Last week I broached the question, if things were so much dirtier seventy years ago, how come my generation is widely admitted to be 'The Last Healthy Generation'. Over the years I have tried to find an answer to this question and learned some interesting facts. It gets complicated!
Before we start, have any of you heard the term 'Western Disease'? This is the generic description scientists use to cover the wide range of modern ailments that we see increasing in Western developed countries. Diabetes, allergies, asthma, high blood pressure, skin complaints and depression. There is a great deal of sometimes conflicting evidence and opinion but I shall give you my take on it. Let's start with infections first.
Our bodies have a marvellous mechanism called the immune system. Every time we encounter a new microbe or organism, it assesses the danger and if it decides that we can do without it, manufactures antibodies to kill the intruder. The first line of defence is the population of microbes, fungi and even small animals that live on the surface of our skin. During a normal birth, our mother gives us a generous coating of these as we escape from the womb. It has long been recognised that in Caesarean births, this protection is absent and must be artificially introduced. Without it we are far more liable to infection. Once we have the coating it lasts us all our lives but too much washing with heavily medicated soap can reduce it. The next line of defence is the population of microbes in our gut. Not all microbes are bad and over the millennia we have sorted out the good ones and they breed inside us, we have many billions of these little protectors and allied with our immune system they constantly work away killing the bad guys.
I think you might have guessed where I am going here. The paradox is that the more attacks from harmful bacteria we get, particularly in the first year of life, the stronger and better educated our immune system becomes. What we would nowadays see to be a very 'dirty' environment was actually good for us. It's not only the amount but the type of bacteria that matters as well. Scientists have accepted that children born and reared in close proximity to animals suffer less allergic attacks as they get older. This is particularly true of microbes whose natural habitat is the outdoors. Playing outside and rolling about in grass full of droppings from various creatures is good for you so the next time you see your child eating garden soil fear not! Probably building up their immune system which will serve them well all their lives.
So, it looks as though we can be too clean and the old saying about eating a peck of dirt before you die is nothing to be afraid of. Dirty children can be healthy. How has this changed, what is it about modern life that has reduced our capacity to fight some diseases or even introduced new ones? Watch this space....
Kids building their immune systems. Hey Farm 1976.
