Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
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Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
My kids are going to be super healthy then
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By JANE E. BRODY
Ask mothers why babies are constantly picking things up from the floor or ground and putting them in their mouths, and chances are they’ll say that it’s instinctive — that that’s how babies explore the world. But why the mouth, when sight, hearing, touch and even scent are far better at identifying things?
When my young sons were exploring the streets of Brooklyn, I couldn’t help but wonder how good crushed rock or dried dog droppings could taste when delicious mashed potatoes were routinely rejected.
Since all instinctive behaviors have an evolutionary advantage or they would not have been retained for millions of years, chances are that this one too has helped us survive as a species. And, indeed, accumulating evidence strongly suggests that eating dirt is good for you.
In studies of what is called the hygiene hypothesis, researchers are concluding that organisms like the millions of bacteria, viruses and especially worms that enter the body along with “dirt” spur the development of a healthy immune system. Several continuing studies suggest that worms may help to redirect an immune system that has gone awry and resulted in autoimmune disorders, allergies and asthma.
These studies, along with epidemiological observations, seem to explain why immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and allergies have risen significantly in the United States and other developed countries.
Training the Immune System
“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 new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” (Kaplan). “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.”
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.”
He said that 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.”
“Children raised in an ultraclean environment,” he added, “are not being exposed to organisms that help them develop appropriate immune regulatory circuits.”
Studies he has conducted with Dr. David Elliott, a gastroenterologist and immunologist at the University of Iowa, indicate that intestinal worms, which have been all but eliminated in developed countries, are “likely to be the biggest player” in regulating the immune system to respond appropriately, Dr. Elliott said in an interview. He added that bacterial and viral infections seem to influence the immune system in the same way, but not as forcefully.
Most worms are harmless, especially in well-nourished people, Dr. Weinstock said.
“There are very few diseases that people get from worms,” he said. “Humans have adapted to the presence of most of them.”
Worms for Health
In studies in mice, Dr. Weinstock and Dr. Elliott have used worms to both prevent and reverse autoimmune disease. Dr. Elliott said that in Argentina, researchers found that patients with multiple sclerosis who were infected with the human whipworm had milder cases and fewer flare-ups of their disease over a period of four and a half years. At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Dr. John Fleming, a neurologist, is testing whether the pig whipworm can temper the effects of multiple sclerosis.
In Gambia, the eradication of worms in some villages led to children’s having increased skin reactions to allergens, Dr. Elliott said. And pig whipworms, which reside only briefly in the human intestinal tract, have had “good effects” in treating the inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, he said.
How may worms affect the immune system? Dr. Elliott explained that immune regulation is now known to be more complex than scientists thought when the hygiene hypothesis was first introduced by a British epidemiologist, David P. Strachan, in 1989. Dr. Strachan noted an association between large family size and reduced rates of asthma and allergies. Immunologists now recognize a four-point response system of helper T cells: Th 1, Th 2, Th 17 and regulatory T cells. Th 1 inhibits Th 2 and Th 17; Th 2 inhibits Th 1 and Th 17; and regulatory T cells inhibit all three, Dr. Elliott said.
“A lot of inflammatory diseases — multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and asthma — are due to the activity of Th 17,” he explained. “If you infect mice with worms, Th 17 drops dramatically, and the activity of regulatory T cells is augmented.”
In answer to the question, “Are we too clean?” Dr. Elliott said: “Dirtiness comes with a price. But cleanliness comes with a price, too. We’re not proposing a return to the germ-filled environment of the 1850s. But if we properly understand how organisms in the environment protect us, maybe we can give a vaccine or mimic their effects with some innocuous stimulus.”
Wash in Moderation
Dr. Ruebush, the “Why Dirt Is Good” author, does not suggest a return to filth, either. But she correctly points out that bacteria are everywhere: on us, in us and all around us. Most of these micro-organisms cause no problem, and many, like the ones that normally live in the digestive tract and produce life-sustaining nutrients, are essential to good health.
“The typical human probably harbors some 90 trillion microbes,” she wrote. “The very fact that you have so many microbes of so many different kinds is what keeps you healthy most of the time.”
