Is the Farm Theory Still Accurate?
I'm old, so my car radio is set to NPR. As I am driving to the Allergist's office, I am listening to NPR's "Fresh Air" with Terry Goss. Today he is interviewing Theresa MacPhail (a Medical Anthropologist), who wrote a book titled, " Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World" Well, that's ironic, isn't it? I'm listening to an interview about allergies as I am driving to my Allergist's Office....... As I was driving, Theresa MacPhail was talking about the "Farm Theory" (also called the Hygiene Hypothesis). Have you ever heard of that? The theory is that kids are less likely to develop allergies and asthma if they grow up in rural areas, around animals, and in big families. Why? The idea behind this is that when kids are young, they are exposed to lots of germs and infections from older siblings, farm animals and pets, and that helps them build up their immune system. How? The constant exposure to bacteria, viruses,