Pete Dixon

I should have added, an every two month inoculation cycle isn't something I would have considered pre-being able to incubate as the cost would have been prohibitive. ~$200 a pop X 6 =  $1200+ a year is a lot. But now that hookworm larvae are free, I can pick whatever inoculation cycle I think might suit me best.

Monthly seems too much of a hassle. 5 months risks hookworms aging out/symptoms returning, and possibly a reduction in eggs being available for incubation. 3 months would probably be fine, and I might try that later. The goal is to always have a sufficient, healthy but not excessive number of hookworms working in the gut at any given time.

Hey Pete, I forgot about you for a few months but just happened to see an entry in my email, came here and read a few more posts.  Reading this one made me wonder, what would happen if you kept using hookworms but also tried to avoid gluten?  I haven't done the reading to understand how the hookworms help, but I also don't see much value to eating wheat when there are so many tasty and more nutritious grain alternatives.  Some avoid wheat for other reasons, perhaps especially because in the US it's likely to be contaminated with glyphosate.  Wheat is not a GMO but farmers spray the fields before wheat harvest to dry it out, so the glyphosate ends up in our food, sometimes in alarmingly high amounts.  Some in my health groups say they can eat wheat in Europe but not in the US and they attribute this to glyphosate content.  I just did a bit of reading and it's hard to figure out exactly, but it's definitely banned in Italy and so many people enjoy visiting and eating in Italy for that reason.

I've been gluten-free for my Hashimoto's since 2013.  I had never noticed a gluten reaction, but going gluten-free definitely took away all my Hashimoto's symptoms, and my understanding is that I need to be gluten-free for life to avoid triggering the AI attack on the thyroid gland.  Dr. Datis Kharrazian, Izabella Wentz, and others are my experts on this.  gluten-free cleared up my acne, chronic joint pain/swelling, plantar fasciitis, poor immunity (I had started catching EVERY virus that came along) and best of all it got rid of my brain fog.  That alone would keep me gluten-free!  I don't have anyone in my family with diagnosed celiac disease, but from all I've learned in the last 10 years, I think my grandma might have been celiac, at least in the later years of her life.  I had to listen to endless complaints about bloating and IBS, and she was also hypothyroid which I've now learned is almost always Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroiditis).

Just recently I experimented with some homemade bread made from freshly milled organic wheat, after listening to some podcasts by Sue Becker, and had no obvious reactions until I realized the timing coincided with a couple of weeks of really bad depression.  I never want that again!  Thankfully it gradually went away and I'm okay now.  Maybe someday I'll experiment again but not soon!  She was just so convincing, I thought I could go ahead and take one chance after all these years.  I think I also noticed some joint pain, but that is also triggered by too much sugar so I'm not sure.

I'm sure you know all the stuff in this letter below, but I think it's such a great summary, I just shared with someone else and I want to paste it here as well.  My understanding from recent reading is that the primary symptoms of gluten sensitivity are neurological.  Most people never even consider that.  I believe I could connect some random neuropathy pain to my gluten experiment as well.

I'm so impressed by your experiment, your scientific process, and you courage to do what some find "gross." 

Hi Diana,

The hookworms are a must for me as the improvement in colitis is life changing. Not having to worry and gluten or gluten contamination is simply a huge plus. You might remember the last time when I wrote about being without hookworms and consumed a meal of non-gluten-free oatmeal. I suffered a complete bowel evacuation and darn near passed out, and that was just from what I presume was a tiny exposure to gluten.

I very much like not have to worry about such things. I don't even carry around glasses to read the fine print of ingredient lists. It's wonderful. Not to mention, gluten is delicious!

Funnily enough, I know a great deal about mental health and diet. For twenty-five years I suffered mood swings, mostly depression. That all went away when I quit coffee cold turkey. I'm positive gluten isn't affecting my mood, as I've been stable ever since I went coffee-free.

I have considered moving to a veganesque diet simply for weight control. I would still consume gluten, but only as a treat instead of the near mainstay of my diet that it is now.

For me, the risk of gluten is immunological, catastrophic reactions. Hookworms fix that. Does Glyphosate have a negative effect on my health? Dunno. Nor do I know about microplastics. I expect microplastics are worse.

Right now I'm focussing on these gross reactions. While wormed, I've never had an issue with gluten. Meat of any kind used to provoke horrible colitis. Now only peanut seems to be an issue. It's great progress.

Incidentally, I do know someone who has been on hookworms for a year and half having great success with gluten induced neuropathy. His hasn't been a 100% resolution, more like 95%, but he's still over the moon about it. 

I forgot to address the 'gross' factor you mentioned.

Over these last six years that I've been doing HT I've come to greatly respect Necator americanus. It's supremely adapted to humans, and I believe its presence is actually a requirement for good health for many people. I think I read that most all mammals carry hookworms in their gut in nature. It's a normal thing.

The rash from the inoculation is temporary and can be covered up. No biggie.

The amount of stool required for the jars is actually quite small and doesn't particularly smell, and not at all when the jar is sealed. Anyone dealing with a baby has it far worse off than me.

I never sense the hookworms' presence in my gut. Without them around, I suffer, a lot.

To my mind the balance weighs heavily in favor of hosting, especially now that it's free.