Dr. Ruebush deplores the current fetish for the hundreds of antibacterial products that convey a false sense of security and may actually foster the development of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. Plain soap and water are all that are needed to become clean, she noted.
“I certainly recommend washing your hands after using the bathroom, before eating, after changing a diaper, before and after handling food,” and whenever they’re visibly soiled, she wrote. When no running water is available and cleaning hands is essential, she suggests an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Dr. Weinstock goes even further. “Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” he said. He and Dr. Elliott pointed out that children who grow up on farms and are frequently exposed to worms and other organisms from farm animals are much less likely to develop allergies and autoimmune diseases.
Also helpful, he said, is to “let kids have two dogs and a cat,” which will expose them to intestinal worms that can promote a healthy immune system.
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By JANE E. BRODY
Ask mothers why babies are constantly picking things up from the floor or ground and putting them in their mouths, and chances are they’ll say that it’s instinctive — that that’s how babies explore the world. But why the mouth, when sight, hearing, touch and even scent are far better at identifying things?
When my young sons were exploring the streets of Brooklyn, I couldn’t help but wonder how good crushed rock or dried dog droppings could taste when delicious mashed potatoes were routinely rejected.
Since all instinctive behaviors have an evolutionary advantage or they would not have been retained for millions of years, chances are that this one too has helped us survive as a species. And, indeed, accumulating evidence strongly suggests that eating dirt is good for you.
In studies of what is called the hygiene hypothesis, researchers are concluding that organisms like the millions of bacteria, viruses and especially worms that enter the body along with “dirt” spur the development of a healthy immune system. Several continuing studies suggest that worms may help to redirect an immune system that has gone awry and resulted in autoimmune disorders, allergies and asthma.
These studies, along with epidemiological observations, seem to explain why immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and allergies have risen significantly in the United States and other developed countries.
Training the Immune System
“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 new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” (Kaplan). “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.”
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.”
He said that 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.”
“Children raised in an ultraclean environment,” he added, “are not being exposed to organisms that help them develop appropriate immune regulatory circuits.”
Studies he has conducted with Dr. David Elliott, a gastroenterologist and immunologist at the University of Iowa, indicate that intestinal worms, which have been all but eliminated in developed countries, are “likely to be the biggest player” in regulating the immune system to respond appropriately, Dr. Elliott said in an interview. He added that bacterial and viral infections seem to influence the immune system in the same way, but not as forcefully.
Most worms are harmless, especially in well-nourished people, Dr. Weinstock said.
“There are very few diseases that people get from worms,” he said. “Humans have adapted to the presence of most of them.”
Worms for Health
In studies in mice, Dr. Weinstock and Dr. Elliott have used worms to both prevent and reverse autoimmune disease. Dr. Elliott said that in Argentina, researchers found that patients with multiple sclerosis who were infected with the human whipworm had milder cases and fewer flare-ups of their disease over a period of four and a half years. At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Dr. John Fleming, a neurologist, is testing whether the pig whipworm can temper the effects of multiple sclerosis.
In Gambia, the eradication of worms in some villages led to children’s having increased skin reactions to allergens, Dr. Elliott said. And pig whipworms, which reside only briefly in the human intestinal tract, have had “good effects” in treating the inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, he said.
How may worms affect the immune system? Dr. Elliott explained that immune regulation is now known to be more complex than scientists thought when the hygiene hypothesis was first introduced by a British epidemiologist, David P. Strachan, in 1989. Dr. Strachan noted an association between large family size and reduced rates of asthma and allergies. Immunologists now recognize a four-point response system of helper T cells: Th 1, Th 2, Th 17 and regulatory T cells. Th 1 inhibits Th 2 and Th 17; Th 2 inhibits Th 1 and Th 17; and regulatory T cells inhibit all three, Dr. Elliott said.
“A lot of inflammatory diseases — multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and asthma — are due to the activity of Th 17,” he explained. “If you infect mice with worms, Th 17 drops dramatically, and the activity of regulatory T cells is augmented.”
