eating dirt

[moonwise]

tiggymalvern, you and I talked about this kind of thing a long time ago, and now there's a study out that suggests that people need parasites for a healthy immune system. Isn't IgE the anti-parasitic immunoglobulin that's implicated in allergies and asthma?

Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You

Comments

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

That idea has been around for a while. I let my kids play in the dirt, we had cats and they pet dogs in the neighborhood. It's not a good idea to be too ultraclean.

[jaina.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember being small, licking the dirt in the yard, and deciding I didn't like the taste.

[ramothhe.livejournal.com]

I used to eat clovers in the back yard. This is an interesting article!

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Yup, and I'm still a believer :-) I think it's fabulous you can treat autoimmune disease by feeding people worms XD IgE is indeed the culprit.

It's interesting that in a study in the UK, kids raised on farms had the lowest allergy rates of any children.