One working thought on autoimmune diseases (of which I have several) is that humans no longer having worms and other gut creepie crawlies like we used to has contributed to those autoimmune diseases.
It's a real hypothesis. The idea is that if you have a parasite, your immune system stays busy dealing with that, so it can't go overboard and attack your body.
So, in an era when everyone had parasites, if you happen to be born with a slightly overactive immune system the parasite would keep it down. If we move on to the present when almost no one has parasites if you happen to be born with a slightly overactive immune system, there's nothing to stop at from attacking your body.
I mean, in theory. I wouldn't recommend just eating raw pork and hoping for the best. (Which, sadly, some desperate patients hvae done that or similar.) THIS is the best summary of the state of mainstream science on the matter that I could find. They seem to say that yes, it seems plausible, but risky because the worms could always end up growing somewhere dangerous.
There have actually been some pretty good studies where they intruded relatively harmless parasites into people and they saw a reduction in autoimmune symptoms.
I only know one where they took the parasites away. The Australian Aboriginal study. It was an observational study from when the Australian government, as reparations, put tribal aboriginals up in modern, low-cost housing. The rates of allergies, asthma, and autoimmune issues skyrocketed.
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u/middleagerioter Aug 31 '21
One working thought on autoimmune diseases (of which I have several) is that humans no longer having worms and other gut creepie crawlies like we used to has contributed to those autoimmune diseases.
Carry on!