In answer to the question, “Are we too clean?” Dr. Elliott said: “Dirtiness comes with a price. But cleanliness comes with a price, too. We’re not proposing a return to the germ-filled environment of the 1850s. But if we properly understand how organisms in the environment protect us, maybe we can give a vaccine or mimic their effects with some innocuous stimulus.”
Wash in Moderation
Dr. Ruebush, the “Why Dirt Is Good” author, does not suggest a return to filth, either. But she correctly points out that bacteria are everywhere: on us, in us and all around us. Most of these micro-organisms cause no problem, and many, like the ones that normally live in the digestive tract and produce life-sustaining nutrients, are essential to good health.
“The typical human probably harbors some 90 trillion microbes,” she wrote. “The very fact that you have so many microbes of so many different kinds is what keeps you healthy most of the time.”
Dr. Ruebush deplores the current fetish for the hundreds of antibacterial products that convey a false sense of security and may actually foster the development of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. Plain soap and water are all that are needed to become clean, she noted.
“I certainly recommend washing your hands after using the bathroom, before eating, after changing a diaper, before and after handling food,” and whenever they’re visibly soiled, she wrote. When no running water is available and cleaning hands is essential, she suggests an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Dr. Weinstock goes even further. “Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” he said. He and Dr. Elliott pointed out that children who grow up on farms and are frequently exposed to worms and other organisms from farm animals are much less likely to develop allergies and autoimmune diseases.
Also helpful, he said, is to “let kids have two dogs and a cat,” which will expose them to intestinal worms that can promote a healthy immune system.
"I really love you" she said. "Is that the champagne talking" he asked. "No" she laughed. "That's me talking to the champagne"
Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Oddly enough I was thinking about worms and children and dogs over the weekend and made a mental note to do a bit of research. But maybe I shouldnt be so worried.
"I really love you" she said. "Is that the champagne talking" he asked. "No" she laughed. "That's me talking to the champagne"
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
What I don't get is why this is all so mysterious. As I constantly find myself saying - it ain't rocket science.
( Although, I'd need some convincing before I could eat a pig whip-worm )
( Although, I'd need some convincing before I could eat a pig whip-worm )
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Strangely enough I had this conversation with a friend this weekend whose 18 month old daughter was merrily sucking sand and muck of her hands at ECP. The parents didn't go crazy when they saw it and just accepted it as a child being a child. One of the problems with the next generation will be the sterile environment they grow up in.
When I were young we used to live in a hole in't middle of't road and it never did me any 'arm.
When I were young we used to live in a hole in't middle of't road and it never did me any 'arm.
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Luxury.Spike wrote: When I were young we used to live in a hole in't middle of't road and it never did me any 'arm.
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
We used to dream of living in a hole in't middle of't road...Spike wrote:When I were young we used to live in a hole in't middle of't road and it never did me any 'arm.
A woman walked into a pub and asked the barman for a double entendre. So he gave it to her.
Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Seems like I read somewhere awhile back that the current generation of kids in Japan are at risk of immunity issues because their parents (and Japanese culture in general) are so germ-o-phobic & they use way too much anti-bacterial soap, etc.
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Mine won't have any immunity issues...eat dirt, play in mud and er, lick up spilt Slurpee off the floor at Jelita Do you think we didn't get some strange looks with that one...oh the shame of it.
Not surprised about the Japanese bit, but I find it like that here and did in HK too...everyone so concerned about what kids can or can't do or eat etc. My kids have always played outside in the rain, mud, grass etc, so often we were the only ones at the playgrounds, and if it rained, well it got very quiet, just us and our kiwi friends to enjoy it.
Not surprised about the Japanese bit, but I find it like that here and did in HK too...everyone so concerned about what kids can or can't do or eat etc. My kids have always played outside in the rain, mud, grass etc, so often we were the only ones at the playgrounds, and if it rained, well it got very quiet, just us and our kiwi friends to enjoy it.
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
How come most the japanese people I know are dirty as hell? In a good way too!
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
because you play rugby in the wintertime ?
So…if you wish to wish a wish, you may swish for fish with my Ish wish dish.
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Yeah, that'll be the one.
