Why our Western diets and obsession with cleanliness are to blame for the soaring number of allergies
June 01, 2015
English: Basic morphological diferences between bacteria. The most often found forms and their asociations. Français : Formes bactériennes les plus courantes et leurs associations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Western diets and an emphasis on sterile, germ-free food has made us more likely to allergies, new research suggests. A lack of bacteria in the gut means we are less equipped to deal with germs - meaning that our bodies often overreact when we come into contact with bugs, dust or pollen. The findings bolster the theory that modern obsession with hygiene and cleanliness has driven a boom in allergies and health problems.
According to the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, exposure to a wide range of bacteria is necessary to prime the immune system early in life. Many scientists believe that modern society, with its mania for sanitation and easy access to antibiotics, makes us hypersensitive to harmless allergens. The latest work, published today in the journal Cell Reports, compared the bacteria in the guts of people from the US and Papua New Guinea - one of the least industrialised nations on Earth. The research, by Canadian and Australian scientists, found that people in the US had far smaller collection of bacteria - called the ‘microbiome’ - than people from Papua New Guinea. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3042113/Why-Western-diets-obsession-cleanliness-blame-soaring-number-allergies.html#ixzz3XVIwHOYq