Many parents today are basically germophobics. There is no other way to put it. They disinfect and sanitize everything in sight. They do that to try to remove "the risk" of their child ever coming face to face with a, hold on to your seats, PATHOGEN! They are trying to be good parents, by being proactive and attempting to protect their children. But what they are actually doing is the opposite.
The opinions on coffee, red wine, eggs, meat, butter and saturated fat have flip flopped from being bad for your health to good for your health during the past 50 years. This situation is no different. I have investigated all of them and more and try to bring to my readers the truth, as best as I can determine it.
I have taught martial artist since 1977. The only way to learn self defense is to put people in physically challenging scenarios, so that they can learn how to respond in those conflict situations. What does this have to do with germs, dirt and immunity? The answer is everything.
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The immune system can never strengthen itself without challenges. When we are exposed to pathogens, the body has an innate intelligence that deals with the situation. This system is so complex and so perfectly designed that in my opinion, it could not "evolve", but that is a story for another day.
We have white blood cells that gobble up pathogens. We also have immunoglobulins, which "learn" the composition of these pathogens and can then also learn to fight them and destroy them more efficiently the next go round. On top of that, we also have symbiotic beneficial bacteria that can help us out. Recent research indicates that these beneficial bacteria can actually "mark" pathogens for destruction by our immune system. This is like the ground troops calling in an air strike. This remarkable innate system works so efficiently, humans could not have designed it any better if they tried.
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Not exposing children to pathogens, is like having a big brother to fight off your bullies. The problem is, what happens when your big brother isn't around? What can happen is that when a child is finally exposed to some serious pathogens, their immune systems are weak and underdeveloped, which at that point, can pose a serious threat.
What to Do?
1. Use just plain old soap and water to wash with.
Hand sanitizers are by in large toxic. They kill the good bacteria as well as the bad. You might be thinking about now that "the only good bacteria, are dead bacteria." If you are, think about this - We have 2 - 3 pounds of bacteria in us and on us. In order to be healthy, we need at least 85% of that bacteria to be "good" bacteria and less than 15% to be "bad" bacteria. The beneficial bacteria help us to fight off the detrimental bacteria. The beneficial bacteria help to keep the pathological bacteria in check.
2. We need beneficial bacteria from our environment.
We have about 100 trillion bacteria in us and on us. We only have about 10 trillion body cells. The bacteria outnumber our cells ten to one. Before we are born, we don't have any bacteria, but by the time we are adults, we should harbor about 2,500 different species of microorganisms.
The first "seeding" occurs going through the birth canal and then it all begins.
3. We acquire our beneficial bacteria from our environment, so having children play in the soil is one of the healthiest things that a parent can do for their child. Every environment that we are in has a unique variety of microorganisms and we can acquire microorganisms from these environments. Traveling to the forest, the beach, the desert, the mountains and to other environments too, all strengthen immunity.
4. Consuming fermented foods, such as ; yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, fermented vegetables and kefir are all very beneficial and in my opinion, much more beneficial than probiotics. I haven't found a probiotic with even 10 different microorganisms, never mind 2,500!
5. Avoid GMOs, pesticides, chemical toxins, unnecessary medications and gluten, since they can all harm the balance of our bodies, as well as the bacteria that we host.
6. Consider taking the supplement Restore. Restore contains mineral extracts from ancient soil from the western United States. These soils are millions of years old.
I have been using Restore in my practice for a few years now and have had great success with it.
Restore Can, In My Opinion:
1. Help to increase the biodiversity of our gut bacteria.
2. Improve cell to cell communication.
3. Help to repair damage to the mucous membranes in our gut. This damage is commonly known as leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut should really be renamed "hyperpermeable gut syndrome", since that name is more accurate.
There openings are called tight junctions, which are small pores in our small intestine. These tight junctions allow molecules from the small intestine to enter the bloodstream. When someone is exposed to those items that I listed above to avoid; GMOs, pesticides, chemical toxins, unnecessary medications and gluten, those tight junctions open up.
When these tight junctions open up, I call them "loose junctions". These loose junctions allow larger molecules to enter the bloodstream that shouldn't be there. The result can be; inflammation and allergies and can eventually lead to autoimmune diseases and even cancer.
The bottom line here is to allow your children to play in the dirt, because it won't kill them, it will make them stronger.
If that advice sounds familiar, it came from the 1982 movie Conan The Barbarian - "What does not kill us, makes us stronger!"