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
I'm just rehashing this one - a nice part about being back in Singapore is not seeing that every 2nd kid out there has a bloody alergy to peanuts. Even in my siblings families there are 4 kids that cannot take peanuts. I heard one study where mothers had stopped eating peanuts when pregnant and that simply made the matter worse.
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
I don't know, J27, last August when my kids started at an international school, I was asked not to send peanut butter in their lunches just in case of someone with an allergy. Unfortunately, PB&J is just about my kids' favorite sandwich, so it's been sometimes interesting coming up with sandwiches they like to eat.
Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
slinky wrote:I don't know, J27, last August when my kids started at an international school, I was asked not to send peanut butter in their lunches just in case of someone with an allergy. Unfortunately, PB&J is just about my kids' favorite sandwich, so it's been sometimes interesting coming up with sandwiches they like to eat.
Is peanut butter & jelly sandwiches a popular american food?
Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Yes, very popular in the US especially with kids. However, I feel I should clarify that by 'jelly' I mean jam & not the dessert that I would call Jello
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Very true. Either way, though, I have yet to meet a non-Yank who doesn't think this sandwich is vile. Come to think of it, my own son has had PB&J probably once in his life, and that one time pretty much everyone in the house over here watched in horror like it was child abuse!slinky wrote:Yes, very popular in the US especially with kids. However, I feel I should clarify that by 'jelly' I mean jam & not the dessert that I would call Jello
A woman walked into a pub and asked the barman for a double entendre. So he gave it to her.
Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
I don't get it though -- I don't eat them very often, but every now & then a PB&J tastes pretty darn good! Mr. S eats PB&J on a regular basis. I think it must be a case of not having tried it -- much like the whole Reese's Peanut Butter Cups thing -- I seem to recall a discussion about those - on this site? - and all the non-Americans were appalled by the mere thought of peanut butter & chocolate.............until they tried them - then they were hooked!!Lili Von Shtupp wrote:Very true. Either way, though, I have yet to meet a non-Yank who doesn't think this sandwich is vile. Come to think of it, my own son has had PB&J probably once in his life, and that one time pretty much everyone in the house over here watched in horror like it was child abuse!slinky wrote:Yes, very popular in the US especially with kids. However, I feel I should clarify that by 'jelly' I mean jam & not the dessert that I would call Jello
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
I'm a Reece's peanut butter cup convert. After one bite I became addicted.
nearly as good as vegemite
nearly as good as vegemite
So…if you wish to wish a wish, you may swish for fish with my Ish wish dish.
Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
I rest my casebaloo wrote:I'm a Reece's peanut butter cup convert. After one bite I became addicted.
(But I can't say that one bite of vegemite has made me a convert.... )
Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Does it mean then that peanut allergy is not common in the States because I do get the impression that it is.slinky wrote:Yes, very popular in the US especially with kids.
LVS - I'm a non-Yank and don't think it is vile although can't say the same of Mr. Sate.... i see we are going to have lots of arguments about what Baby Sate should/should not eat. I mentioned candly floss at fairs, nutella , milo etc and he looked at me in horror!
baloo - oh my god, when I first heard of reece's (as in chocolate & peanut butter) i thought it was disgusting but when I tried it in America... it was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo good....
Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
No, peanut allergies are definitely common and on the rise in the US these days. No idea what the cause/reasons are. I know it is not recommended to give children peanut butter until they are about 2 years old, I think - definitely not before one year (I'd have to look it up, now I'm not sure)
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
There's a question for our scientists (and M), what's the cause of the rise in peanut allergies
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
I also don't get the peanut allergy thing. When I grew up the allergy nightmare stories were always about bee stings. Every class seemed to have that one kid who we all knew would die on the spot if stung. But peanuts, how can such an allergy become so ramapnt, and deadly, within only one generation span?
Reese'speanutbuttercupsoooooooooooooohhhhaaaaaahhhhhhhh.
Reese'speanutbuttercupsoooooooooooooohhhhaaaaaahhhhhhhh.
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Re: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
Reese's peanut buttercups should only be eaten with a large glass of water on the side.