Immune system can be trained

Spring isn't all good. While flowers blossom, pollen is saturating the air. As I am always on my bike, pollen does irritate my nose slightly, making time on the saddle a bit uncomfortable. Pollen allergy apparently is a huge problem for many people in France. There are even pollen index and forecast, which are unheard-of in Malaysia. 

This great video from MinuteEarth explaining how dirtier environment in younger years can reduce the your allergy level. It basically saying that our immune system needs challenges from different viruses and bacterium to strengthen itself, just like what vaccine does to human, to train human's immune system. So, rising a child in an overly hygenic environment may not be a good idea. Bane said to Batman : peace has cost you your strength, victory has defeated you. I am quoting this, not to suggest that we need more war, at least not actual war per se, but a war to your immune system. And partly I think this quote is quite badass. 

War is a wrong terme because war often means violence. I am not suggesting you to go ahead now and eat some spoiled food or stick a flower in your nose and breath in all the pollen. But I am saying that our immune system can be trained. My mom always says, eat dirtier can make you stronger. She always says that to people who tell her hawker stalls on the roadside are unhygenic. 

I remember there was a time when water filter was a hot product in Malaysia, multiple brands like Diamond, Nesh, rising up from nowhere and their advertisements were everywhere. Suddenly, a water filter became a necessity in every household. The tap water was pictured as polluted as it can kill if drank directly. Suddenly, everybody was so aware of the water they are drinking. What we can learn from this are, firstly advertisement does manipulate what people think ; secondly overly hygenic is not necessarily a good thing. My parents didn't get carry away by the craze because partly we didn't have that amount of money to buy one of those expensive water filter, and partly also they thought that was just overreacting. 

I seriously think that living in France has one negative effect on me. I use to have the same level of immunity to dirty food as my mom. But during the India trip, I got minor food poisoning while my mom's stomach accepted everything. Better water quality and better hygiene in general have weakened me. Not that weak until I can't no longer support Malaysian hawker stalls' food though. Phew! What a relieve!