Page 58 - Spring2013
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             Many of us       symptoms diminished. A mycobacterium (M.  our fecal bacteria—not the more recent viruses
             have heard       vaccae) has given relief from asthma, eczema,  like measles and the common cold (Graham
                              psoriasis (an autoimmune disease of the skin),  Rook, page 110). Absence of stimulus? Muscles
           that children      and Reynaud’s (an autoimmune problem affect-  atrophy, dendrites wither. And “the immune
             growing up       ing fingers and toes). Finnish children with the  system that finds itself without microbial pres-

          on farms with       genes disposing them to type-1 diabetes had the  sure grows jumpy (allergies) and turns against
                              benefit of increased resistance to the polio virus.  the self (autoimmunity)” (page 127).
           animals have       Ankylosing spondylitis, in which the immune     Just as the farm protects, so does day care.
         fewer allergies      system attacks a person’s spine, might save its  All those babies sharing their microbes helps
         than city kids.      victim from retroviruses like HIV and hepatitis-  educate the infant immune system. So do un-
                              C.
                                                                         pasteurized dairy products. What happens at
                                  What does this bewildering litany mean?  birth? The baby picks up a lot of maternal mi-
                              One explanation is that those with autoimmune  crobes. This may explain why mothers in China
                              or allergic diseases have inadequate regulatory-  traditionally don’t bathe for several months after
                              T cells, part of the immune battery. Why would  giving birth. They are educating their babies’
                              evolution put up with these genetic deficiencies?  immune systems via introductions to microbes.
                              Perhaps because “. . . the tendencies underlying  Some researchers have wondered why the babies
                              auto-immune disease have a purpose. . . [that]  of non-allergic mothers develop peanut allergies.
                              relates to defense. . . . In the context [of] these  An interesting theory points to the inclusion of
                              infections, [which such] variants evolved to  peanut and related soy oils in many baby skin
                              handle, scientists repeatedly observe that autoim-  balms. The skin does not provide the usual
                              munity materializes much less often.” In other  introduction to proteins, especially not through
                              words, minus those infections, we see the rise in  inflamed diaper rash: “eating proteins. . . usually
                              autoimmune diseases (page 56).             leads to tolerance. . . . An approach via the skin,
                                  The hygiene hypothesis has been kicking  however, is much less ambiguous. It signifies
                              around for a few decades, and many of us have  invasion” (page 287).
                              heard that children growing up on farms with     When it comes to weaning, we have Gerber;
                              animals have fewer allergies than city kids. An  but our ancestors did not. What they did was
                              allergy is a response to an allergen; an allergen is  pre-masticate hard food for babies, as a mother
                              a protein that is less than 63 percent identical to a  bird would for her offspring. This is another
                              human protein. This rules out single-cell bacteria  opportunity for immune education. What shall
                              and leaves us with proteins from multi-cell be-  we give baby today? One virus often passed on
                              ings: plants, fungi, animals. Most of those that  is Epstein-Barre (EBV). If you don’t get it as a
                              bother us come from parasites like fleas, lice and  toddler, you will probably get it after puberty
                              worms. But when mistakes are made, dust mites,  in the form of mononucleosis, because it travels
                              for example, are targeted instead in a “reaction  through saliva. This might not matter so much if
                              meant to expel worms” (page 96).           a correlation between mono as a teenager hadn’t
                                  Airborne infections, like measles or chicken  been linked to a threefold increase in MS. So put
                              pox, do not protect against allergies. For this  aside your squeamishness and start chewing up
                              you need orofecal exposure, surely provided on  food for that baby you love! You will also help
                              farms! One of the veteran researchers in this area  significantly to protect against allergies develop-
                              coined another expression for the phenomenon,  ing by age five. What does this EBV virus do?
                              the “old friend's hypothesis.” He claims that we  Apparently it insinuates itself in the B cells of
                              evolved with worms, microbes, lactobacilli and  the immune system and, if acquired before age
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