For years, supermodels, actors and anybody with washboard abs and some public relevance to spare have been pestered for the specifics of their diet, because at the end of the day, we just want to be given that miracle mantra that will take us to our dream bodies.

And Heidi Klum has given us a straightforward answer…well, sort of. For the next few months, the supermodel, 52, in tow with her musician husband Tom Kaulitz, 35, will “deworm and de-parasite for the first time”. During a conversation with the Wall Street Journal, when asked about any specific diet she swears by, she simply said, ““I don’t. I’m going to deworm and de-parasite for the first time”, explaining, “Everything I’m getting on my Instagram feed at the moment is about worms and parasites. So I’m doing a worm cleanse and parasite cleanse with my husband”. As per Heidi’s sources the process is supposed to be “at least” done once a year and given the stats, she also expressed how she felt “really behind”.

Now we’re all too familiar with feeling this phantom sense of FOMO when it comes to health trends, especially when they’re professed so surely by a celebrity. But agreeably given the fact that deworming sounds leaps and bounds more complicated than a simple hack like say, drinking ACV on an empty stomach, we asked some experts to weigh in.

Firstly, what is deworming?

Dr. Sharwari Dabhade Dua, Endocrinologist at Dua Speciality Clinic in GK explains, “Deworming is the process of taking an antihelminthic medicine to remove intestinal worms (helminths) from the body. It is recommended for both children and adults as part of routine preventive care – not only to clear worms, but also to improve nutrient absorption from the gut”. And what does this process exactly entail? “The medicine is usually available as a chewable tablet and can be taken at home”, she clears.

But…

The expulsion of worms from your system isn’t going to come without a price. Dr. Dua lists the side effects as headache, nausea, vomiting, or, in rare cases, severe allergic reactions. She also warns, “It is not recommended for pregnant women. In certain situations, monitoring of blood counts and liver enzyme levels may be required before starting treatment”.

Is it ok to fly solo?

Given that all the procedure involves is popping a tablet, deworming can seem like something you can tackle on your lonesome. But Dr. Dua asserts, “Deworming should always be done under proper medical guidance. Serious worm-related conditions such as neurocysticercosis or hydatid cyst disease can cause severe health problems and need urgent medical attention”.

Nutritional check-in

Dr. Rashi Chahal, nutritionist at GK’s Fortis La Femme, seconds Dr. Dua: “(Deworming) is very, very healthy from a nutritional standpoint because a lot of germs and parasites that are infested in the human body can lead to other concerns such as fatigue, anemia, intestinal fevers like typhoid. This basically means that the nutrition absorption is not happening at its usual pace. So we need to keep up on it. The best way to do this is deworming”, she explains.

As far as nutritional aftercare goes, less is more from the perspective of unnecessarily complicating things. While eating balanced meals should be a rule of thumb irrespective of whether you’ve recently dewormed or not, it’s the only rule to keep in mind following a gut cleanse bout. Dr. Chahal not only insists on a proper balance of carbohydrates, protein, fats and vitamins, but also suggests upping water intake, the latter being important to flush out the gunk and also increase blood volume which in turn enables a smoother flow of oxygen to the organs. Finally, including fruits goes a long way in immunity rebuilding.

Are you considering this health kick for your gut health?

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Heidi Klum is hopping on the deworming bandwagon — we asked experts to weigh in