What the Cyclospora Outbreak Can Teach Us About Food, Health, and Prevention

Nearly 8,000 cases of cyclosporiasis have already been reported across 41 states this year, roughly double the typical number. While the total includes both infections acquired within the United States and those associated with international travel, it represents one of the largest increases ever recorded.

One of the largest outbreaks has been linked by federal investigators to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants across several Midwestern states. The lettuce was traced to growers in central Mexico before entering a complex distribution system that supplied restaurants across multiple states.

For me, however, the bigger story isn’t just the parasite, it’s the food system. This outbreak reminds us that the farther food travels from farm to table, the greater the opportunity for problems along the way—and when those problems occur within a highly centralized distribution network, they can affect thousands of people before anyone realizes something is wrong.

Understanding Cyclospora

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects the small intestine. Most people become infected after eating contaminated fresh produce or drinking contaminated water. Symptoms usually begin about one week after exposure and include:

• Watery diarrhea

• Abdominal cramping

• Bloating

• Fatigue

• Nausea

• Loss of appetite

• Weight loss

One characteristic feature is that symptoms often improve, only to return several days later. Fortunately, most people recover with appropriate medical treatment, hydration, and rest.

A Bigger Lesson About Our Food Supply

For decades, the US has built a food system designed for efficiency and profit at an industrial scale. Produce is harvested in one region, processed elsewhere, distributed through multiple warehouses, and finally shipped hundreds, or sometimes thousands, of miles before arriving on our dinner plates. That system provides year-round convenience, but it also concentrates risk. One contaminated field or processing facility can send the same product into restaurants and grocery stores across dozens of states. 

The recent Taco Bell outbreak is one example. We’ve all borne the brunt of past recalls of fresh produce and fruits due to E. Coli and Salmonella. This doesn’t mean imported food is unsafe or that large farms cannot produce excellent food. Most do an outstanding job. It does remind us that the longer and more complicated the supply chain becomes, the greater the opportunity for contamination to spread widely before it is recognized.

What We Can Learn from Europe

One reason food-borne outbreaks often remain more localized in many European countries is that they have preserved a stronger network of regional agriculture. Small and medium-sized family farms continue to supply neighborhood markets, local restaurants, and nearby communities. Produce frequently travels much shorter distances from field to table.

No system completely eliminates food-borne illness. Shorter supply chains generally offer several important advantages, such as fresher produce, better traceability with faster identification of contamination, smaller recalls, and reduced opportunities for a single source to cause a nationwide outbreak.

America has some remarkable local farmers. Take a look at the robust farmers’ markets here in California. In Santa Monica alone, there are two farmers’ markets—Wednesdays and Saturdays (organic-only) —both conveniently located two blocks from our Santa Monica office. Supporting local farmers’ markets is one of the healthiest investments we can make for ourselves and for our communities.

Buy Local Whenever You Can

Whenever possible, I encourage patients to:

• Shop at local farmers’ markets.

• Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.

• Purchase seasonal produce from nearby farms.

• Ask restaurants where their produce comes from.

• Support family farms in your own community.

Fresh food simply tastes better, as it often has a higher nutritional value because it spends less time in storage and transportation. Just as importantly, buying locally strengthens regional agriculture, improves food security, and helps create a more resilient food system.

Ancient Wisdom Meets

Modern Science

For more than 2,000 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine has recommended eating local, seasonal foods. Ancient physicians observed that nature provides exactly what the body needs at different times of the year. Today’s nutrition research increasingly supports that philosophy. A healthy digestive system and a diverse gut microbiome are central to immune health. Nearly 70 percent of the immune system is associated with the gastrointestinal tract.

In Chinese medicine, we have always believed that digestion is the foundation of health because it transforms food into the energy that nourishes every organ and every immune cell. Healthy digestion prevents illness and often determines how well you recover.

How Chinese Medicine Can Help

If you develop a Cyclospora infection, appropriate medical treatment remains essential. Chinese medicine works alongside—not instead of—modern medical care. We have successfully collaborated with Western medicine to treat patients with parasites and other microbial infections. 

Research suggests acupuncture may help regulate immune function, reduce intestinal inflammation, support the intestinal barrier, and improve recovery after gastrointestinal illness. Studies also suggest acupuncture influences the gut-brain axis through the vagus nerve and may help restore a healthier intestinal microbiome after infection.

Personalized herbal medicine and nutritional therapy can further support healing by restoring digestive function, reducing lingering symptoms, and rebuilding the body’s resilience after the infection has resolved. We use herbs with natural anti-parasitic properties to help your body fight off and recover from parasitic infections. 

Supporting Recovery

During recovery:

• Stay well hydrated.

• Replace lost electrolytes if needed.

• Eat simple, easy-to-digest meals such as soups, rice, oatmeal, steamed vegetables, bananas, and lean proteins.

• Avoid greasy foods, excessive sugar, alcohol, and heavy meals until digestion has normalized.

Prevention Begins Every Day



I share a quote from my translation book, Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine: “The Superior Physician prevents disease before it develops.” That philosophy feels especially relevant today. 

While we don’t want to discourage patients from eating fresh salads and raw fish, we advise you to adopt a preventive mindset. I invite you to discuss parasite prevention and cleansing protocol with our healing team at the Tao of Wellness, with a special menu plan and herbal formula. In a similar way, it follows the veterinarians’ recommended twice-yearly “de-worming” for your dogs. In addition, wash produce carefully, practice good food hygiene, exercise regularly, sleep well, manage stress, and support your healthy gut microbiome with our proprietary probiotics. And whenever possible, choose food grown close to home.

The current Cyclospora outbreak will eventually end, but the lesson it leaves behind should not. Our health begins long before we enter a doctor’s office. It begins in the soil that grows our food, the farmers who care for that land, the communities that support them, and the daily choices we make at our own kitchen table. Longevity isn’t built by one supplement, one superfood, or one medical breakthrough. It grows from thousands of small decisions made over a lifetime. Choosing fresh, seasonal, locally grown food may be one of the simplest and most powerful of them all.