Millions acted out of the best intentions, but trusting this ‘bubble science’ could have unintended long-term consequences (including asthma, allergies and worse), which will make your blood boil. What can you do to mitigate them?
From Joseph Mercola, DO.
As reported by The Atlantic in early November 2022, children who aren’t exposed to germs on a regular basis have different microbiomes than those who are. In April 2021, a year into widespread COVID lockdowns and the obsessive focus on antibacterials, microbiologist Brett Finlay predicted that, “five years from now we are going to see a large number of kids with asthma and obesity.”
The “hygiene hypothesis” was initially proposed by epidemiologist Dr. David Strachan in 1989. He believed the rising incidence of allergies was linked to reduced exposure to viruses and bacteria, thanks to smaller family sizes, which means fewer siblings from whom infants are exposed to germs and infections.
In 2003, Graham Rook refined the hypothesis, renaming it the “old friends” hypothesis (a name that never stuck). Rather than including both good and bad germs, Rook’s version of the hygiene hypothesis emphasized the importance of exposure to nonpathogenic (friendly) microorganisms in the building of robust immune function.
According to this narrowed view of the hygiene hypothesis, exposure to nonpathogenic microorganisms is an important way by which immune-mediated chronic disorders are prevented, as they act as immunomodulatory signaling agents, basically training your immune system to function normally and not react excessively or unnecessarily.
The video below reviews how feedback loops in the natural world, where X affects Y and Y affects X, help keep nature in balance and promote resilience in natural systems. The same kind of feedback loops exist within the human body, between microbes and various systems such as your immune system, and between your body and its environment.
