<\/p>\n
Today, it\u2019s common practice to use antibacterial or antimicrobial soaps to wipe your hands, bleach to sanitize your kitchen surfaces, and other antibacterial techniques to prevent the spread of infections.<\/p>\n
There is a theory that exposing people, especially babies and young children, to too many types of germs early in life might prevent them from acquiring illnesses such as asthma, allergies, and other immune-related illnesses. The theory called the \u201chygiene hypothesis\u201d is that our bodies need \u201cpractice\u201d fighting germs.<\/p>\n
We are all guilty of skipping a shower or two, but Amou Haji, who recently passed away in the village of Dejgah in the southern province of Fars, aged 94, according to reports, earned the not-so endearing title of \u201cworld\u2019s dirtiest man\u201d by avoiding showering for more than a decade out of fear of becoming ill, Irna news agency reported.<\/p>\n
We all know that too much or too little of something is never good for you. However, the question remains: how clean should we all be?<\/p>\n
There are still many things we don\u2019t understand about general human health \u2014 because Haji\u2019s lifestyle, however unorthodox, led him to survive years without ever getting sick, while the villagers\u2019 hearts in the right place bathed also removed his \u201camour\u201d, so to speak.<\/p>\n
It has been shown that lack of exposure to infectious agents may be the cause of the rise in immune-mediated and atopic diseases, according to a study by the National Library of Medicine titled The hygiene hypothesis, which examines these \u201chygienic\u201d environmental factors in depth. <\/p>\n
According to the study, the \u201chygiene hypothesis\u201d is the most widely used theory today.<\/p>\n
Haji reportedly disliked fresh and clean food as much as he disliked water \u2014 his preferred food is rotted porcupine meat, and instead of tobacco, the man filled his pipe with animal faeces.<\/p>\n In 1989, Dr David Strachan put up the hygiene hypothesis of allergic disease in response to his discovery that children with older siblings had a lower incidence of hay fever. <\/p>\n Due to inevitable unclean interaction with elder siblings or prenatal exposure from the mother infected by comparable unsanitary contact, he reasoned that children growing up in larger households could have higher exposure to germs in the early years. According to Strachan, this early-life increase in microbial exposure may shield kids from later-life immunological hypersensitivities.<\/p>\n Perhaps Haji\u2019s way of life was inspired by Lamarckism, a theory of evolution based on the idea that physical changes occur in organisms throughout their lifetime, such as more significant development of an organ or a part through increased use, the fact that he didn\u2019t bathe for that long and did not get sick. <\/p>\n As a result, his immune system morphed into his way of life, and he was able to live a long, healthy life.<\/p>\n Read the latest issue of IOL Health digital magazine here.<\/p>\n