Boston Globe article

[Phyl]

Here's an article from today's paper that's very appropriate to what's been discussed here:

 

ALLERGIES

Blame your stomach, not your nose

June 1, 2004

 

Bugs in the gut may be causing many allergy symptoms felt in the head, from runny noses to trouble breathing, University of Michigan researchers told a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology last week. And antibiotics could be to blame. The findings could help explain the puzzling rise in asthma and allergies across the developed world in recent decades, researchers said. Antibiotics kill bacteria, but they can kill beneficial bacteria living in the intestines and colon. Many doctors recommend that patients taking antibiotics also eat "live" yogurt to replace some of these helpful microbes. "We all have a unique microbial fingerprint -- a specific mix of bacteria and fungi living in our stomach and intestines," said Dr. Gary Huffnagle, an associate professor of internal medicine and of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan. "Antibiotics knock out bacteria in the gut, allowing fungi to take over temporarily until the bacteria grow back after the antibiotics are stopped. Our research indicates that altering intestinal microflora this way can lead to changes in the entire immune system, which may produce symptoms elsewhere in the body."

REUTERS

[Claire]

Great article Phyl! I saved it to enlighten my friends as needed!

 

Claire