Today, the Japanese gastric cancer surgeon I have English conversation classes with told me about his colleague that keeps a tapeworm in a jar in his office. This colleague had been infected with the tapeworm by unbeknownst means and only discovered it after losing too much weight for unexplained reasons. The tapeworm was identified and he was able to get rid of it by abstaining from solid food (receiving nutrition via IV) and flushing his system with diarrhea inducing chemicals. The tapeworm came out dead and intact. This guy seems rather proud of it and shows it off to people. In the words of my student/doctor as he summed up the story: "No! Why?"
It made me wonder if there was a market for tapeworm dieting though. It is a bit of a repulsive thought, but its a simple process. The hardest parts are getting the worm to grow and then to ensure that it dislodges completely instead of just shedding off its tail end. But think about it: it's totally natural and you wouldn't have do anything but eat normally. The extra organism in your gut would be absorbing calories instead of you. Then at the end you just need to take a weekend to flush it out and you are free and clear. The flushing bit would necessitate medical oversight, but its a good opportunity to set up a spa/ weight control facility and collect some extra charges.
This is such a stupid idea it would only work if one charged absolutely exorbitant fees to make it look justifiable. But with Americans slowly eating themselves to death and our infamous laziness about doing anything to improve our lives, this kind of hands off treatment might hit big.
Then again, maybe not.
Posted by Nutrimentia at September 13, 2003 11:03 PM | TrackBack