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June
4, 2007:
Why Illness & Dirt Aren't Really So Bad
Interview
with Marlene Zuk, author of
Riddled With Life
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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.
Tomorrow, how
spicy food appears to be good for your health - I'm Mike Carruthers
and that's Something You Should Know.
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