Why being too much clean is not necessarily healthy

[Guest guest]

Here is a nice article by Mercola explaining why being too much clean may not be necessarily healthy and can lead to auto-immune type diseases like asthma, etc. Also, watch the video by Dr. Jim McKerrow at the link given below.

----------------------------http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/06/06/How-Parasites-Can-Trick-Your-Immune-System-into-Health.aspx

Immune

system disorders have greatly increased in recent years. Asthma cases,

hay fever, eczema, food allergies, lupus, multiple sclerosis and other

related afflictions are all on the rise.

 

Could it be that this increase in autoimmune-type diseases is actually

related to being too clean and too sterile … and that exposing

ourselves to more dirt and even to parasites could be the solution?

 

According to Dr. Jim McKerrow, director of the Sandler Center for Research on Parasitic Diseases, quite possibly yes.

 

As he explains in the video, in rural areas where children are

naturally infected with parasites, diseases like asthma are virtually

unheard of, but cases are on the rise in more urban (i.e. less dirty)

areas.

 

Meanwhile, researchers began to realize that the part of your immune

response that has evolved to kill parasites is the same that causes

asthma, seasonal allergy, Crohn’s disease, and other autoimmune-type

diseases, giving increasing credibility to the hygiene hypothesis.

Why Your Immune System Needs Dirt and Other Organisms to Stay Healthy

Simply speaking, your immune system is composed of two main

groups that work together to protect you. One arm of your immune system

deploys specialized white blood cells, called Th1 lymphocytes, that

direct an assault on infected cells throughout your body.

 

Counterbalancing this, another arm of your immune system attacks

intruders even earlier. It produces antibodies that try to block

dangerous microbes from invading your body's cells in the first place.

This latter strategy uses a different variety of white blood cells,

called Th2 lymphocytes. The Th2 system also happens to drive allergic

responses to foreign organisms.

 

At birth, an infant's immune system appears to rely primarily on the

Th2 system. But the “hygiene hypothesis” suggests that the Th1 system

can grow stronger only if it gets exercise, either through fighting

infections or through encounters with certain harmless microbes.

Without such stimulation, the Th2 system flourishes and the immune

system tends to react with allergic responses more easily.

 

In other words, the hygiene hypothesis posits that children and adults

not being exposed to viruses and other environmental factors like dirt

and parasites results in their not being able to build up resistance,

which makes them more vulnerable to illnesses.

Parasites Are Already Being Used to Treat Disease

Swallowing a concoction of parasite eggs may not sound

appealing, but given their potential to treat some very serious

diseases, with few side effects if any, the “yuck factor” becomes of

little matter.

 

Based on a study out of Argentina that suggested people infected with a type of worm called helminthes experienced fewer symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) than those who were not infected, U.S. researchers are now initiating a small trial therapy on patients with the disease.

 

It is hoped the therapy, which involves drinking a cocktail of worm

eggs intended to hatch inside the bodies of those who swallow them,

will prove to be a useful treatment with few of the side effects

associated with some other MS treatments. Similar therapies have also

proved useful in treating some sufferers of inflammatory bowel disease.

 

The potential success of this therapy hinges again on the action of the

T-cells in your immune system. Your T-cells are responsible for seeking

out and destroying dangerous invaders. One way they accomplish this is

by initiating a nonspecific inflammation response, called the Th1

pattern.  

 

The Th2 pattern is more specific, destroying specific targets, which results in far less inflammation.

 

When you have MS, you already suffer from excess inflammation. The more

inflammation you have, the more your myelin -- the insulation around

your nerves -- gets degraded. This damage slows down the impulses along

those nerves, which results in the typical issues seen in MS patients,

such as problems with vision, speech, walking and memory.

 

The theory behind this parasite therapy is to create a change in the MS

patient’s immune response, reducing the Th1 pattern of nonspecific,

systemic inflammation by increasing the specific attack response.

Not All Parasites are Beneficial

While certain parasitic infections do seem to offer promise

in treating disease, this is not a carte blanche to go out and get

infected with as many parasites as you can.

 

Parasitic infections are responsible for millions of deaths worldwide

every year. Malaria is one of the most well-known, killing about 1

million people a year, many of them young children in sub-Saharan

Africa.

 

Further, the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which include

parasitic diseases like lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis and Guinea

worm, kill about 500,000 people each year, primarily in rural areas of

low-income countries.

 

Even in developed countries, parasites can contribute to disease like irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive issues, and possibly even cancer.

 

So if you’re looking to build your and your child’s immune systems’

resistance without swallowing parasite eggs, you can help by:

• Letting your child be a child. Allow your kids to play outside and get dirty.

• Not using antibacterial soaps. Simple soap and water is all you need.

• Serving locally grown or organic meats that do not contain antibiotics (which kill off good bacteria).

Finally, signs and symptoms that you’ve been infected with an intestinal parasite of the non-beneficial variety include:

• Subcutaneous nodules

• Eye inflammation (conjunctivitis and retinitis)

• Blindness

• Dysentery

• Hives (urticaria)

• Diarrhea

• Coughing or wheezing

• Enlargement of liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly)

• Fever

• Abdominal pain

If you suspect you’re infected, seek the help of a knowledgeable natural health care practitioner, and in the meantime eating raw garlic (smashing the cloves first to activate their beneficial properties) and raw pumpkin seeds will help you to get rid of them.