I recently had a patient who came in that suffered from Irritable Bowel Syndrome for over 40 years. She was able to drastically improve her health once we identified that she had a parasite called Blastocystis Hominis and naturally supported her body to eliminate it.
My name is Dr. Tom Rofrano from The Natural Medicine Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and author of the FreeDiet®. I’ve had the opportunity to see over 100,000 patient visits over the last 34 years, and some of the most common health complaints I see are gut issues. This woman came in with a lot of bloating, abdominal pain, indigestion, and constipation. She said she had IBS for over 40 years, had been to many different doctors, and had tried numerous medications. She had spent the last five years on an antispasmodic drug.
Getting to the Root Cause
Even though she was on the medication, she was still suffering from symptoms. She went to a functional medicine doctor before me who performed blood testing and a breath test, then put her on some supplements. But she still did not know what was causing her digestive issues and was still suffering.
In addition to the gut symptoms, she was also experiencing fatigue, brain fog, sinus congestion, dry flaky skin, and high cholesterol. She was on medication for that as well.
The first step I performed was an evaluation with some comprehensive testing. Part of that testing was a stool test that she performed at home. The stool test came back positive for a parasite called Blastocystis hominis, which is this microscopic protozoa/amoeba.
Blastocystis hominis is very common, and many of our patients that I see with this had picked it up when they traveled to the islands. This patient went to The Bahamas quite a bit. It’s also common in other tropical islands, South and Central America, and even Europe.
Treatment for Blastocystis Hominis
There are specific medications used to treat Blastocystis Hominis, although a lot of doctors think it’s not a big deal and it doesn’t require treatment. Other doctors do take it seriously and treat it with prescription drugs.
The downfall is that, in my experience, medications are not all that effective. I suffered with blastocysts over 12 years ago and tried many different natural products which did not work. I then visited an MD who prescribed different medications to try and rid my body of it. Unfortunately, the prescriptions did not work either. So, I kept experimenting until I came up with a supplement protocol and diet that worked together.
One of the reasons why blastocystis can be so stubborn is parasites thrive off sugar, starches, and yeasts. When you are trying to eliminate parasites and still eating the standard American diet that has a lot of sugar and starches, it can be very hard to get rid of parasites.
A Specific Diet Protocol
One of the things I discovered was a specific diet that can be very helpful with clearing Blastocystis Hominis. I call it the FreeDiet® because it’s free of not only gluten but gluten, grains, sugar, yeast, dairy, eggs, soy, legumes, nightshades, and processed food. It’s also free of those foods most commonly responsible for inflammation and chronic digestive issues.
This diet is one that can be extremely effective in starving off the blastocystis. Treating yeast is a large part of this plan. This patient, as did I, had positive yeast and bacterial overgrowth on her stool test. Treating parasites, bacteria, and yeast are all important parts of the protocol. All three of those are starved by eliminating those foods as well as alcohol.
If you want a free copy of the FreeDiet® Phase 1 food chart, click here
Supplements for Helping with Blastocystis Hominis
The first step in treatment is diet, and then supplements are part two. I use a protocol of supplements called the Blasto Pack™ which is a combination of five supplements, including a probiotic called ProbioSupreme SB™, Microb-Balance, Yeast Drfeat™, NAC, and Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids. It is designed as a three-month protocol.
Beyond that, I recommend the Functional Five™: a good quality multivitamin, fish oil, magnesium, probiotic, and vitamin D w K2. Many people are deficient in a variety of vitamins and minerals if they are the host of a parasite.
The results of the patient’s testing showed she also had leaky gut, gluten sensitivity, as well as other food sensitivities. These parasites can wreak havoc on your gut and lead to other issues.
I used other supplements as well to restore proper nutritional balance and correct any other deficiencies. After four weeks of treatment, we did a follow-up blood test because her inflammatory markers were high. The testing showed her inflammation went down by a factor of five. Her CRP (C-Reactive Protein) initially was a 5 and went down to 1 in four weeks, and she also lost 8 pounds in four weeks. Her digestive symptoms were clearing up as well.
Many Symptoms Resolved
The patient talked to her doctor about stopping her IBS and cholesterol medication at the beginning because she wanted to give this treatment a hundred percent effort. It turns out her cholesterol and other blood work had improved. Her IBS symptoms completely cleared up as well.
After following the 12-week protocol, we performed the follow-up stool test which showed her blastocystis and yeast were gone, and bacteria had cleared up in her gut.
I was thrilled about the results because having lived through the misery of having blastocystis myself, I knew what it was like to finally get rid of it.
I was ecstatic that not only had her bloating and all her digestive symptoms clear up, her other symptoms resolved as well—fatigue, brain fog, sinus congestion, and skin issues.
Your Body Has the Ability to Heal
It just shows you that no matter how long you’ve had an issue, the body has an amazing ability to heal itself. You first have to find the underlying root cause and then be provided with the proper solutions for you to heal.
If you want a free copy of the FreeDiet® Phase 1 food chart, click here
or click here to see my book, the FreeDiet®.
For the specific treatment protocol with dosages, click on Blasto Pack™ and then look under Details.
Thanks for joining me today, and feel free to like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. I look forward to assisting you on your healing journey.