Alternative theories abound on why developed countries have such high rates of allergic reactions

[marmar]

from AlterNet:



In a Boston hospital, people are eating whipworm eggs.

Too small to see, they're swigged in cups of tasteless, odorless clear liquid. Once swallowed, they lodge in the gut and produce larvae. They're parasites, known clinically as Trichuris suis. Are they the next big thing in allergy relief?

Pathologist Marie-Helene Jouvin, who launched this study at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with allergist/immunologist Mariana Castells, hopes they are -- and the sooner the better, as America's allergy rate is soaring. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of young Americans with food allergies soared nearly 20 percent in the last decade. Eight percent of children under six now have food allergies. The number of adults with allergies has risen too.

The Boston worm study stems from a scientific hot potato called the hygiene hypothesis, which holds that growing up in developed nations enfeebles our immune systems. When it's not constantly battling dangerous bacteria, "the immune system doesn't know what to fight against," Jouvin says, "so it fights against stuff that isn't supposed to be dangerous, like food.

"As the human immune system matures, normally it learns how to differentiate what is not dangerous from what is dangerous. If you raise children in too clean of an environment, this distinction is missing." ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/health/148949/are_we_killing_ourselves_with_cleanliness_as_number_of_allergy_sufferers_soar%2C_potential_cures_are_more_radical_/