Eating cabbage can lead to worms in the brain, right?

Manoj Pandey has authored more than sixty research-oriented articles for this web magazine, covering a wide range of subjects related to Science and Health. Additionally, he has produced several videos focusing on health topics. This article is derived from one of those videos, which discusses the truth about “worms in the cabbage which can damage brain”. Please continue reading.

Eating cabbage can lead to worms in the brain, right?

Manoj Pandey

You might have seen alarming videos on YouTube or television claiming that worms found in cabbage can invade the human brain, leading to serious diseases. If you haven’t encountered such a scary video, a quick search for “cabbage worms and brain infection” will reveal numerous sensational reports.

So, are these frightening claims entirely fictitious? The answer is both yes and no.

It is true that consuming cabbage (or any raw vegetables) contaminated with a certain type of worm-eggs can result in worms reaching our brain, making it their home, and causing a deadly brain disease. But that is a half-truth, told often to scare the reader or viewer, make the video viral, and make some money from the views gained online.

The Truth of Cabbage Worms Entering the Brain 

What actually happens is that when people eat raw vegetables and fruits, which are infected with eggs of a worm – called tapeworm - they might get a life-threatening disease of the brain, called neurocysticercosis. 

In this disease, tapeworm eggs entering the food canal reach the person’s intestine, where they convert into small larvae or worms, and the larvae travel to different parts of the body, including the brain. There they live inside a cyst. These cysts cause discomfort and some damage to the brain tissue; however, serious symptoms develop when, in trying to fight the cyst, our immune system goes on an overdrive. The swelling of the brain tissue (and other nervous tissue) caused by the body’s own action, in turn, can lead to double-vision, headache, even epilepsy.
Let us now see from where these eggs reach the food. Tapeworm is an intestinal parasite mostly infecting humans when they eat poorly-cooked pork. The tapeworm keeps releasing lakhs of eggs into the intestine of the infected person, and these go out with his faeces. When human dirt mixes with soil or water, the eggs attach to that food or water. 
In India, where the cultivation, washing, storage and sale of fruits and vegetables is often less than hygienic, these eggs can easily infect the food. This is only because pork eating is not common in India that neurocysticercosis is not a major health issue - but it is not uncommon either.

So, why is cabbage the culprit? And, do the worms seen in cabbage not really enter the human brain? 

These are the untruths intentionally, and sometimes ignorantly, served to us. Cabbage is only as big a carrier of tapeworm eggs as other vegetables eaten raw (e.g. carrot and radish), fruits and herbs (e.g. mint and coriander leaves). Not washing hands before eating food is also a big reason for neurocysticercosis. 
The worms seen in cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, lahi-sarson and peas are just larvae of insects, and, as we discussed earlier, have nothing to do with the worms that reach the human brain. 
Keep eating cabbage, you say?

Yes, and keep eating other veggies. 

However, avoid salad, green chutneys and food with raw veggies (e.g. burgers, wraps and rolls) in restaurants where there is a chance of their improper cleaning and handling. At home too, clean vegetables, especially root vegetables and greens, properly before use.

*********** 

मनोज पाण्डे  इस वेबसाईट में स्वास्थ्य और विज्ञान विषयों पर लिखते रहते हैं। उनका ब्लॉग आप https://manoj-pandey.blogspot.com पर देख सकते हैं। उनके videos आप यू ट्यूब  पर hindi health videos के नाम से  देख सकते हैं या इस लिंक को कॉपी-पेस्ट कर लें। youtube.com/channel/UCHBSC1fL07pBpfvi9h-7P4A 
 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the personal opinion of the author and do not reflect the views of raagdelhi.com.