Dr. Joel Weinstock is one of the lead researchers behind clinical trials using pig whipworm eggs to treat peanut allergies, MS, and other autoimmune diseases.
According
to the “hygiene hypothesis,” first proposed in 1989, exposure to a variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasitic worms early in life helps prime a child’s immune system, much like sensory experiences program his/her brain. Without early exposure, the immune system may go haywire and overreact with allergies to foods, pollen, and pet dander—or worse, turn on the body’s own tissues, setting off autoimmune disorders.
Allergies and autoimmune diseases were virtually unknown in the U.S. until the turn of the last century. As modern standards of hygiene, water sanitation, antibiotics, etc., became widespread, so did the cases of autoimmune conditions.
According to a report from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, peanut allergy incidences alone tripled in the U.S. between 1997 and 2008. These allergies are virtually nonexistent in Africa and rural Asia. Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis are also rare in those areas.
Trials are currently being conducted in the U.S. and Europe testing Trichuris Suis Ova (TSO)—a species of pig whipworm—as a treatment for peanut allergies, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and MS. A study is being designed to also test it in asthma patients and adults with autism, as some researchers believe autism is related to immunological function.
What this could mean? Simply put, allowing kids to get dirty—encouraging them to get out there and play, make mud pies, take part in yardwork, etc.—may just be one of the healthiest things for them.
Experts advise common sense. “We don’t want to say to children, ‘OK, play by the dirty river bank and catch whatever you can,’” says Dr. Weinstock. “But, we can say there’s nothing wrong with kids playing in the dirt. They don’t have to live in total sanitation, and they won’t die from eating something off the floor. It’s probably more healthy than not.”
