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Kids Who Grew Up on Farms Have Fewer Allergies

  • September 28, 2016

Researchers have concluded that people who grew up on farms have fewer allergies and lung problems such as asthma and rhinitis, according to a new study in the British Medical Journal. This is the first study to report on adult benefits of farm life.

This adds to previous research on how other aspects of farm life can help or harm your health. For example, whether they live on a farm or not, kids who drink raw milk have less asthma and allergies. But, on the down side, there is also a link between food allergies and the antibiotics used on farms with confined feeding operations (CAFOs).

While you may not be able to pick up and move to the farm, this highlights the need to be aware of compelling reasons to eat organically, and to avoid both antibiotic and pesticide exposure. In the case of meat and other animal products such as eggs and dairy, your best bet is organic grass-fed or pastured varieties, as organic standards forbid antibiotic use for non-medical reasons.

Also, organic foods have higher levels of important antioxidants than conventionally grown foods, which have been documented to contain far less vitamins and other nutrients than they did decades ago, before factory farming became the norm.

And, speak with your pocketbook when you go to the store: boycott foods that use QR smart labels, which force you to look up a product’s ingredients, and support suppliers that plainly label their products’ ingredients.