In the United States there seems to be an increasing number of people affected by asthma and allergies.  These conditions are especially prevalent among children.

One reason put forward is that Americans have become more focused on cleanliness, to the point where we have created problems.

Overuse of antibiotic soaps and cleansers has reduced our exposure to pathogens, or germs, in our environment.  Because our bodies have been designed to fight these germs, to develop a healthy immune system, when we severely reduce our environmental exposures it is theorized that our bodies over-react.  They become sensitive to increasingly more substances, most of them environmental or food exposures.  

As odd as it may sound, the research supports this.  Studies show that children who grow up in rural areas, especially non-Westernized countries, with more exposure to a wider range of microbes, have a vastly reduced rate of allergies.

Western Lifestyle, Diet Tied to  Allergies and Intestinal Disease

Of increasing interest to me is the concept that this hyper-clean state that we've created has affected our intestinal health which in turn leads to more problems.  Gary Huffnagle, co-author of The Probiotics Revolution has gone a step further with the hygiene hypothesis and developed a concept that he calls the microflora hypothesis.  He posits that our Western lifestyle and diet have altered our microflora, our ecosystem, and opened us up to more allergies and, by extension, more digestive disorders.  By not gaining exposure to a wider range of microbes we are unable to build an ecosystem that is fully supportive of our overall health.

Part of the reason that this is so fascinating to me is that in working with clients I am also seeing more and more digestive health issues. And I believe the numbers are rising.  More leaky gut, more IBS, IBD, more dysbiosis.  Dr. Liz Lipski, the author of Digestive Wellness, shows, in her work, that the immune system is very strongly tied to digestive function.

Foods to support your gut

In order to support our health, we need to stop killing off our symbiotic partners, those bacteria that inhabit our gut, through the overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial products.  We also need to feed and support these probiotic colonies.  What do they eat? Prebiotics.  Their food comes from insoluble fibers found in our food.  Berries, onions, legumes, oatmeal, and other whole grains support not only the probiotic bacteria but also help maintain good bowel health.  

We also need to re-inoculate our systems with a steady supply of healthy bacterial colonies. Those are found in fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, and kimchi.  You do not need to eat an overwhelming amount of these on a regular basis, but they should be a regular part of your diet.

Research does not, as yet, appear to show how much we can reverse the effect on our immune systems, but we certainly can keep it from continuing to decline.  Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, speaking at a Wise Traditions Conference in Dallas, stated, "We are a shell, a habitat for our eco-system."  We need to support our ecosystem.  We can also protect future generations by focusing on and acknowledging that the ecosystem needs to be fully supported in order to function properly.

[expand title="Sources"] 

Liu, Andrew H. "Revisiting The Hygiene Hypothesis For Allergy And Asthma". Journal Of Allergy And Clinical Immunology, vol 136, no. 4, 2015, pp. 860-865. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2015.08.012. Accessed 

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