[neverdem]

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/Kx5841

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, online April 16, 2012. "Amish children living in Northern Indiana have a very low prevalence of allergic sensitization" no abstract

[w1andsodidwe]

I was raised on an Iowa farm and never had allergies until I moved to the city.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

"So there's something that we feel is even more protective in the Amish" than in European farming communities.

Yeah, my guess is that the "something" is the fact that those kids are outdoors a lot, playing and working and getting dirty, giving their immune systems plenty to deal with so those immune systems don't go into panic mode any time a peanut gets within 100 yards.

[ckilmer]

likely because they drink unpasteurized milk.

[Kickass Conservative]

It’s very obvious, the Amish follow the “three second rule”. And they do it on a Farm...

[Hunton Peck]

“Holbreich, an allergist in Indianapolis, has been treating Amish communities in Indiana for two decades, but he noticed that very few Amish actually had any allergies.”

So, how many years did it take Dr. Holbreich to notice that he had no patients?

[Abby4116]

They also eat very little commercially processed foods.

[Tench_Coxe]

They're eating and playing in dirt as kids, eating produce typically free of additives or pesticides, eating meat generally free of modification, probably getting stung regularly by insects.

The adaptability of the human body is a remarkable thing.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I’d wager that suburbia, with its gazillions of non-native plants from all over the world, is a hotbed of unfamiliar pollens.

[Born to Conserve]

300 years of evolution. The Amish don’t have a leisure class.

[Terry Mross]

There’s one reason. Food additatives and bio-engineering of seeds. Texas A&M grew a maroon carrot and a maroon blue bonnet flower. This crap ain’t normal and it’s changing our systems. I grew up without A/C which meant we slept with the windows open. We didn’t know what allergies were.

[Notwithstanding]

Did they compare non-Amish American farm kids to the Amish or the Swiss? That would help.

[Terry Mross]

And I forgot about bio-engineering of meat, poultry and fish. Before long you can buy your cow fat, lean or extra lean. And you’ll be able to buy your fish with tartar sauce already grown in.

Go to the store and buy some eggs. Some have more omega3 than others. How the hell does that happen? Does the chicken farmer go buy chickens and say “I want some of the omega3 chickens. I know they cost more but I can charge more for the eggs.”

[mylife]

What of Mennonites?

Quakers?

Whats the statistical skinny?

[wideminded]

What it is about growing up on farms -- and Amish farms in particular -- that seems to prevent allergies remains unclear.

According to the clonal selection theory of immune system function, substances that one encounters very early in life do not later generate a strong immune response.

[Right Wing Assault]

When I was a kid, there was this one kid that had allergies. The other kids didn’t even know what this meant.

I’ve wondered about the peanut allergy. No kids I knew in grade school or high school or college had peanut allergies that I knew of. Now they are all over the place. Years ago everyone freaked out since young kids choked on peanuts and they also choked on eating peanut butter straight. The advice was no peanuts until they are two or three.

I wonder if the delayed introduction of peanuts is the problem. Sure, don’t feed peanuts or a peanut butter sandwich so a young kid, but give them a small taste of it on a regular basis when they are young.

The kids with allergies these days seem to have overly fussy parents. Also, everyone is washing their hands every time they touch something. I never heard of the “three second rule” as a kid. Any food we dropped as a kid went into our mouths unless there was so much dirt on it that it was too gritty. Kids rub their finger on a rough surface these days and they immediately want a band-aid. We raised our kids outdoors in the dirt and they don’t have any allergies.

[muawiyah]

This is in Northern Indiana. There are vast fields of mint.

[Mister Da]

I’m guessing 2 things:

Early exposure to a multitude of natural allergens from living a country life.

Consumption of relatively natural, unadulterated foods & drink.

I think science will ultimately find that young children need wide exposure to the natural world, not sheltering from it, in order to build the immunities they need in life. City living is inadequate to fortify a child to live in a dangerous world.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

What it is about growing up on farms -- and Amish farms in particular -- that seems to prevent allergies remains unclear.

Exposure to every allergen you can think of from conception.

That which does not kill you makes you stronger.

[neverdem]

Salmonella in dog food sickens 14 people in US

"Our folks are really wanting people to be aware of it. They want to be aware that this is causing people to get sick because they may have product in their homes. For every one that is reported, there may be 29 others," Russell said.

--snip--

The recall covers a number of pet food brands made at the Gaston plant, including Canidae, Natural Balance, Apex, Kirkland, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Country Value, Diamond, Diamond Naturals, Premium Edge, Professional, 4Health and Taste of the Wild.

FReepmail me if you want on or off my combined microbiology/immunology ping list.

[Ditter]

I am not Amish but I grew up in much the same way. We had a cow, chickens, horse, dogs and cats. This was all in what is now central Houston but then it was out in the country. I drank unpasteurized milk and we had our own eggs and killed our own chickens. This was before air conditioning and we went barefoot all summer, also like Amish children.

Both my brother and I had terrible allergies(still do) and severe asthma. So much for fitting into this study.