Written by Danielle Chiriguayo and Amy Ta, produced by Brian Hardzinski Listen 8 min MORE It’s okay to get your hands dirty sometimes. Microbiologist and immunologist Brett Finlay says certain bacteria, fungi, and viruses are involved with how the brain plus intestinal and immune systems develop. Photo by ANURAK PONGPATIMET/Shutterstock
At the start of the pandemic, when people knew nothing about how COVID-19 spread, hygiene theater was in overdrive. That meant wiping down every counter, tabletop, and doorknob and even disinfecting groceries. A lot of that overdrive turned out to be overkill.
Many of these pandemic habits will be hard to break, but we might have to do that because some germs are good. Certain microbes and bacteria protect our bodies and keep us healthy.
A vegan mother films her baby chomping on sand, dirt, rocks and even supermarket shopping trolley straps - as she claims her breast milk protects the tot while he builds his immune system .
Alice Bender, from Phoenix, Arizona, shared footage of eight-month-old baby Fern chewing on various objects on TikTok including sand while at the beach and even her handing him a brown rock, which he puts in his mouth straight away.
The 22-year-old, who raises her son as a vegan, defended her parenting style by insisting that germs are nothing to be afraid of - and that it s natural for babies to want to eat sand.
Elevated Asthma Risk by Gut Microbiome Imbalance in Newborns
Source: ChrisChrisW/Getty Images
April 21, 2021
Asthma is the most common chronic condition in children and affects nearly one in ten children in developed countries. A respiratory virus is one of the most common causes of asthma symptoms in children five years old and younger. However, the cause of asthma is still unknown. If a child has a family history of asthma or allergies, they have a higher chance of getting asthma early in life. Now, new research finds that an overgrowth of yeast in the gut within the first few months of life may cause changes to the immune system which increases asthma risk later on.