The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox by Katie Wells

Author:Katie Wells
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale
Published: 2018-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

WHY DIRT IS IMPORTANT FOR KIDS

So what does it all mean for our kids? It means that all of our cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing could be doing more harm than good at times. Much to the chagrin of their mothers (and my husband!), babies have a natural desire to play in the dirt and put dirty objects in their mouths. Turns out, this could have an important immune-developing purpose: “What a child is doing when he puts things in his mouth is allowing his immune response to explore his environment,” Mary Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, wrote in her book, Why Dirt Is Good. “Not only does this allow for ‘practice’ of immune responses, which will be necessary for protection, but it also plays a critical role in teaching the immature immune response what is best ignored.”

After a study found that kids who grew up on farms or with a dog in the house had fewer allergies, research started to explore the importance of the organisms found in these less-than-sanitized environments and how they impacted health. One leading researcher, Dr. Joel V. Weinstock, the director of gastroenterology and hepatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said in an interview that the immune system at birth “is like an unprogrammed computer. It needs instruction.” Public health measures like cleaning up contaminated water and food have saved the lives of countless children, but they “also eliminated exposure to many organisms that are probably good for us.” He continued: Children raised in an ultra-clean environment are not being exposed to organisms that help them develop appropriate immune regulatory circuits.

Dr. David Elliott, a gastroenterologist and immunologist at the University of Iowa with whom Weinstock has collaborated, noted in an interview that intestinal worms, which have been all but eliminated in developed countries, are “likely to be the biggest player” in proper immune system regulation. He added that bacterial and viral infections seem to influence the immune system in the same way, but not as forcefully.

The results of the study American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine published in 2007 shows the use of cleaning sprays four times a week caused an increase in asthma. Sprays that were included in the increase in asthma were glass-cleaning, furniture, and air-freshening sprays.

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