If you’re munching on your favorite pasta right now, then be ready to digest this article.

It seems that worms aren’t only responsible for sucking all the nutritional intake in our body. Studies show that the Helminth intestinal parasitic worm has a direct line to the gut and communicates with the body’s bacteria to protect the human host.

The bacteria found in our gut, called the microbiome, are responsible for influencing our body’s metabolic function, immune function and even our daily emotions. Don’t worry, these are natural bacteria necessary for our body to function. So, you can put the anti-biotic down.

What does our local resident gut bacteria have to do with the disgusting alien intestinal parasitic worms? The worms apparently have a direct line to the gut bacteria team. In the latest study by Immunity, the parasites can alter the host’s immune system. Helminths are known to have co-evolved with mammals so it’s not a wonder why and how they know their way around the human body.

The only reason the worms are doing this is so they can survive. They are trying to protect the host which in turn protects itself. And they do this by influencing the increased production of short chain fatty acids which activates our body’s receptors that in turn influences the immune system.

But that doesn’t mean worms are good for you. It’s still a health concern especially to developing countries that have children who experience fatigue, pain, weight loss and even dysentery. Worms can be acquired from almost anything that is unsanitary. This article is just one positive note that researchers have found. Helminths are still toxic to the body because of the toxic waste they excrete after consuming the body’s nutrients.

Now, researchers are trying to harness that knowledge and hopefully divert it into becoming a benefit for the body’s greater good.