Many people unknowingly enjoy certain foods that can carry a large number of para.sites. To protect your health, it’s essential to prepare and cook these foods thoroughly to kill harmful parasites.

Common foodborne parasites include amoebas, dysentery pathogens, roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, and more. Once inside the human body, these parasites can cause digestive disorders, anemia, inflammation of the stomach and intestines, colitis, and other serious conditions.

Here are some foods to be cautious about:

1. Eel

Eels live in stagnant water environments that are perfect breeding grounds for parasites. Yellow eels especially have a high risk of parasitic infections, with up to 50% potentially infected during parasite breeding seasons. Yellow eels can host at least 15 types of parasites, including roundworm larvae that can affect eyesight by migrating to the eyes, as well as fast-reproducing tapeworm larvae that attack internal organs and the brain.

Prevention: Always wash eels thoroughly and boil them for at least 4-5 minutes before eating.

2. Snails

Snails are delicious but are often “reservoirs” of many parasites. Most snail species live in ponds or stagnant water, making them susceptible to parasitic infections. The most dangerous is Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a type of roundworm larvae.

One snail can carry over 3,000 parasites. Infection can cause fever, headache, stiff neck, and more severe symptoms. Parasites reaching the brain may cause meningitis, memory loss, and even threaten life.

Prevention: Soak, wash carefully, and cook snails thoroughly.

3. Raw or Rare Buffalo and Beef Meat

Buffalo and beef are nutrient-rich but raw or rare preparations are often infected with parasites. Cases of infection, especially with beef tapeworm, have been reported.

Tapeworm larvae often appear in muscles like the tongue, diaphragm, heart, and buttocks of these animals. Once inside the human body, they attach to the small intestine’s lining and absorb nutrients, causing intestinal damage, inflammation, digestive issues, and symptoms such as abdominal pain, poor appetite, weight loss, headaches, dizziness, and anemia. Long-term infection can be life-threatening.

4. Wild Frogs and Snakes

Wild frogs and snakes can carry parasites, particularly frog tapeworm larvae. These parasites can attach to the human intestine and migrate to the brain through the bloodstream.

Prevention: Cook these foods at 100°C for at least 2 minutes to kill parasites.

5. Raw Fish

Raw fish may harbor parasites such as liver flukes. Infection leads to liver damage, abscesses, cirrhosis, bile duct obstruction, and other serious complications.

6. Raw Shrimp and Crab

Raw shrimp and crab can contain lung flukes that infect the lungs, causing coughing up blood.

Many people enjoy raw or marinated shrimp and crab, but vinegar, soy sauce, or alcohol used in marination cannot completely kill parasites.

7. Water Chestnuts

Water chestnuts are nutritious and tasty but are grown in muddy, bacteria-rich environments, making them susceptible to contamination. Boiling water chestnuts briefly (about 15 seconds) can remove oxalic acid and reduce parasite risk.

8. Water Caltrop (Trapa)

Water caltrop, also known as water chestnut, is nutritious and loved for its crunchy, sweet taste. However, it grows in muddy, wet fields prone to bacterial and parasitic contamination. Many people mistakenly eat it raw without peeling, risking ingestion of worm larvae.

Prevention: Peel thoroughly before eating. It can also be boiled or cooked in soups and salads.

Conclusion:

To avoid parasitic infections, always ensure thorough cleaning and cooking of these high-risk foods. Eating safely protects your digestive system, internal organs, and overall health.