Eat a little dirt before you die?

My first post on something health related! See? "Healthbaked" - it really works!

Today I found a delightful article about the benefits of being slightly less clean on the New York Times' website and it got me thinking. Before I launch into my own thoughts, take a minute to give the article a quick read: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You

In my teenage years, I developed a love of horses and all things that went with them. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn to ride, and, to increase my time around the horses, I volunteered to take care of day-to-day tasks around the barn in exchange for more riding time. Naturally, I was at the barn every weekend and every school break from age 14 straight on up through college.

In the years where I was at the barn 3-5 times a week (14-18), I cannot remember having a single illness. And anyone who has spent time around a barn knows that you cannot be outside of your car for more than 10 minutes without managing to somehow ruin your outfit and/or get your hands a little dirty. So, scientifically speaking, it would seem that my anecdotal evidence corroborates the science of this article. In other words, I am a full-fledged believer that us humans are meant to spend quality time with dirt.

In a world of Purell sanitizers and antibacterial soap, it seems that we have moved away from our co-evolutionaries (germs), and I wonder if this is perhaps one of the reasons for an increase in autoimmune disease prevalence (eg, MS [as named in the NY Times article], arthritis, psoriasis, etc...and maybe even behavioral disorders such as autism). Perhaps these diseases would be less prevalent if we took the time to remember that we spent the last several thousand years in the great wide open and spend a bit more time in an environment that our bodies have evolved to work in. And it seems the old phrase, "a little dirt won't kill you!" might need to evolve, because it seems that "a little dirt will help you!"

To your health!