More studies are beginning to show that our bodies are actually in quite a delicate balance with our environment; and this can easily be destabilized by medical intervention.
We already know that changes in the bacteria, or germs, that grow in our intestines can lead to obesity and autoimmune diseases. As well, there is a severe intestinal infection, known as Clostridia, which results from antibiotic treatment, is best treated by changing the bacteria in our gut (using a "stool transplant" in a frozen prepackaged capsule).
In a recent study, researchers found that children at high risk for asthma (defined as wheezing and positive skin prick tests at age 1 year) had received more courses of antibiotics during their first year of life, were more often born by caesarian section and were more often exclusively formula fed. They found that certain bacteria were less likely to be found in their intestines.
Sci Transl Med 2015 Sep 30; 7:307fs39
In a second, JAMA Pediatr 2015 Nov 9, researchers gave probiotics during the first month of life to a group of infants who had a genetic marker associated with type 1 diabetes. They found that there was a 40% decrease in development of diabetes in these children during the 10 year followup.
The environmental influences of intestinal bacteria are related to breast feeding, as well as normal behavior where children "taste" everything. We have discovered that exposure of babies to "dirt" or things they normally pick up is a normal adaption that actually prevents autoimmune diseases and allergies.
We need to, within reason, allow our babies to be "dirty", try and breast feed for at least 6 months (a year is preferred), and avoid antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. This includes eating foods or meats that have been treated with antibiotics.
No comments:
Post a Comment