Is The Tapeworm Diet Safe?

Society today makes it so hard for women, young girls, and even men to be happy with their bodies. Our thighs are too big, our muffin tops hangover every pair of jeans in our closet, and don’t even get me started on our arm flab. The constant criticism and expectations dished out by society lead to limits being tested, and cause some people to take “dieting” way too far.

Turn on the TV right now and I bet you will see an ad for the newest Fad Diet, the doctors will promise its easy, will tell you it works and will trick you into thinking it’s safe. But in reality these things we disguise as pills and injections are actually deadly. The specific Fad Diet we will be looking at here is the “Tape Worm Diet”. We will look at what it is, if it works and if it is safe.

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What is it?

Yes, this diet is as gross as it sounds. There are only a few countries to offer and promote such an unsafe, barbaric and atrocious practice, and Mexico is one of them. This diet is done in a five step process, each one being inevitable after jumping in feet first. Mizpah Matus, from Dietblog.com explains exactly what these steps are.

Step one: Upon arrival each patient is given a “beef tapeworm cyst”. This is done in one of four ways; by eating a live worm, by eating a tapeworm egg, by swallowing a tapeworm pill, or by slurping up tapeworm soup. (Each tapeworm costing $1500).

Step two: Once the tapeworm settles into its new home, aka the human’s intestines, he hooks himself to the intestinal wall.

Step three: Once stationary the tapeworm starts to eat half of the calories consumed each day. This is where the weight loss starts to happen. The tapeworm eats half of what the human has eaten, so not only does he steal the hosts food, but also all the nutrients and vitamins that each piece of food contains.

Step four: Once the host is at their ideal weight they consult a new doctor and are prescribed a “deworming agent” which will kill the tapeworm.

Step five: Once the tapeworm is dead his corps will be expelled from the host body via bowl movements.

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Does it work?

Now that we know exactly what it is, we need to question if it is actually effective in removing unwanted weight. Very few reviews have stated that this was actually the case, whether this is due to the fact that it doesn’t work, or the mounds of humiliation one must feel after realizing how idiotic this was in the first place, I’m not sure. Nadia-Elysse Harris, for Medical Daily, writes an article on Dr. Michael Mosley; a man who infected himself with the tapeworm specifically to see if this diet works. After 6 weeks of living with a tape worm, Dr. Mosley realized that he was eating carbohydrates and sugars more commonly, resulting in gained weight, two pounds to be exact. Although this diet didn’t work for Mosley, through history some rumors have gone around that its worked for others. One prime example is the opera singer, Maria Callas. According to philly.com, Callas reportedly lost 80 pounds. Rumor or truth we may never know, but it’s always a possibility. Another thing to consider while questioning its effectiveness is that each person will most likely put the weight back on once the tape worm is removed.

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Is it safe?

Effective or not, one needs to look at the risk before committing to house a worm. By practicing the tapeworm diet, one’s safety is definitely at risk. The side effects are:

  • Bloating
  • Malnutrition
  • Headache
  • Nausea
  • Intestinal Blockages
  • Abdominal pain
  • Constipation
  • Weakness
  • Diarrhea

Amongst the side effects listed above, death is a possibility. Consuming a tapeworm could be deadly, not only if not done irresponsibly, but also because the human body will not be getting the nutrients it requires. In 2009, Tyra Banks did a segment on her show talking about the Tapeworm Diet. Banks proceeded to highlight all the negatives of this deadly practice, and even hosted a parasitologists, who supported Banks in the statement that this diet is unsafe.

In conclusion, the Tapeworm Diet is unsafe and ineffective. Is losing a few pounds worth becoming the home to a parasite that can be up to 20 to 30 feet long? The safest and smartest way to go about losing weight is to eat healthy and exercise regularly.  As a college freshman currently fighting off the freshman fifteen, I know how hard it can be to stick to a healthy lifestyle. Contrary to what some may say, it is possible and it can be done without having to go to Mexico, or ordering a tapeworm off the internet.

Citations

  • Golden, Janet. “Still can’t lose weight? There’s always the tapeworm diet”. The Inquirer Daily News. March 2014. Link
  • Harris, Nadia-Elysse. “Does The Tapworm Diet work? Dr. Michael Mosley Infects Himself, Gains Weight”. Medical Daily. February 2014. Link
  • Matus, Mizpah. “Tapeworm Diet: History, Methods, and Dangers”. Diet Blog. Link

Video Citations

  • Schuler, Brian. “Tyra Banks – Tapeworms”. You tube. October 2012. Link
  • Buford, George. “Tapeworm Diet Plan”. You tube. July 2009. Link

Photo Citations

  1. Matsui, Christ. Fusion Trained. “The Evolution of Weight loss Diets”. September 2014. Link
  2. Lewis, Philip. Science.Mic. “The Tapeworm Diet Is an Actual Thing and Here’s Why You Should Never Do It”. February 2016. Link
  3. Harris, Nadia-Elysse. “Does The Tapworm Diet work? Dr. Michael Mosley Infects Himself, Gains Weight”. Medical Daily. February 2014. Link

7 thoughts on “Is The Tapeworm Diet Safe?

