Dirt, Germs, and Viruses… Oh My! (Part 1)

       I’ve never been anything close to a germaphobe, in fact if anything I’m the opposite. I eat germs for breakfast. Not literally, but probably. Some people may say it’s because I have such a strong immune system and have never really been sick. I’d say I have such a strong immune system because I don’t shield myself from germs so since I’ve been exposed to so much my body can fight off anything. Both things are probably true to some degree. I don’t know if immune systems are hereditary, (a brief google search looks like no) or hygiene practices that relate to your immune system are just learned. Either way, my whole family has strong immune systems.

      When I first met Jakob he got sick a lot. He missed so many days of school that he had to make some up at the end of the year in order to graduate. I don’t ever remember him being like deathly ill any of the times, but he is definitely more cautious about germs than I am. I get that you’re not going take your kid out if they have a fever and are clearly very sick, but if one of the kids has a runny nose or even if they had a slight fever the night before but aren’t acting sick the next day, we’re proceeding with our lives. I’m equally as care free when it comes to other people kids possibly having germs to spread too. Equal opportunity germ spreader. (Can I put that on a resume? With all the diversity rhetoric now days I might fit in…) Multiple times people have texted me intending to cancel because their kids have a cough or a runny nose and I say if your kids are up for it we’re down to play! I say the more the merrier, and that applies to germs!

        I don’t mean to sound high and mighty, “oh my kids have such strong immune systems so I’m the perfect parent what’s wrong with your kids who are sick all the time.” I genuinely don’t know what wrong with your kids. Just kidding. I’m sure it’s a combination of many things that go into an immune system, and not all of those things are in our control. And I’d be burying my head in the sand if I didn’t acknowledge that my kids aren’t in daycare, so they are certainly not exposed to as many virus as a daycare child would be. I can take an educated guess as to what some of those other contributing factors are. I think it has to do with that the kids have been breastfeed for so long, they spend so much time outside, they eat such healthy diets, I’ve never been cautious about what they put in their mouths ie eating off the floor or straight mud in Elliot’s case, I don’t sanitize anything ever including our hands, and they don’t take frequent baths. Half of you are probably like “she’s disgusting” and are ready to stop reading, but bare with me and let me explain.

        A vaginal birth is what really sets up a child’s gut (and therefor their immune system) for success because of the mothers beneficial bacteria in the vaginal canal. Obviously, that’s not the only deciding factor since neither my children got that. (If you missed those blog posts, Stella pitched her cord out and Elliot forced himself out of the scar in my uterus so both we c-sections.) second line of defense in terms of setting up a newborns immune system is breastfeeding. There are probiotics in breast milk, and when a baby nurses the mothers body is able to make the antibodies they need by interpreting the germs in the baby’s saliva. That feedback system doesn’t go away, so the longer a child nurses the more antibodies the child gets from their mother, and the more probiotics, so the stronger their gut microbiome and immune system.

       Are you aware that past civilizations ate dirt to treat certain health issues? I was not, and that was wild to me. I did know that gardening and playing in the dirt aids your immune system because of the microbial’s in the dirt so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. One doctor even suggested that if you live in New York you should have your kids roll around on the subway ground so that they are exposed to all the the germs there in a micro dose. I’m not sure if anything in the big apple is “micro” and I’m not sure I’d so as far as to have my kids rolling around on the subway ground… at least not in their organic cotton clothes…. Last summer when the kids refused to wear shoes for basically the entire 4 months I was worried about pesticides and herbicides but it sounds like the beneficial bacteria and microbial’s penetrating their skin from the dirt out weighs the pesticides and herbicides they may be picking up in some places. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Dr Josh Axe actually explained that because of all the sanitization in our environments today, chlorine in our water and all the sanitation steps taken in the wake of Covid, we actually need to “eat a little dirtier.”  He said getting outside is one of the top 3 overall things you can do for your health and that in 90% of cases the more time you spend outside, the better your immune system. When Elliot first started eating dirt when he was a baby I was a little freaked out but after everything I’ve learned now I’m glad I let it go. Pictured is just a few of the times he consumed dirt or mud last summer.I did draw the line at eating a worm, his attempt also pictured. Honestly I wish Stella would get in the dirt and mud more but she won’t touch it. Maybe I can start sneaking it in your ground beef like I do beef liver. For legal reasons this is a joke…

Apparently most peoples gut microbiomes are actually deficient in the microbial’s that we  would normally get from gardening and eating food fresh out of said garden. Clearly we all need to take a page out of Elliot’s book.

       I had my mom read this and she told me it was too long to have as a singular post so we’re going to end here we’ll have part two for you next week. It’s pretty bad when even your mom can’t keep interest for an entire post. (Yes I’m well aware the tandem breastfeeding post could have been like 5 parts, and that at least one reader did not actually read the entire thing. Hind site is 20/20.) So if I’ve peaked your interest, and haven’t offended you yet, be on the look out for part two next week about how I believe our diet, sanitation, and hygiene practices affect my families immune systems and the chance that I’ll definitely offend you! If I didn’t peak you interest, just click on it so that it shows more views and I feel better about myself. If you scroll to the bottom of the Home Screen and subscribe you definitely won’t miss it!