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points by JumpCrisscross 9 hours ago | 0 comments

Entire classes of allergies are basically caused by IgE, our worm-targeting depth charges, getting bored by the lack of worms in our bodies for possibly the first time in millennia.

If we could tweak our bodies we wouldn’t want to eliminate IgE. But we’d want to have it produced only when a recognizer complex finds thar be worms.

[–] bflesch 6 hours ago

More likely that there are enough toxins unknowingly mixed into our food which trigger the responses. There is a severe lack of analytical methods and constant monitoring of the food we eat (e.g. food plus packaging plus time and temperature).

[–] JumpCrisscross 4 hours ago

> More likely that there are enough toxins unknowingly mixed into our food which trigger the responses

No, not more likely. Possible, but not evidenced, particularly for the allergies IgE causes.

[–] manmal 8 hours ago

How can IgE get bored? That doesn’t sound right. Why would the body, a master of efficiency, produce IgE just for fun?

[–] JumpCrisscross 8 hours ago

> Why would the body, a master of efficiency, produce IgE just for fun?

I was being punchy. “The pathway of B cell differentiation with respect to the nature and location of potential IgE+ memory cells as well as long-lived IgE producing plasma cells in allergy is still not completely understood” [1]. We do know, however, that “IgE is continuously produced to maintain constant IgE levels in blood,” and that Th2 cells can increase that baseline.

[1] https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/8/9/994

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK27117/

[–] changoplatanero 8 hours ago

they are saying that the body produced to to fight parasites like worms. these were a big problem for most of evolutionary history. With modern living standards, our immune systems don't encounter many parasites so they get "bored" and over react to harmless things like food. Evolution hasn't had time to adjust to the new living standards since its only been a few generations.

[–] adam791 8 hours ago

Hygiene hypothesis

[–] dzhiurgis 6 hours ago

I'm from Eastern Europe and I don't think I know a single person with allergies. As someone who live outside of it, I can say people are a bit lax with hygiene here except when cooking meat. People can't reconcile you can eat medium rare steak.

[–] trollbridge 4 hours ago

Majority of people here in USA I know have some kind of allergy, including people of EE / Slavic descent.

[–] dzhiurgis 4 hours ago

I mean grown up in EE. Literally know nobody with allergies.

So must be environment that they are brought up in?

[–] polishdude20 7 hours ago

So... Let's bring back the worms I guess?

[–] modeless 3 hours ago

Luckily you don't need to be infected by parasites to have a good immune system. What seems to work best is exposure to bacteria and viruses and fungi and parasites that don't infect humans. Things associated with other plants and animals. The immune system learns better from the things that it is effective at protecting you from than the things that outsmart it. So let's not bring back the human parasites.

[–] JumpCrisscross 6 hours ago

> Let's bring back the worms I guess?

“When Jasper Lawrence learned that hookworms might lessen the effects of his allergies, he set out on a unique mission: To travel to West Africa and purposefully become infected with the parasite” [1].

[1] https://www.thisamericanlife.org/404/enemy-camp-2010/act-thr...

[–] nezi 7 hours ago

The worms can cause issues. I'd rather no worms.

[–] adrianN 1 hour ago

Pinworms are mostly harmless and trivially treated.

[–] jaykru 7 hours ago

Would you rather ancient issues to which our bodies have apparently adapted or new issues we haven't yet had time to adapt to? I'm not sure on the answer myself but it doesn't appear as clear cut as no worms => no issues.

[–] nextaccountic 6 hours ago

The ancient issues killed children and the weak

We adapted by having more children, with the understanding that many wouldn't make it

Would you prefer to live like this? In this more brutish world

[–] masfuerte 4 hours ago

You don't have to give worms to everybody. If healthy adults would be better off with worms (and that's a big if) you could infect just adults. And then give them worming pills in late middle age when their immune systems are weakening.

[–] trollbridge 4 hours ago

From an evolutionary perspective, it might be the only way the human species survives and thrives.

Not much fun being the one naturally selected out.

[–] bflesch 6 hours ago

More likely the worms just get shredded and are part of the food now