Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What you don't know could make you sick - or worse, 1 Feb 2005
Ann Louise Gittleman is doing all she can to raise awareness of the danger of parasites in our lives; it is, she argues, a silent epidemic. We've all heard of outbreaks of E. coli and the like, but such disturbing stories quickly fade away from the public consciousness. Most people don't want to think about all the really nasty things that might be oozing their way throughout their bodies. Gittleman clearly makes the case, however, that parasites are a growing danger, and the fact that many medical professionals aren't especially knowledgeable about the subject only exacerbates the problem. Few medical students take a single course on parasitology, she says, because such courses are usually found under tropical diseases - and we in the United States still tend to think that parasites only affect the lives of those in impoverished and/or tropical nations. Gittleman's objective in writing this book (now available in this revised version) is to educate everyone, layman and medical professional alike, on the extent of the parasite threat. By doing so, she is able to offer advice and guidance on protecting yourself from the myriad of invisible threats parasites pose. First, Gittleman lays out a strong case for the greatly increased prevalence of parasites in today's America, pointing to a number of factors such as the great increase in international travel, the contamination of water supplies, the increased use of antibiotics, the ever-growing use of day-care centers (which one expert dubbed the open sewers of the 20th century), and the dramatic number of household pets interacting with men, women, and especially children. She then describes some of the symptoms of the different kinds of parasitic conditions. In many cases, she says, these symptoms closely mirror the symptoms of other diseases and usually go undiscovered - thus, you have patients continuing to suffer with afflictions while being treated for conditions they may not even have. Gittleman's guide to parasites provides summary details (albeit somewhat technical ones) about all of the varying types of parasites - fluke worms, tapeworms, assorted amoebae, and a number of dastardly little critters I had never heard of. She provides information designed to help you determine whether you might have a parasite yourself (relying significantly on lifestyle history), discusses the most modern testing methods out there, and discusses treatment options. If you exhibit symptoms that do not go away and have your physician somewhat baffled, she encourages you to consider the possibility of a parasite and discuss it with your doctor. I was amazed to learn that parasites can basically settle in all over your body, not just in your gastrointestinal tract. The most important part of the book, though, has to do with prevention and protection. With parasites so prevalent in our daily lives, it is important to build up our resistance to them. Gittleman goes into detail about the problems inherent in water and food preparation (especially undercooking), the risks posed by even the most beloved of pets (the next time your four-legged best friend gives you some sugar, you could possibly end up swallowing egg-carrying fleas), and the health risks surrounding young children. As you might suspect, activities such as eating dirt and moving your hands back and forth between your backside and your mouth are not conducive to good, pesticide-free health (it's amazing that so many of us actually survive long enough to grow up given the general nastiness that defines babyhood and early childhood). The book does get slightly technical from time to time, and Gittleman does engage in the art of redundancy occasionally, but this is certainly a valuable and effective book. It makes you think about a danger you have probably never contemplated before, explodes the myth that parasites only cause problems in Third World countries, and helps you take steps to better protect you and your loved ones from the pain and suffering parasites are more than capable on inflicting upon you.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Denial ain't just a river in Egypt!, 11 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This topic, affecting so many millions without their knowledge, and without treatment, certainly has to be one of the few unexplored areas in the public media. Most public media will not "touch" this news. The effects on health are myriad. Gittleman has acknowledged the problem with parasites, both large and gross, and small and microbial. Everytime one comes in from outdoors, digging in the soil, cleaning up after pets, pulling weeds, etc., one must wash doubly, and clean under and around fingernails. The thought of pets kept indoors, being let outside, then going back in and climbing on the furniture, the beds, walking on the countertops, eating from human family dishes, etc., makes my skin "crawl". We are living in a parasitic nightmare, similar to the most abject, filthy slums, here in our arrogant, smug, current style. The image of classy, high-toned people being kissed and licked by their pets, immediately after the pet just licked and kissed its street friends is amusing, isn't it? What do we see in nearly every prime-time TV ad? A pet, licking a child, or "kissing" an adult. Everytime one pets pets of any kind, or grooms them, or cleans up after them, it is safest to assume parasites are there, ready to infect the human. Organic food of every kind may be full of nematodes and other parasites, especially if it has been fertilized with barnyard manure of any age, composted or not. Wash your food, or soak it in mild detergent in water, or even put it in water with a single drop of chlorine, then rinse very thoroughly. Did you know that many herbal treatments for cancer are the same ones used to treat parasitic infection? And you all want to cut down those precious and useful black walnut trees? Gittleman and others, unpopular messengers in a public wholly ignorant about this problem, are doing us a tremendous service with their research and their well-founded advice and simple, effective treatments. The least we can do is read their books, take the cures, and find out their truths by feeling better, and enjoying good health. Parasitic infection could be the background cause of many, many human ills. THANK YOU, Ann Louis and Anne L.Gittleman!
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Parasite Epidemic Finally Exposed and Easy to Understand, 17 Feb 1999
By A Customer
I just loved this book...even though the topic is icky. Ann Louise Gittleman has done a marvelous public service by exposing this silent invader of hidden parasites which is affecting us all in many ways. I ordered the products in her book from Uni Key and you should have seen the creatures of the blue lagoon that came out. Bottom line I feel terrific after the Parasite Clease. This lady sure knows what she is talking about. Thank you, thank, thank you.
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