juliana_aldous's review
4.0
Ever wonder why your kid's class has at least one or two kids with a severe food allergy and you remember none in your school room growing up? Ever buy that prescription for Claretin and wonder why your allergies seem worse than ever before? If you or a family member suffer from allergies, asthma, or an autoimmune disorder such as Chron's, then I highly recommend this book to learn about the latest research. The author wraps up the latest studies with his own personal story battling allergies and a quest for a cure involving parasites. Yes, parasites. Seriously. When I began reading I wondered if I had perhaps picked up a book by a whacko, but Velasquez-Manoff backs everything up. It is perhaps that we have so throughly cleaned our environment of microbes and other critters that we have evolved to live with that could be our undoing.
Now go eat some dirt.
Now go eat some dirt.
jrk's review
4.0
Enlightening information regarding "old friends" (parasites and bacteria that we've co-evolved with) and how their absence relates to modern health issues like allergies and asthma and eczema.
stevequinn's review
4.0
Really eye opening. I was worried this book would be cultish or push an agenda, but I think the author was quite responsible about making claims for worm therapy. The idea we've thinned out the biosphere and hurt ourselves in doing so is an attractive one. The book makes me want to know more v
sigo's review
5.0
One of the best science writing that I have ever read. The idea that Manoff puts forward is one that has the potential to change how we think about the afflictions of modern life; allergy, autoimmunity, possibly even autism. I read this book for my immunology class and it drastically changed how all of us, even our teacher, thought about the immune system and how it works. Basically, changes that have happened since the Industrial Revolution, even ones that we think are beneficial like better hygiene practices, could be causing an increase in the risk of allergies and autoimmune disorders. The author does a very good job of laying out how the immune system normally functions and how it has gone wrong, turning in on itself or attacking unnecessarily. Highly recommended for anyone interested in biology.
harkinna's review
5.0
Excellent book...if you are into this kind of thing, the author does a great job summarizing lots of scientific data and tells you his personal autoimmune story. I would have enjoyed a bit more about him and the things he has tried to grow his hair back, but over all, well written.
raehink's review against another edition
4.0
A very readable, yet quite technical, explanation of the connection between allergens and parasites. The rate of allergy and autoimmune disorders has rapidly increased since the Industrial Revolution -- but not in still-developing countries. This author believes that at least some of that increase can be explained by the absence of what used to be endemic infections of hookworms, pinworms, and other parasites. Apparently, they provide protection from allergens and stimulate the immune system in a beneficial way.
His chapters on worm therapy and its effects on autism, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn's disease are extremely interesting.
I found the book fascinating and didn't want to put it down. Obviously, there is fodder for more research here.
His chapters on worm therapy and its effects on autism, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn's disease are extremely interesting.
I found the book fascinating and didn't want to put it down. Obviously, there is fodder for more research here.
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