  1. Stephanie Keyaka

    Hi Abigail,

    I am with Kaitlyn and Dana! I absolutely hated it when people go to extremes to achieve a desired weight/size. I am even more appalled at how this is even a thing/trend someone will consider. I mean don’t get me wrong, I know the gym and regular dieting doesn’t produce immediate results but come on, to actually put your body in physical danger to achieve this is insane. To add to the link Dana shared, here’s more terrifying things people have considered to lose weight. I felt myself actually cringing going down the list.

    https://www.360nobs.com/2014/07/10-insane-things-people-have-done-to-lose-weight-dont-try-number-5/

  2. Kateryna Okhrimchuk

    Hey Abigail,
    I’ve never heard of the tapeworm diet until I read your blog and I’m so grossed out by the idea of someone purposely eating a tapeworm to lose weight. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve tried all sorts of stupid “fad diets” to try to lose weight, like the Russian gymnast diet which consists of orange juice, a fruit salad, and 8 baby carrots a day for one week (which now I know is EXTREMELY stupid, but my 15 year old self thought that that was a great idea). What people don’t seem to realize, though, is that they’re going to gain all the weight back after they go off of crazy diets like this one. According to this article ( http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2015/03/diets_do_not_work_the_thin_evidence_that_losing_weight_makes_you_healthier.html ), 95% of people gain the weight back after stopping a diet. A better alternative to the tapeworm diet would be to change your lifestyle and eat more fruits, vegetables, and do things like stop eating after 8 PM. Instead of trying to “cheat the system”, you’ll be guaranteeing that the weight you lose actually stays off while being healthier, more active, and even happier in the long run.

  3. Sean Kyle Reilly

    Hey Abigail!

    Diets are commonly associated with being fads, even those that provide somewhat effective benefits. The long list of odd diets, such as the tapeworm diet you posted about, will only continue to grow as time goes on. My personal favorites are the ones claiming you can shed pounds extremely fast (such as the Hollywood ‘Miracle’ Diet) and odd ones where wearing a piece of jewelry will somehow effect your weight gain and loss (https://www.southuniversity.edu/whoweare/newsroom/blog/bizarre-fad-diets-and-exercises-for-quick-weight-loss-87983).

    According to the Public Library of Science, however, the best way possible to avoid these ‘fad’ or ‘bad’ diets is to do something every one of us is already doing… get educated! Simply by going to school and becoming more educated and well-rounded individuals, we can increase the chances that we are not eating incorrectly and actually pay attention on how to properly manage our weight in a healthy manner (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0078390).

    I found your post to be very informative though, and I wish you the best of luck throughout the semester!

  4. Stephanie Keyaka

    Hi Abigail,

    I am with Kaitlyn and Dana! I absolutely hated it when people go to extremes to achieve a desired weight/size. I am even more appalled at how this is even a thing someone will consider. I mean don’t get me wrong, I know the gym and regular dieting doesn’t produce immediate results but come on to actually but your body in physically danger to achieve this is insane. To add to the link Dana shared, here’s more terrifying things people have considered to lose weight. I felt myself actually cringing going down the list.

    https://www.360nobs.com/2014/07/10-insane-things-people-have-done-to-lose-weight-dont-try-number-5/

  5. Dana Corinne Pirrotta

    I’m with Kaitlyn ! Tape worms are definitely extremely gross… I used to live in Japan, and as children we went on a field trip to a hospital, where the doctors showed us jars of ENORMOUS tapeworms they had removed from patients. These buggers were all at least 30 feet long, and we all learned a big lesson on hand washing and avoiding playing in the dirt.

    I think it is absolutely insane that people will pay $1500 for a tapeworm diet trick. I mean, I think all of us have tried some sort of crazy diet or cleanse, but eating a tapeworm?!?! And PAYING to eat a tapeworm?!?! So gross! I really hope this is not something people are still doing, especially after reading all of the negative side effects you listed. It is so sad that some individuals feel pressure to change their bodies to the point where they eat a parasite. I really hope that one day all these unhealthy weight loss fads all fade out. My Mom is a fitness instructor and stuff like this really gets to me because the only true way to live a healthy life style is to eat right and exercise. Here is an article that lists some of the other crazy diets people have come up with over the years.

  6. Kaitlyn A Kaminski

    Hi Abigail,

    You just completely grossed me out, congratulations on that! Haha, but in all seriousness- I have always been creeped out by tapeworms. The fact that they can grow 20-30 feet amazes me! I would think they’d be more dangerous than good because they’re eating everything in you, who knows if they’re effecting your intestines, creating a hole somewhere or damaging something important? I think everyone should stick to exercising and watch the dieting-so never work and are just as dangerous as a tapeworm. I never understood why people would swallow a parasite that can destroy you… just the thought of it living inside me and moving around completely freaks me out because it shouldn’t be there. Watch “Monster Inside of Me” and you’ll never want to look at parasite pictures ever again.

    Here’s an article on why you should never do the tapeworm diet- https://mic.com/articles/135917/the-tapeworm-diet-is-an-actual-thing-and-here-s-why-you-should-never-do-it#.elD63PdQE

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