Does our increased hygiene levels make us susceptible to allergies?
Allergies are on the rise and the reason behind it is our increased hygiene status
In the last blog, we discussed a typical experience of an individual experience what might have been an allergic reaction to something she thought was a harmless food. The fact that allergies are coming in all shapes and sizes is confounding medical professionals and individuals alike and we have nowhere to look for guidance and knowledge. It seems what we do know about allergies is getting outdated sooner than fashion on the streets of Milan.
The world is seeing a dramatic rise in the number of cases of autoimmunity and allergies. Epidemiological data provide evidence of a steady rise in autoimmune disease throughout Westernized societies over the last decades. Why is this the case? Scientists have attributed this to what they call the “Hygiene Hypothesis.”
What is the Hygiene Hypothesis? And what does it have to with my allergy?
The Hygiene Hypothesis postulates that “an environment with a high incidence of infectious diseases protects against allergic and autoimmune diseases, whereas hygienic surroundings increase the incidence of these disorders.” This means that the cleaner our surroundings, lesser are the incidences of infections, and greater are our chances of suffering from an autoimmune disorder (AD).
So, is everyone at the same risk of getting an AD because all of us are living in equally hygienic environments?
No. Everybody does not have the propensity to get affected by an AD, or an allergy. There are a million factors affecting this. While we can discuss this later, what I wish to stress is the importance of natural infections in the rise in cases of AD and allergies.
In the last article, we talked about the fearsome beast that resides within us, chained and in control. This beast is the immune system. Now, the immune system’s job is to fight potential dangers to our body — bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. If a powerful system has no work, it becomes fidgety, itching to get back “in action.” And if you cannot keep it busy, it will have no hesitation in training its guns on you. Its like a trained assassin — if you cannot give enough missions for this assassin to execute, it will get bored and likely plan to kill you!
Its not that foreboding, but you get the gist.
The levels of hygiene have improved dramatically in the Western world. Also of interest is the importance of getting enough “immune challenges” during childhood. Children growing up in rural areas, around animals and in larger families seem to develop asthma less often than do other children. According to the hygiene hypothesis, this is due to increased exposure to particular viruses, bacteria or parasites.
But now scientists are going even further (or backwards) to the time the child was in the mother’s womb. Current research suggests that this potentially helpful exposure to certain germs may actually occur before a baby is born. It is now known that a pregnant mother’s exposure to infectious germs or other substances, such as vaccines, may play an important role in the development of a baby’s immune system and gut microbiome.
Wait, what is that? Gut microbiome?
Our synergy with microorganisms is key to our good health
The gut is home to trillions of microorganisms, more than 100 trillion, actually. They consist of a huge population of bacteria, yeast and viruses, known together as “gut flora,” “microbiome,” or “gut microbiota.” The density of gut microorganisms in the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract is around 1011 to 1012 cells/ml, making the gut the most densely populated microbial habitats on earth. In fact, there are 10 times more microorganisms in your body than you have cells!
Bacteria are by far the most dominant type of microorganisms and you can find over 160 species of bacteria in any individual’s gut. These gut microorganisms have been living with us since millions of years and have forged a strong symbiotic relationship with our body.
The gut microbiota is vital, actually, for our wellbeing and an integral part of us. Gut microbiota organisms are key regulators of digestion along the gastrointestinal tract. They play a wide range of roles — extraction, synthesis, and absorption of many nutrients and metabolites, including bile acids, lipids, amino acids, vitamins, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
Gut microbiota organisms synthesize many compounds that affects your health in many ways. Lower bacterial diversity in the gut has been observed in people with inflammatory bowel disease, psoriatic arthritis, type 1 diabetes, atopic eczema, celiac disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and arterial stiffness. This points to the active role of a healthy gut for general health and well-being.
They also have a crucial immune function against pathogenic bacteria colonization — inhibiting their growth, consuming available nutrients and/or producing bacteriocins (chemicals that kill other bacteria). Gut microbiota also prevent other bacteria (who have entered our GI tract through the food or water we have consumed) from invading our body by maintaining the intestinal epithelium integrity. And they do not allow pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms to colonize the gut through a range of competitive processes that makes it difficult for the invaders to get sufficient nutrients and a comfortable environment to thrive.
Recent studies have identified a critical role for gut microbiota organisms and their products in regulating the development, homeostasis (maintenance of a dynamic balance), and function of innate and adaptive immune cells. More than 70% of our immune system resides in our gut (gut-associated lymphoid tissue, or GALT). And the gut microbiota plays a crucial role in keeping this immune system on its toes — always active and ready to fight an invasion.
Research has indicated that dysbiosis (imbalance in the gut microbiome) leads to chronic inflammation that may give rise to a range of metabolic disorders. Inflammation is a normal physiological response of the body to the foreign pathogen invasion and plays two conflicting roles in human health. On the one hand, inflammation is the body’s automatic defense response, which also promotes wound healing. On the other hand, excessive inflammatory response results in a series of diseases such as obesity, atherosclerosis, irritable bowel disease (IBD) and cancer.
Gut microbiome decides whether we are prone to an AD, or other chronic health issues
So you see? Gut microbiome, that you collected when you were in your mother’s womb, while coming out of the birth canal, during your childhood — plays an integral role in determining your well-being and whether you will be affected with an AD or allergy. Research has shown unequivocally that allergy development and the quality and quantity of gut microbiome are correlated.
And its clear from the above that the sanitary levels of your environment plays a major role in the development of your gut flora. The more the diversity of microorganisms in your environment, the better is your gut flora, in terms of diversity and absolute numbers. And the balanced your gut flora, better is your health and lesser are your chances of getting an AD or allergy. So now you know how everything is related.
In the next article, we’ll learn more about how our gut microbiome influences allergy development. Until then, stay healthy.
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