Highlights of Previous Essays. Part 2 of 3.
Today we are going to continue on our walk down the pathway of the parasites and their
effect on our body. Of course I can’t go over every detail, but I can discuss, in general terms,
the ones that have the greatest effect on the general population. So let's get going.
Have you ever heard of Toxoplasma gondii? This is a protozoan parasite that is primarily
associated with felines, IE; cats. This parasite has to pass through the digestive tract of a cat
in order to complete its life cycle. The concern here is the effect it has on behaviors of any
host that it passes through. What the evidence is showing is that it tweaks human behaviors,
human health and even the personalities of humans. One area that it directly affects is the
Amygdala in the brain. This is a part of the brain that deals with decision making, emotional
responses, such as aggression, anxiety and memory. Then next we have the Temporal
Lobe. This is one of the 4 main parts of the brain that deals with comprehension, emotional
association, language and visual memory. The whole of the Temporal Lobe deals with
conscious memory, ie; denotative, episodic memory, which is events, explicit, which is facts.
Then this ties in with the Hippocampus, which is responsible for processing memories,
comprehension of time, processed sensory memories and well in simple terms, just think
memory. Memory and all of its many forms is basically formed, organized and categorized by
the Hippocampus. From here we have the Prefrontal Cortex. Coming into play here. The
Prefrontal Cortex has everything to risk behavior as it applies to visual and explicit memory.
The way it does this is it increases aggressive and risky behaviors. I mention these many brain parts and functions because this parasite directly and indirectly has a direct influence on the brain function of these parts and activities.
Basically, Toxoplasma gondii can only reproduce sexually in cats, the whole feline family is
considered to be the primary and really the only source for the primary infections source.
Toxoplasma gondii can also reproduce in any other host, by asexual means. In that case,
any other host is considered to be an intermediate host.But it still has to pass through a feline to fully complete it's life cycle. It also has been shown that an
environment that is rich in linoleic acid provides for a rich reproductive setting for this
parasite. Oh, BTW, what is this linoleic acid? Omega 6 fatty acid. So if you have an off
balance of Omgea 6, then you are providing an excellently and richly fertilized growing
medium for this parasite to proliferate. Since it is estimated that at least 50% of the world’s
population has been exposed to this parasite, one can’t help but to reason that a lot of
mental health issues can be traced to this one parasite. These numbers of 50% are based
on first world estimates, 3rd. World populations are documented to be higher, like in the 66%
range of the population. Some other gee whizz stuff on this one is that in studies they have
shown that women that are infected are 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide in an infected
population than are men. Some studies have demonstrated that Toxoplasma is responsible
for actions such as road rage. Since there is no vaccine that is available for this parasite,
humans have to rely on sanitation, and above all a strong immune system to provide any
kind of protection from this issue. Recycled water, such as through water treatment plants,
do not kill this parasite. The only water type of treatment that has shown any rate of kill is
with UV-C disinfection. There are all sorts of all over the board issues attributed to this
parasite world wide.
Now to look at some fun findings. People infected with this parasite have a higher correlation and have a higher incidence of schizophrenia than those not infected.
People that have been infected with Toxoplasma gondii have between 1.5 and 2 times
higher rate of studying business management, management and entrepreneurship and
Let's look at another parasite, Malaria.
Malaria is one of the really nasty ones. It is a Protozoan. People become infected when they
are bitten by a Mosquito. Normally, this mosquito is found in tropical areas. The band of
Malaria is a fairly wide band that extends northward and southward from the equator and
circles the globe. Pretty much this Malaria disease is considered to be a 3rd. world disease
issue. But it is alive, well and functioning world wide. A person becomes infected when a
female mosquito is infected with the parasite. The male mosquito of this type does not suck
blood as it eats from plants, IE; he is a vegan. He lives off of nectar. So there is no danger from the male
mosquito. The official name of the mosquito is Anopheles. The actual parasite is known by
the name of Plasmodium. Malaria is just the name of the resulting disease. Plasmodium is a
genus of unicellular Eukaryotes. There are 5 different species of this Plasmodium that
generally affects humans with the P. falciparum being the most nasty one of the 5. Once this
parasite gets into the bloodstream, it makes its way to the Liver. It matures and reproduces.
How fast this happens depends on a number of conditions. Usually, the more immune
compromised the host is, the quicker the person begins presenting symptoms. Sometimes
the time frame is within a week and at other times it can be dormant or appear dormant for years. Since the
areas along the equator tend to be a 3rd. world setting, with high to extreme poverty, those
people are hit the hardest. In children under 5, usually they will present with anemia. The
prospects for their survival are not the greatest, even with treatment. Speaking of treatments,
the first go to drug is a combination of antimalarial drugs including Artemisinin. The
alternatives as a go to are Quinine and Doxycycline, if Artemisinin is not available. If you
read a recent discussion that I did covering Sagebrush essential oil, you will recall that the
key ingredient in the Sagebrush component listing was Artemisinin. Although the source
mentioned in the studies and propaganda for this Artemisinin was of the A.annua variety. The Sagebrush found in the Great
Basin of the Intermountain West is of the P. tridentata variety, both varieties test pretty much
the same with statistically insignificant variations. So the comical thing here is we have the
preferred type of solution as far as treatment is concerned for malaria right here. I just
happen to use it in my Paragone blend. I also use it in a few other bends.
So the thing to remember about Malaria is that it is a blood issue. It affects the blood. It does
so with scary parallels with this whole big last pandemic that we had to deal with. The actual
effective meds that have ended up being used effectively are pretty much antimalarial drugs.
The lack of treatment for that issue and the resultant blood issues manifests some close
similarities to that pandemic base issue of recent memory. An interesting idea here is, since I mention the recent pandemic deal, is that it closely resembles Malaria. The treatments are by and large similar. The only difference that seems to appear is that the vector is different, and there appears to be a possible prion action in place to assist the vector. Other than that, whole really knows? I am just saying what the outline of the picture seems to be introducing.
I must mention the mental health related issues with this parasite/disease. Basically, mental
health is a secondary issue and not a primary issue with this parasite/disease. The front line issues are mostly physical. It does cross the blood/brain barrier. So in that respect, the result is some problems, but not a simple mental health problem.
Let's bring this discussion to a close. We have discussed 2 Protozoan type parasites. One
has profound mental health/behavior implications. The other one has profound physical
implications. Worldwide more deaths are from the Malaria related disease per year than with
the Toxoplasma parasite, but both have profound implications to the well being of a human
being. Although we are closing down this discussion, we are not closing down this series.
We have 2 more groups to cover, even though we touched on the one grouping, the other
grouping is even more profound with its implications to human health and well being. So until
next time, have a good day. KK.
