Christian Doctor Points Out Ways Behavior Can Affect Immune Health
by Mary Rettig
August 16, 2005
(AgapePress) - A pathologist in Denver, Colorado, says the rise in allergy sensitivity since the 1970s could actually be a sign of a cleaner, healthier environment, but may also shed some light on how the body's immune system can be built up during childhood. Dr. James Small, a spokesman for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, says lower amounts of air pollution and lower amounts of disease today may suggest that people's immune systems do not have as much to filter out of their bodies. "Instead of having organisms to attack," he explains, the immune system "starts attacking pollen and other things -- and that leads to allergies. It's called the hygiene hypothesis."
Small says he has also heard this theory used to explain the increasing incidence of another immune disorder called Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract. Although an exact pathogen has not been identified, the disease's response to immunosuppressive treatments indicates to some researchers the possibility that Crohn's, like an allergy, may result from an over-reactive autoimmune response.
Doctors who subscribe to the hygiene hypothesis have suggested that people are not spending time outside as much as they could be, Small notes. He points to one study that says Americans actually spend an estimated 90 percent of their time indoors, a fact that could have implications for their immune system health. The Christian physician says time spent outside, especially during childhood, can expose a person to many allergens that may cause the body to develop ways to combat them.
Also, Small points out that a recent study from the National Institutes of Health says over half of Americans suffer from some type of allergy -- double the number that suffered from allergies 30 years ago. The NIH findings show that the most likely people to exhibit allergic sensitivities today are those in their 20s.
The CMDA spokesman says the NIH study may have discovered a root cause for this age group's sensitivity. "There is evidence that breast feeding for four to six months is protective [against] the future development of allergies in the child," he says.
Based on the NIH findings, Small says, it is possible that a generation's disdain for breastfeeding may have had a significant impact on the health of the children of that generation. Likewise, he says, contemporary Americans' limited exposure to the outdoors may be having a similar long-term impact on their future health and resistance to allergens.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
