Parasites are minute organisms that get their nourishment from feeding on other living organisms, called hosts. Parasites are usually transmitted through contaminated food and water and are commonly ingested when you do not properly wash fruits and vegetables. Once you understand how to clean food properly, a raw food diet can be extremely helpful in ridding the body of parasites and other toxins as it works to flush out undesirable debris.

Keeping food parasite free is not difficult with a bit of conscientious application. Always wash your hands before preparing and eating a meal. Always wash your foods, even if they are organic, as soil particles can attach to vegetables and fruits, and these may contain parasites. Buying a vegetable and fruit scrub brush is an excellent way to remove debris from produce. Scrub hard-surface veggies and fruits under running water, even if you are going to peel them as parasites can be stuck on the skins and transferred to the flesh when the food is cut. Also, this is a great way to get rid of residual pesticides and fungicides. Melons, mangoes and papayas as well as potatoes, carrots and the like should all be properly scrubbed. Be sure to periodically clean your scrub brush with a drop of citric seed extract diluted in water.

Wash your lettuces and sprouts in a salad spinner, which is more effective than soaking and rinsing the greens. You can use food grade hydrogen peroxide diluted with water in the rinsing process as this will help kill the parasites.

Non-organic vegetables and fruits can be peeled to reduce parasite infection and to remove other elements that are on the surface of these foods. Though peels are full of nutrients, they can also hold parasites. It is best to buy organic vegetables and fruits and clean them with a scrub brush so you can benefit from the vitamins and minerals in their skins. You can also wash produce such as apples, pears and the like with food grade soap.

Refrigerating your raw foods is a good way to prevent parasites from accumulating. If you are eating dried fruits, they can be populated with loads of parasites, especially if they have been sitting on grocery shelves for a long time. Buy them from trusted organic food stores and refrigerate them when you get home.

Once you are familiar with proper ways of cleaning your food, eating a raw food diet is an excellent way to keep parasites from accumulating in the body. Raw foods create an alkaline condition in the body, in which most parasites cannot thrive. A diet rich in cooked and acid-forming foods attracts parasites, so switching to raw will help sweep them out of the system by loosening mucoid plaque build-up in the intestinal tract. This is where parasites and other toxins love to hang out, eventually penetrating other areas of the body where they interfere with body functions. Because raw foods provide the body with beneficial bacteria, they can be extremely helpful in creating a positive environment that does not support parasites and other toxic invaders.