Pets, farm animals ..and germs and worms, prevent allergies and autoimmune disease

SXC.hu 144821

Don’t play in the dirt, or walk barefoot... We can’t have pets, because they carry germs... We have a baby – the house must be spotless so we’ll get rid of the dirty animals – wise advice? Acording to advice from Corinna Bowser Md., based on comprehensive research, maybe not .   

Our babies should probably be exposed to plenty of dust containing faecal bacteria, and one of these days, we might even have to take capsules to infect us with worms..EEEK! 
 

Since 1989, when David Strachan proposed his Hygiene Hypothesis in British Medical Journal, evidence is growing that our modern home environment is too sterile. Researchers believe there is a strong link with the meteoric rise in allergies and autoimmune diseases, and insufficient exposure of babies to dirt. According to a book, “The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies gone haywire in a World out of balance, by Donna Jackson Nakazawa”, one in nine women of childbearing years has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease ie. a condition where the immune system attacks its own body, such as Crohns, Lupus, MS, Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, celiac disease eg. 2009 research from the Mayo Clinic, Sciencedaily.com, shows that young people are 4.5 times more likely to have celiac disease, than people 50 years ago.
Research from Ball, et al 2000, New England Journal of Medicine, 343, (8) 538 -43,  showed that children from big families, those who attended daycare, or who lived on farms (Swiss researchers, 2002) ,had fewer allergies such as asthma and hayfever.  Dennis Ownby and researchers, JAMA, vol. 288, no. 8, August 28, 2002 963-972, showed that children who live around two or more dogs or cats before their first birthday, are less likely to have allergies of any sort.
 

It seems that bacterial endotoxins (from faecal bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli), are important for the development of the child’s immune system, so that it doesn’t overact to harmless allergens in the natural environment, such as pollen.

Apparently we've also overdone the deworming - we need some worms to prevent immune system problems. Various researchers such as Dr. John Fleming of UW Madison, Maria Yazdanbakhsh and researchers (Netherlands), Dr. David Elliot (Univ Iowa), Dr. Joel Weinstock (Tufts), New York Times, 2009 , and Joseph Jackson et. al, have shown that the persistent immune challenge offered by intestinal worms such as the pig whipworm, reduces allergic disorders by redirecting misguided immune systems.