A Phrase I Could Go a Lifetime Without Hearing Again
"Given the number of eggs there, there's about 300 hookworms in my guts."
I'll give this guy credit - he's studying himself. Dr. Alan Brown, the man quoted above, claims his hay fever completely disappeared after he became infested with hookworms while traveling in the Third World. This article also mentions a woman with ulcerative colitis who is voluntarily drinking a solution with worm eggs in it to control her colitis symptoms.
The gist of the article - and it is interesting - is that since humans evolved with a chronic level of parasite infestation, and that parasites in developed countries really have only been eradicated in the last fifty to sixty years, the lack of parasites may explain why our immune systems are turning on us to cause diseases like asthma and autoimmune problems. It's quite an argument.
The article also discusses the toxoplasma parasite, which usually infects the central nervous system (i.e., the brain) and is thought to control behavior in some animals which get infected, like rats. I quote:
The main way we get it is by eating undercooked meat (which is why 80% of the French are estimated to have it, with their love of rare meat).
Well, that explains a lot...
For years scientists thought it had no effect on our behaviour, but now the parasite's changing their minds.
AIEEE! Toxo is turning scientists into zombies! Oh, wait, it's just a badly constructed sentence. Anyway, read the article.
posted by Dr. Alice at #
