Considering humans lived with millions of “germs” for hundreds of thousands of years, and it was not until the last few hundred that we decided to limit our exposure, it seems logical that we would see some physiological effects or changes from our new habits. While researchers have agreed upon the idea that immunological diseases are much more prevalent in industrialized countries, they have not agreed upon the cause. The hygiene hypothesis, however, has not been close to the top of the list of plausible explanations.
For instance, it is more common to hear the theory that individuals are at a higher risk for developing an autoimmune disease in developing countries because of our northern latitude. Without as much sun at these latitudes, individuals are at risk for vitamin D deficiency, which has been linked to regulation of the immune system.
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After six years at a medical research organization devoted to developing a treatment for an autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), I thought I have heard every possible cause of such a disease. I have answered hundreds of “What causes MS?” questions with the same answer, “We don’t know what causes any autoimmune disease, but there is often a genetic predisposition and the actual disease (or diseases as some might argue) could be triggered by a virus, environmental factor, or both.”
I have also heard many anecdotal stories of how to cure the mysterious diseases from those outside the research community, like:
“My sister had rheumatoid arthritis and took Omega-3 oil and is completely fine now.”
Or, “My friend had MS and he knows that it was caused by heavy metal toxicity so he started taking silver is back to normal.”
Sometimes, people admitted that it wasn’t actually that simple to cure these complex diseases. It took their “friends” two things, like acupuncture and a gluten-free diet. Or moving to India and meditating everyday.
Okay, so maybe I’m being a little cynical, but I just find it hard to believe that these things could work for one person, but not for the millions of other people in the world suffering from the same disease. And trust me, if you have an autoimmune disease, you’ve probably tried every traditional and not-so-traditional way to “cure yourself” — from acupuncture to infusions of corticosteroids at your local E.R.
But even if someone is lucky enough to find a way to cure themselves, I am more interested in prevention. Let’s stop the diseases before they start – so we don’t have to drink silver or move to India.
The hygiene hypothesis is radical, but if there is any truth to it, the implications of addressing this problem are enormous; we would be able to prevent chronic illness in hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. alone.
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I’m pleased to see this hypothesis growing in interest and credibility among the scientific community of immunologists, rheumatologists, and others in similar fields of researcher. Regardless of whether the hygiene hypothesis turns out to be the cause of autoimmune and allergic diseases, I think it is important to consider the affect of meddling with our body’s immune system.
Subscribing to the idea that over-cleansing, and under-burdening ourselves with germs, as the cause of our relatively high incidence of allergic and autoimmune diseases would have incredible implications.
It would mean that instead of popping a daily vitamin D pill, we would have to re-consider the way our society runs, from vaccinating children to using anti-bacterial cleansers.
It is a well-known concept that much of life operates on the idea of give and take. Trade-offs. Like drinking water in portable sized plastic bottles might be extremely convenient and hydrate our bodies in the short term, it might not be so great for the environment in the long term.
So, while the positive ramifications of our recent medical developments are noticeable and commendable — like the ability to end polio or typhoid fever — might there be a trade-off here too? Are we trading a cold for a chronic illness?
Do you believe the hypothesis might hold some truth? What could this mean for our future?
Tags: allergic disease, allergies, autoimmune disease, hygiene theory, multiple sclerosis
