4 ms·

> According to recent research, the dirt outside is teaming with friendly microorganisms that can train the immune system and build resilience to a range of il

> According to recent research, the dirt outside is teaming with friendly microorganisms that can train the immune system and build resilience to a range of illnesses, including allergies, asthma and even depression and anxiety. In that light, does it make sense to speak of "boosting the immune system"? If I understand correctly, allergies and asthma are the result of overly active immune system. Depression and anxiety are completely unrelated to the immune system as far as I know. So if anything, playing in mud dampens the immune system of children, albeit in a good way. Also, the title of the article neglects to mention that this only applies to children.

jetbooster 4y ago
It was my understanding that in those cases the immune system overreacts because it hasn't been correctly calibrated by being properly challenged. It's not that it's too strong, it's that it lashes out at things that aren't actually threats because it's ability to recognise what is and isn't a threat is diminished
- mr_mitm 4y ago
  Yes, "calibrating" is the word that also just jumped into my mind. That would have been a much better fit than "boosting".
- xeromal 4y ago
  An additional datapoint I remember reading is that humans for so long has worms and other parasites that dulled the immune system that our immune system is actually hyperactive because we no longer have those parasites to repress it.
NickM 4y ago
Depression and anxiety are completely unrelated to the immune system as far as I know. They are definitely related. Many studies have found links between inflammation and both anxiety and depression. There's even a Wikipedia page about the depression/inflammation link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_and_immune_function https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_and_immune_function
- oblak 4y ago
  Not saying it's the same but here it is: I lose small patches of beard during prolonged unhappiness/depression/anxiety/stress
kaezon 4y ago
This probably doen't apply to everything, but I did read that the lack of early exposure to peanuts had actually increased the number of individuals who developed peanut allergies. I found a 2017 NIH post which reccomends early exposure to helo prevent the alergy from developing: https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2017/01/10/peanut-allergy-early-exposure-is-key-to-prevention/ https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2017/01/10/peanut-allergy-earl...

jetbooster 4y ago

It was my understanding that in those cases the immune system overreacts because it hasn't been correctly calibrated by being properly challenged. It's not that it's too strong, it's that it lashes out at things that aren't actually threats because it's ability to recognise what is and isn't a threat is diminished

mr_mitm 4y ago
Yes, "calibrating" is the word that also just jumped into my mind. That would have been a much better fit than "boosting".
xeromal 4y ago
An additional datapoint I remember reading is that humans for so long has worms and other parasites that dulled the immune system that our immune system is actually hyperactive because we no longer have those parasites to repress it.

NickM 4y ago

Depression and anxiety are completely unrelated to the immune system as far as I know. They are definitely related. Many studies have found links between inflammation and both anxiety and depression. There's even a Wikipedia page about the depression/inflammation link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_and_immune_function https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_and_immune_function

oblak 4y ago
Not saying it's the same but here it is: I lose small patches of beard during prolonged unhappiness/depression/anxiety/stress

kaezon 4y ago

This probably doen't apply to everything, but I did read that the lack of early exposure to peanuts had actually increased the number of individuals who developed peanut allergies. I found a 2017 NIH post which reccomends early exposure to helo prevent the alergy from developing: https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2017/01/10/peanut-allergy-early-exposure-is-key-to-prevention/ https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2017/01/10/peanut-allergy-earl...