too much hygiene is bad for you

[piranha]

ha. for a long time i've had a vague hypothesis (that's really too grandiose a term), wondering whether america's obsession with hygiene might not in some way be partly responsible for what i thought was a disproportionately large number of allergies and autoimmune diseases.

seems there's some actual science in support now.

via wcg.

Comments

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

huh. that hadn't even occurred to me, a link with physical activity -- probably because the heavy motorization to me instantly conjurs up pollution, and that is a really likely culprit for a whole host of issues IMO.

i concur that europeans walk more than noram people. my birth family didn't even have a car. if something was too far to walk i'd ride my bicycle -- every weekday to school, for example, and after school for fun. we also hiked together regularly, and there was PE in school. we had no television, and spent most of the time we might've spent watching playing outside instead. i do think all that was good for my general development. interestingly enough i was always chubby, even though i was quite active and didn't eat abnormally much or any junk food at all -- most people in my family were short chubs, so i think that's genetics and probably the heavy-on-the-carbs family diet.

of course now i am a total bum in comparison. and still no allergies. i haven't had a cold in years, but i ascribe that to not exposing myself much to people in the flesh. :) i never got as many as some other people around me, but i did get more of them when i worked in an office. i basically think i have good genes (in that regard), and an immune system that didn't get fucked with much when i was growing up, and i am still skating on those laurels.

lest it wasn't obvious, i neither think anecdotal evidence proves anything, nor that there is one simple cause for allergies.

[kmd.livejournal.com]

No, no simple cause, but pretty strong correlation in two of the people I have close contact with that their allergies were significantly improved when their level of physical activity went up.

My partner had a *much* more mild experience of allergies this year, despite reports that it was the Worst! Year! Ever! for pollen counts in this neck of the woods. His physical activity has gone waaaayy up in the last couple of years.

And his mother is now working out and hiking to beat the band, and her (very bad) allergies have all but disappeared.

Note: not a syllable about weight. ;-)

No, I wouldn't run out and print this in a science journal, but I would very much like to see someone ask these questions in a more empirical way.

And I hear you about pollution and motorized lives. But my observation in both Ghana and Vietnam was that although the vast majority of folks got around by walking, what motorized transport there was put out the most incredibly noxious fumes, visibly and nose-ally worse than cars in NorAm. Also, regulations on factory pollution are less in the developing world, etc.