Is "Clean Living" to blame for Allergies?

The National Institutes of Health report that 50% of Americans are sensitive to at least one allergen, which is more than twice the rate reported in years past. Is “clean living” to blame? Is Americans’ incessant use of anti-bacterial cleansers, air-tight seals around doors and windows and pet-free homes actually weakening our immune systems and causing an epidemic increase in allergies and asthma? Immune health researcher Stuart Reeves, Ph.D., discusses the “Hygiene Hypothesis,” the theory that sterile environments fail to challenge the immune system. “Unwittingly, Americans’ too-clean behaviors hamper the immune system from educating itself on the appropriate responses to environmental factors such as dirt and microorganisms,” says Dr. Reeves.