Are Leeches the Answer to Weight Loss Without Exercise?

Not many people are willing to get near a leech, but a woman in London keeps them in her house - and claims that they helped her to lose weight.

"They have changed me in so many ways. I used to weigh 20 stone and at 5ft 5in I had a body mass index (BMI) almost three times that of an average woman," said 48-year-old Alex Bogatyriova, as quoted by Mail Online. "Now thanks only to leeches and no diet change or exercise I can buy glamorous clothes."

According to the report, Bogatyriova trimmed down from a size 28 to a 12-14 size. She reportedly lost 9 stones (126 pounds or 57 kilograms) since starting leech therapy, otherwise known as hirudology. She also claims that it improved her sex life.

"I also wasn't interested in sex," she said, "now the leeches have detoxed my system and I have regular treatments to ensure my sex life is the best ever. I feel like a teenager again."

Bogatyriova, a trained electrician, is now a certified hirudologist. She was invited to study alternate health therapy five years ago, and that was where she learned about using leeches for controlling weight. Now, she travels to different places, including India and Europe, to treat clients.

Clinical hirudology, deemed to be an ancient art, is used for addressing conditions such as osteoarthritis, inflammation, muscle cramps, and varicose veins.

"More and more the benefits of leech therapy are becoming mainstream and in fact Britain has the biggest leech breeding firm for medicinal use," she said.

An information sheet provided by Guy's and St Thomas', an NHS Foundation Trust, says that leeches remove clotted blood in delicate areas, which help to improve the flow of blood after reconstructive surgery. It also informs people that there is a small risk of infection as well as bleeding after the leech has dropped off.

For her personal use, Bogatyriova puts leeches in different part of her body such as on her chest, which is said to remove toxins. To improve blood flow, she places them on her feet and also places them on her legs to make scars disappear.

Her "babies," as she calls them, which live in jars in her kitchen, helps her get rid of wrinkles and pimples, and she places them inside her mouth to clean her gums and teeth. Moreover, she puts them on her bottom to get rid of toxins and blood, which she claims help her get rid of the extra pounds as well as improve her sex life. Part of the therapy for the latter involves having to place leeches in the cervix.

"The leeches are counted and put inside the cervix because it is an area rich in blood vessels and that means they remove more toxins are removed and women use the internal leech insertion to improve fertility," she explained.

She said that attaching the leeches don't hurt and they drop off once they're full. She uses those grown for hospital use, not those from the wild.

"The leeches have aided detoxification, helped improve my general wellbeing and using them was the key to weight loss," she said.