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Author Topic:   Avoiding danger can make you less safe
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1405 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 1 of 8 (862592)
09-07-2019 12:01 PM


From e-mail from Ozan Varol :
quote:
How avoiding danger can make us less safe
What if measures intended to keep us safe actually made things worse?
Consider the case of allergies. Since 2010, the number of U.S. children with peanut allergies has increased by 21 percent. Allergies to tree nuts went up by 18 percent, and shellfish allergies by 7 percent.
These allergies can have severe and, at times, fatal consequences. Beginning in the 1990s, increasing numbers of parents started to take the well-intentioned step of protecting their children from potential allergens. PB&J sandwiches became a thing of the past as many parents completely stopped feeding peanuts to their children. Schools followed suit. Many schools in the United States don’t allow children to bring peanuts or even products (like dried fruits) processed in a facility that also processes peanuts.
We prevent the potential allergy by avoiding the potential allergen.
Makes sense, right?
Not so fast. If you look closely at the data, an association emerges between the increasing rate of allergies and measures intended to protect children from allergens. Put differently, the more we try to protect our children, the worse things get.
What explains that counterintuitive result? A group of researchers in one study set out to answer that question. In a study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, they recruited 640 infants between 4 and 11 months of age.
They split the children into two groups. One group of children ate 6 grams of peanut protein each week spread across at least three meals, whereas the other group of children avoided peanuts altogether. This feeding protocol continued until the children reached the age of 5, at which time they were tested for peanut allergies.
The results were shocking. In children who tested negative for peanut sensitivity at the beginning of the study, peanut consumption was associated with a whopping 86% drop in peanut allergies (13.7% of the avoidance group developed allergies whereas 1.9% of the consumption group developed them). And in children who tested positive for peanut sensitivity at the beginning of the study, the reduction was 70% (35.3% of avoidance group developed allergies whereas 10.6% of the consumption group developed them).
The consumption of peanuts worked like a vaccine. Just as introducing weak antigens stimulates learning in our immune system and prevents future infection, exposure to peanuts prompted the development of peanut-specific antibodies.
No, I’m not writing about peanuts because I’m affiliated with Big Peanut. I’ve never even liked peanuts. Peanut butter wasn’t a thing where I grew up. It’s decidedly an acquired taste, and it’s a taste that I’ve decided not to acquire.
I’m writing about peanuts because our response to them represents a broader trend.
We’ve become accustomed to shielding ourselves from anything that might be a threat. We fear failure, so we don’t launch a new business, write a new book, or start a podcast. We fear rejection so we don’t ask someone out on a date. Instead of sitting with the uncertainty of a life decision, we look for a pithy set of life hacks.
Over time, these actions create a feedback loop. We fear rejection, failure, peanutsyou name itso we avoid them. When we avoid them, we don’t develop the antibodies to cope with them. When we don’t develop antibodies, we become more vulnerable to them.
To protect us from the resulting vulnerability, we up the ante and increase the dose of the safety measure. Yet the cure exacerbates the cause. We lose our ability to cope with simple struggles.
The remedy lies in exposure. Just as early exposure to peanuts can stimulate the development of antibodies, exposure to rejection, uncertainty, and failure can allow us to recognize and learn from them. Each dose builds resilience and breeds familiarity. Each crisis becomes training for the next one.
This doesn’t mean imposing catastrophic failures on ourselves. We don’t have to be masochists. Rather, it means you accept some risks, push boundaries, tackle thorny problems, and yes, fail from time to time. Lean into discomfort instead of running away from it. Give yourself permission to botch a song on the piano and write ghastly first drafts of articles (as I keep telling myself).
To paraphrase an old adage, don’t try to prepare the road for yourself.
Instead, prepare yourself for the road.
Now, I like peanut butter, but I also know one kid (friend of my younger brother) who was deadly allergic to peanuts (throat swelled shut if not treated). The point is that the numbers have increased because of avoidance of exposure.
When I had my autogenic cell transplant (to treat cancer) I had to restore all the antigens I could. This included getting all the "childhood" immunizations. Unfortunately it did not restore my full immunity to chicken pox and so I got shingles (having the virus already).
One of the other things I did was to eat dirt, as children do, and thus get some protection from allergies etc.
Had an argument with a Scout mom about campout washing -- she wanted all the scouts to use the disinfection goo instead of just soap and water for washups. That goo also gets rid of good bacteria on your skin that helps protect you from infections. Overprotection.
Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmericanZenDeist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 1:18 PM RAZD has replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 412 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


