A parasitic worm infections sounds like a nightmare, but a new study finds that a type of parasite could actually be the key to living a longer and healthier life.

According to researchers at University College London, helminth parasites have been harmlessly infecting and living inside humans for most of human history. Only very recently did infections begin to decrease, with the better hygiene practices and sanitation methods.

So, because humans have “interacted” with these parasites for thousands of years, researchers believe losing the presence of these worms may actually cause age-associated inflammation.

They believe that carefully controlled hookworm treatments could help protect against conditions like dementia or heart disease.

“A decline in exposure to commensal microbes and gut helminths in developed countries has been linked to increased prevalence of allergic and autoimmune inflammatory disorders – the so-called ‘old friends hypothesis’,” explains study author Bruce Zhang, Undergraduate Assistant at the UCL Institute of Healthy Aging, in a release. “A further possibility is that this loss of ‘old friend’ microbes and helminths increases the sterile, aging-associated inflammation known as inflammageing.”

When a parasitic worm infects the body, it sets up shop in the intestines and gut. This is significant because the gut microbiome plays a big role in inflammation levels.

The good news is that you don’t actually have to be infected with a hookworm to reap the benefits. Scientists have been testing proteins from the worms on mice. The studies have shown promising results, benefitting the rodents’ guts and fat tissues.