Yesterday's lead news feature in USA Today on the merits of the hygiene hypothesis, a popular topic on my Web site for many years, shows conventional medicine may be heading, albeit far too slowly, in more natural directions.
The gist of the piece is a growing number of studies that have and will likely validate what we already know: Exposure to dirt, bacteria and disease in childhood can serve as natural vaccines that boost your immune system and lessen your risks of getting sick.
Safer solutions are a must, considering more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies, costing this nation's health system a frightening $18 billion annually. No doubt, much of this spending can be blamed on asthma, especially useless drugs that can be fatal to your health.
Please understand, the world you live in today is not the place your body was meant to live in. You were meant to have regular contact with dirt and everything it comes with. When you do so, especially growing up as a child, it trains your immune system to function correctly.
USA Today March 20, 2006