Guide: From Seeds to Remedies. This guide will show you how to turn these 10 plants into tinctures, ointments, salves, poultices, decoctions, infusions, essential oils —all in minute detail so you can follow our guide even if you’ve never made an herbal medicine in your life.
