Nenu wrote: I didn't personally note any problems following this, but it's not to be discredited in the least.
Hi Nenu,
Although helminth parasites (parasitic worms) can cause problems, even immune related problems, this theory which is closely related to the hygiene hypothesis is exactly the opposite of what it seems.
There are a LOT of reasons I'm convinced that the loss of evolutionary normal conditions is the cause of the autoimmune/inflammatory diseases but as a matter of fact I think one of the interesting evidences is the very fact that it involves a converse situation. Since the beginning researchers have been looking for, and not having any luck, trying to label the "something" in the environment which changed to drastically increase disease incidence. Things begin making sense of the MS incidence situation when you realize that it's the "loss" of something which is responsible.
Situations in which the compilation of information had led great researchers to the conviction that the increased incidence of MS is due to an infection, despite the lack of evidence of the existence of an infection make sense when you consider that the loss of an evolution long infection presents exactly the same picture to us that the introduction of a previously non existent infection.....except that there can be no doubt that the evolutionary long infection did exist, doesn't exist now and that the helminth survival had depended on a constant interaction with the human immune system.
To put it in a nutshell, I'm convinced that the incidence of the autoimmune diseases is owed to the human deficiency of the immune altering chemicals the helminths had been putting into the human system though out our evolution and that our changing living conditions due to the process of becoming "developed" eliminated those helminths in our populations and the loss of the immune altering chemicals our systems had become dependent on caused the autoimmune/inflammatory diseases.
The facts are:
Humans evolved with helminth parasites being a constant and unavoidable factor.
In order to survive the immune system the helminths evolved the ability to excrete/secrete chemicals which cause our immune system to allow their survival.
The most important aspect of the process of a population becoming "developed" is the availability and increasing use of running water, flush toilets and efforts towards personal cleanliness which, for the first time in human history was a factor which didn't allow the completion of the helminth life cycle and effectively eliminated those helminths in entire populations.
Speculation based on the above FACTS:
Considering the loss of the human evolution long human relationship and consequent loss of the immune altering chemicals they had been pumping into us, what problems would we sensibly expect to find in subsequent generations of humans? Immune problems which hadn't previously existed?
Isn't that exactly the situation we're seeing?
taz, my personal interest is the cause of autoimmune disease and not specifically the cure so I don't "like" the idea of people purposely infecting themselves. I don't have much more regard for hookworm than pinworm, but if you are intent on this, hookworm would probably be a better option than pinworm
http://autoimmunetherapies.com/index.html Read the guy's personal story too....makes me shudder!
http://www.asthmahookworm.com/Bob