Re:Mud boosts your immune system
by jetbooster on Saturday October 15, 2022 @11:43AM
(#33215778)
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
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.
Yes, "calibrating" is the word that also just jumped into my mind. That would have been a much better fit than "boosting".
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
Not saying it's the same but here it is: I lose small patches of beard during prolonged unhappiness/depression/anxiety/stress
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-earl...
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.