Why is it that "immunological diseases -- everything from hay fever and asthma to diabetes and multiple sclerosis - are on the rise in developed countries but remain relatively uncommon in undeveloped countries"? Joel Wienstock, M.D., the chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at Tufts-New England Medical Center has a theory.Kids aren't allowed to get dirty.
"I get about 5,000 e-mails a year from patients all over the world asking what to do," he said. "People know that something isn't right. They keep their kids in the cleanest environments and they get asthma. We get all of these things that were rare becoming common. And a lot of it comes down to hygiene. Excessive hygiene can potentially lead to disease."
Come on kids, get out there on the trail and fall down a few times. All the cool, healthy kids are doing it.
1 comment:
Great post. I saw a blurb on this in The Week magazine. The article ended with something like "playing in the dirt is good for people!" Couldn't agree more.
:)
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