The Amish Cure for Allergies, and How You Can Use It Today
As of today, around 1 in 5 American children have some sort of respiratory allergy (like Hay Fever), and around 1 in 10 have Asthma.
That’s somewhere between a 200% and 300% increase just during the end of the 20th century.
But it’s not happening everywhere…
Amish Kids Don’t Get Allergies
The following article is a fascinating dive into the allergy epidemic that’s been occurring for the past half-century.
A Cure for the Allergy Epidemic?
Obviously, most of us are aware that allergies are increasing, and the cause has been blamed on any number of factors. This article is a quite persuasive (and interesting) take on the subject however, and one that is becoming increasingly supported by science.
The subject of the article is largely centered around Amish farms in Indiana, where the children are some of the least allergenic in the world, despite having genetics that are not very different at all from modern Swiss children (who are some of the most allergenic).
So what’s the difference?
Play More In The Dirt
One of the largest differences for these Amish children is that they’re continually, from a young age, exposed to a variety of microbes and bacteria (from fermented feed, cow manure, raw milk, and just plain dirt).
There is no definitive proof that the lack of allergies in this population of children is directly tied to any particular exposure to microbes, but at least one study indicates that the greater the diversity of microbes that a person is exposed to, the less likely they are to develop allergies.
It seems that mainstream media is beginning to pay more and more attention to the microbes (bacteria) that are in our guts and that play a huge role in our lives and our health.
So What Do You Do if You Already Have Allergies?
It appears that early exposure (through your mother and as a child) is definitely most beneficial, but later exposure can also help to prevent new allergies.
One easy way to do this (if you don’t live on a farm) is through the consumption of raw milk. Unpasteurized milk appears to be very highly correlated with enhanced immune systems.
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