(Or, My Latest Book Recommendation)
Last Autumn I wrote an article entitled “Amaze-On Microbiota” (https://theskope.com/2015/09/07/amaze-on-microbiota/). Amaze-On discussed the hygiene hypothesis theory, which posits that the obsession with over-sanitation may actually harm our health. Humans don’t exist as a solo entity. Instead, as I hope you’ve realized, we are meta-organisms that thrive alongside (and due to) our trillions of microorganisms. The human gut microbiota is one of the most diverse microbial populations found in nature. Altering this vibrant community impacts our digestive, immune, and neural health. How do antibiotics, putative probiotics, diet, and lifestyle impact the human microbiota? How can we maintain a healthy microbiota, but also eradicate microbial pathogens?
How clean is too clean?
Dr. B. Brett Finlay (my mentor) and Dr. Marie-Claire Arrieta (a new assistant professor at University of Calgary) wrote a phenomenal book, Let Them Eat Dirt, that explores these questions and provides practical steps to protect your family’s health. If you want to learn more about gut microbes and the crucial impact of the human microbiota in development, read LTED!
For more information see: http://letthemeatdirt.com
The Skope: A Microbiologist's Report 
2 replies on “LET THEM EAT DIRT”
Thanks for sharing!
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Interesting, because 60 years ago my husband and I spent 11 years in a then-third-world country; 3 of our 4 children were born while we were there. We noted there were 2 kinds of foreigners there. Some of us joked about not believing in the germ theory anymore. Others wiped door handles with Lysol after each beggar visited, scrubbed the outer skins of watermelons before cutting into them, exercised extreme caution. And maybe they needed to, yet we noticed that they were the people who most often got sick with dysentery, etc.
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