THE HYGIENE HYPOTHESIS

Although it seems counterintuitive, children who are exposed early in life to animal  and natural allergens (such as plants) do not have a higher incidence of asthma-in fact,their risk is reduced.Some scientist believe that the exponential increase in allergy and asthma is due to our modern intolerance of dirt.We’re simply too clean! No kidding.They point out that prior to the twentieth century,most people lived on farms, where kids had close contact with farm animals and dirt, the kind you grow things in.Back then,the  system of a child was taught early on how to tell a true enemy from a foe.Through experience,the immune system of a nineteenth-century child knew that pollen from a flower was nothing to fear,or the dander of a cat was harmless.It didn’t go into overdrive every time it was exposed to something new,triggering an allergic reaction.Deprived of these early   lessons,the immune systems of children today are more prone to allergy,which can lead to asthma.Moreover, we load our children up with antibiotics,which over time may hamper normal immune function.

Smarter Child Tip Breast-feeding,which is beneficial to your child in so many other ways,also appears to offer strong protection against asthma.According to study publised by the National Institutes of Health evaluating children ages 3 to 5,a history of being breast-fed was associated with a 59 percent reduction in the risk of developing asthma.Interestingly,children who were breast-fed showed on a reduction in risk for asthma even if they were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke.(This doesn’t mean that it’s okay to smoke around your children.We know that there is a greater risk of asthma and other health problems in kids who have been exposed to seconhhand smoke,but the risk is somewhat diminished if youe child is breast-fed).