Eat More Dirt

by Emily Matchar, Posted Jan 28th 2009 @ 3:00PM

I was always the kind of kid who put stuff in my mouth that didn't belong - wooden stacking blocks, my mom's car keys, the occasional earthworm. I loved the feel of a bit of sand in my sandwich, and I could never keep my teeth off my deliciously grimy fingernails. Now, as an adult, I rarely get sick, despite my predilection for taco trucks, Indian street food and pork products of dubious origin. Is there a connection?

In this week's New York Times health section, Jane Brody writes about what's known as the hygiene hypothesis - the theory that ingesting plenty of bacteria and viruses as a child can help develop a healthy immune system. Though no one disputes that public health measures like sewer systems and food production regulation have improved overall health immeasurably, studies have also shown higher rates of autoimmune disorders, allergies and asthma in people raised in ultra-clean environments. Basically, their systems don't "learn" to deal with foreign bodies, and become ultra-sensitive, attacking even normal tissue. Some research even suggests that deliberately infecting patients with worms can help treat certain auto-immune issues.

While most of us aren't going to go out and deliberately swallow pig whipworms, I think the hygiene hypothesis lends support to the increasingly widespread idea that it's OK to eat foods that fall outside the (supposedly) sterile confines of corporate agriculture. So let's all eat some raw milk cheese, cook some antibiotic-free meat, buy some gnobbly farmers market carrots with clods of earth still clinging to the tops. And maybe a little mud pie for dessert.

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Filed Under: Science, Newspapers, Health & Medical
Tags: agriculture, dirt, health, science

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-28-2009 @3:30PM Luis Antonio said... And why do you think that mexican food is a stereotypical killer for americans, but not mexicans? immune systems. There's a saying in mexico that roughly translates as let the kid's hide get thicker, let 'em play in the dirt!!! E Colli outbreaks? sure, your bodies aren't used to the bacteria anymore!

ok, ok, sorry for my rant, I recently talked to a friend of mine that's setting up a restaurant in the LA area and mand I just couldn't belive the outrageously silly laws the health department put down, like having an escabeche (a sort of pickling technique) under 30F c'mooon!!! it's an acidic medium!!! very few bacteria can thrive in it!! measure PH for god's sake, not just temperture!!

But oh well I'll keep enjoying the cheeses my uncle makes with raw milk of course and our supposedly mercury-laden blue and yellow fin tuna. And don't even get me started on wines, yes, they ALL contain sulfites!!!

and again, I beg your pardon for ranting.
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1-28-2009 @3:59PM Monika said... In my world, it's more than a hypothesis. I eat week-old leftovers, I don't go overboard with cleaning, I only rarely use medication, etc. The result? I can count on one hand the number of times I've been sick in the last decade. The few times I have, it was no more than 3 days, and usually more like one day or overnight.
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1-28-2009 @7:43PM Rt said... Certainly the survivors of European plagues were able to invade other continents by being the carrier of diseases while being immune from them. However, to my limited knowledge non of those plagues were food borne - rats/fleas, sewage treatment, and infection (like the flu) seem to be much worse.

In the old days, perhaps today as well - I don't eat out much, it seemed the best dives (non chain restaurants) were always being cited by the health inspectors. Finding the balance is the difficult part.

The health department errs on the side of caution while they, and others, benefit from alarmism (aka, alarmisticness, and fear mongering :).
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