Message 2 of 8 (862599)
09-07-2019 1:18 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by RAZD
09-07-2019 12:01 PM


RAZD writes:
That goo also gets rid of good bacteria on your skin that helps protect you from infections.
I've seen ads for soap that will put the good bacteria back on. Kinda like the yogurt that puts the good bacteria back into your digestive system. Funny how we ever got along without those.

Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.
-- Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by RAZD, posted 09-07-2019 12:01 PM RAZD has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 3 by RAZD, posted 09-07-2019 1:24 PM ringo has seen this message but not replied

  
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1405 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 3 of 8 (862600)
09-07-2019 1:24 PM
Reply to: Message 2 by ringo
09-07-2019 1:18 PM


worms
I've seen ads for soap that will put the good bacteria back on. Kinda like the yogurt that puts the good bacteria back into your digestive system. ...
Eating unpasteurized yogurt is one of the first things I do after digestive malfunctions.
But not worms ... I don't eat worms ...
Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmericanZenDeist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 1:18 PM ringo has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 4 by xongsmith, posted 09-23-2019 6:47 PM RAZD has seen this message but not replied

  
xongsmith
Member
Posts: 2578
From: massachusetts US
Joined: 01-01-2009
Member Rating: 6.8


Message 4 of 8 (863259)
09-23-2019 6:47 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by RAZD
09-07-2019 1:24 PM


Re: worms
No - we want to bury the W.O.R.M.s (White Old Republican Men) forever.

"I'd rather be an American than a Trump Supporter."
- xongsmith, 5.7d

This message is a reply to:
 Message 3 by RAZD, posted 09-07-2019 1:24 PM RAZD has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 5 by Faith, posted 09-23-2019 6:50 PM xongsmith has replied

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 5 of 8 (863260)
09-23-2019 6:50 PM
Reply to: Message 4 by xongsmith
09-23-2019 6:47 PM


Re: worms
Whatever happened to civility? The Left has killed it. Now we attack people rather than ideologies. You're going to start a civil war that way.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 4 by xongsmith, posted 09-23-2019 6:47 PM xongsmith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 6 by xongsmith, posted 09-23-2019 7:54 PM Faith has replied

  
xongsmith
Member
Posts: 2578
From: massachusetts US
Joined: 01-01-2009
Member Rating: 6.8


(2)
Message 6 of 8 (863270)
09-23-2019 7:54 PM
Reply to: Message 5 by Faith
09-23-2019 6:50 PM


Re: worms

"I'd rather be an American than a Trump Supporter."
- xongsmith, 5.7d

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5 by Faith, posted 09-23-2019 6:50 PM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 7 by Faith, posted 09-23-2019 8:05 PM xongsmith has not replied

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 7 of 8 (863271)
09-23-2019 8:05 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by xongsmith
09-23-2019 7:54 PM


Re: worms
So you're fine with racist anti-white and sexist anti-male rhetoric I guess. No need to keep the focus on ideologies, just attack people.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
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 Message 8 by Theodoric, posted 09-24-2019 1:30 AM Faith has not replied

  
Theodoric
Member
Posts: 9076
From: Northwest, WI, USA
Joined: 08-15-2005
Member Rating: 3.7


Message 8 of 8 (863279)
09-24-2019 1:30 AM
Reply to: Message 7 by Faith
09-23-2019 8:05 PM


Re: worms
Troll

Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts
"God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness.
If your viewpoint has merits and facts to back it up why would you have to lie?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 7 by Faith, posted 09-23-2019 8:05 PM Faith has not replied

  
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