Growing up on a farm fights allergies

Tree Hugger - New research confirms the 'hygiene hypothesis.' Farm kids are less likely to develop allergies and asthma than the average child.

Kids need to get grubby on a regular basis. Not only does it mean they’re playing hard while getting exercise and fresh air outside, but it also boosts their immune systems and ultimately makes them healthier.

For years, the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ has been the leading explanation for why so many kids develop allergies and asthma. This hypothesis suggests that kids are being raised in such sterile environments, without sufficient access to dirt and germs, that their immune systems are not trained to recognize which irritants are harmful and harmless.

(I have long attributed my good health to having lived my first ten years in a house built oh a trash dump, during which time I came to believe that all dirt had broken glass and pieces of metal in it. When I suggested this to one of my doctors, he agreed, saying that he believed he benefited from growing up in a neighborhood where WWI bombs and ammunition had been stored in the ground - Editor Sam)