There are quite a few scientists that have supported the hygiene hypothesis in one way or another. This is another article that identifies that a perfectly clean and bacteria free life style is actually not the most healthy situation. other article
"That finding is a new twist on the hygiene hypothesis, the idea that
contact with bacteria early in life is crucial for the development of
the human immune system. Skin microbes tied to the diversity of the
natural environment seem to teach the body to calm allergic responses,
researchers report online the week of May 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
The other article also identifies that the recent increase in allergies in children may be due to the lack of biodiversity in the microfauna.
What do you think of these hypotheses?
I think that the whole hygine thing is a bit overrated myself. I can see why things like Brushing teeth twice a day religiously and washing your hands before and after every meal and showering every day of your life are considered "healthy" in today's society but I personally think that it's a little bit ridiculous to live by such standards. The human body was made to fight off infections and bacteria. Mankind did not start off with the ideal one shower a day and yet primitive peoples and relativley modern peoples of just 100 years ago managed to survive. Just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good thing to have good hygiene, but without bad bacteria getting into our body so good bacteria can fight it is very important. Good bacteria needs to learn what is not supposed to be in the body and without doing this it will not know how to identify and you become sick in the end anyways.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Charles, considering we now have things like Germ X and anti-bacterial soap, when back in the day they were fine with just regular hand soap. In the study, they found that kids who grow up nowadays with these things are more prone to having allergen sensitivity than they were simply 10-15 years ago. I also agree with Anna when she talks about the bad bacteria pretty much helping our immune system because our body was meant to fight off infections. Without the bad bacteria the good bacteria would eventually be useless. In the article is states, "..the more natural biodiversity where the kid grew up, the less likely he or she was to be sensitive to allergens." This just proves that we don't necessarily need all of the anti-bacterial things in life. Don't get me wrong, personal hygiene is very important, but there is such a thing as taking it too far.
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