We have been learning more and more about the importance of the gut microbiome, from emotions and intelligence to immune responses and hormones. It is my opinion that children should be allowed to explore and "get dirty" so to speak. It would train and expose their body to different elements and pathogens that build a balance and "natural" microflora. By babying and obsessed with keeping kids clean and spotless all the time, we may actually hurt them more in the long run.<p>A bit of dirt, some sneezes, a scratched knee, a few bruises, all of them are normal and expected. Kids should be allowed to have those, otherwise we might deprive them of a healthy life later on.<p>Anecdotally, I grew up in a not so clean place. Thinking back, I am surprised it was so normal back then with how unhygienic everything was by Western standards. You would think people living in that kind of environment would be sick and disease ridden all the time. Yet it was the opposite. Allergies were practically unheard of and stuff like a cold or flu were almost never severe enough to send anyone to the hospital. Basically, people I knew back then were a lot more robust and had less health concerns than most of my coworkers and neighbors nowadays despite a world of differences in hygiene standards.<p>IIRC, germ free rodents grown to be absolutely sterile for specific medical tests are extremely sick all the time and are so weak you would not believe they are genetically the same with those rats thriving in the sewer. I guess it is for the same reason.
(2020)<p>> Intervention daycares received segments of forest floor, sod, planters for growing annuals, and peat blocks for climbing and digging.<p>They covered the backyars with forest elements, and asked the children to play with it.<p>> The 28-day-long intervention that included enrichment of daycare center yards for microbial biodiversity was associated with changes in the skin and gut microbiota of children, which, in turn, were related to changes in plasma cytokine levels and Treg cell frequencies. These findings suggest that the exposure to environmental microbial diversity can change the microbiome and modulate the function of the immune system in children. Specifically, the intervention was associated with a shift toward a higher ratio between plasma cytokine IL-10 and IL-17A levels and a positive association between Gammaproteobacterial diversity and Treg cell frequencies in blood, suggesting that the intervention may have stimulated immunoregulatory pathways.<p>Doesn't this just say that being exposed to more, and perhaps different, microbials will trigger your immune system? There are lots of words, but my casual eyes don't read anything that would be non-obvious. Specifically, nothing in this study seems to look at long-term effects. It was a 28 day study without later follow-up. Is there a well-established link between what they showed and lasting immune system changes?<p>(Making the headline _technically_ true.)
Makes total sense in hindsight, here's hoping this gets confirmed. It's also just generally a good way for young kids to develop. Kids learn a ton by figuring out "can I climb this log?"
Makes a lot of sense. I’m glad I grew up with dogs - they surely exposed me to all sorts of things as a child that helped build my immune system. Single data point, but I’m allergy free, no asthma etc.
Growing up on a farm improves the immunological responses that regulates allergies, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Although it isn't exactly clear what causes it:<p>> The researchers suggest additional work is required to determine the extent to which other farm-associated factors, such as social and maternal interactions, aerial contaminants, antigens from bedding and early nutrition, contributed to the impact of the environment on increased local and systemic immune regulation. [0]<p>[0]: <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208132549.htm" rel="nofollow">https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208132549.h...</a>
I'm trying to imagine how their reference point - "standard yard" - looks like. Do they mean a field of just trimmed grass and nothing else?<p>My daughter's daycare has trees, shrubs, flowers etc. with birds, insects and whatnot. People still get allergies (even to nuts, which was unheard of 30 years ago).<p>I mean, this study is useful and I can't imagine letting kids out to play in a boring landscape, but I wouldn't hold out hope for this being a significant factor in the development of allergies.