How Getting Sick Can Be Good For You

April 30, 2010

Interview with Marlene Zuk, author of the book Riddled with Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites That Make Us Who We Are

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Mike Carruthers:
No one wants to get sick. However, in one respect illness can be a good thing.

Marlene Zuk:
I'm not arguing that disease is good for you or that people should be happy to get sick.

Biologist Marlene Zuk, author of the book, Riddled with Life...

At the same time, because every living thing has evolved with some sort of parasites and disease it's important to appreciate that. Not in the sense of praising it but understanding the effect that it's had. And that also means that if you take away (or try to) all effects of these diseases and parasites by spraying everything in your life with antibacterial compounds or by trying to raise your children without them ever contacting dirt - you have some unforeseen consequences.

So being overly vigilant about having a super clean house or never letting the kids play in the dirt may not be a good thing.

Increasingly people are starting to realize that auto-immune diseases like allergies and asthma and even more severe ones like anti-inflammatory bowel disorders are associated with living in an environment where we just aren't exposed to the kinds of dirt and bacteria that are not harmful but that would ordinarily stimulate your immune system. If you grow-up without all of that stuff, it looks like it has a deleterious effect on your immune system and the immune system, in effect, turns on itself.