Washing Dishes Also Protects Your Immune System - East Idaho News
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Washing Dishes Also Protects Your Immune System

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getty 022515 washingdishes?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1424886486455iStock/Thinkstock(GOTHENBURG, Sweden) — Sure, automatic dishwashers are a fast and convenient way to get your plates, cups and utensils clean but are you inadvertently boosting your kids’ chances of developing allergic conditions?

Researchers at Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, believe that families are better off washing dishes the old fashioned-way, that is, in the sink, because it fits into what’s termed the “hygiene hypothesis.”

Pure and simple, the scientists, led by Dr. Bill Hesselmar, believe that the more people are exposed to different microbes, the greater the likelihood they’ll develop resistances to allergic conditions that include asthma and eczema.

Hesselmar and his team examined the health records of 1,000 kids pertaining to seasonal allergies, taking into consideration various extraneous factors that can cause these conditions, and discovered that children whose families washed dishes by hand had a far lower rate of asthma, eczema and seasonal allergies than in homes where dishwashers were used.

Although the researchers didn’t go as far to say that there was a direct cause-and-effect relationship between reduced allergic conditions and hand-washing dishes, the results seem to verify other studies that support more natural exposure to microbes to build up the immune system.


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