> They say that children who grow up on farms have stronger immune systems because they are exposed to the natural environment more. Weirdly, they also have low incidence of food allergies.
I have many siblings (more than 9). All of us grew up on an active farm except the youngest one. None have had any food allergies except from my youngest brother.
> I also wonder about doctor's who work in the emergency room. How are they not constantly sick with some kind of common cold / flu / bronchitis?
A colleague of mine told me his wife would eat anything that had expired best before date etc while she was in training, just to build her defenses.
I cannot vouch for this theory but maybe someone else can tell if it is a common tactic.
> A colleague of mine told me his wife would eat anything that had expired best before date etc while she was in training, just to build her defenses.
I lived for 5 years in a college dorm sharing bathroom/toilet and a communal kitchen with 14 other students. I am not quite sure it built up my immune system. I managed to get the swine flu back then, too.
This reminds me of another dorm story, a friend of a roommate always washed his hands when he came of the bus and visited. And I distinctly remember how we all felt that this was somewhat weird, obsessional, when in retrospect it just feels prudent and I don't really think he showed signs of pathological obsession. Its interesting how standards change.
As to eating stuff past expiry date: my wife tends to stockpile yogurt and dairy products in our fridge, not that uncommon that they were past their date. Turns out, since they are pasteurised they are often still good weeks after their best-before date. I actually don't think there is much in them to train your immune system (unless they are spoiled and I don't think fungal toxins is something you voluntarily want to put in your body).
> Contrary to popular impression, the current system of food product dating isn’t really designed to help us figure out when something from the fridge has passed the line from edible to inedible.
> For now, food companies are not required to use a uniform system to determine which type of date to list on their food product, how to determine the date to list or even if they need to list a date on their product at all. [1]
I have many siblings (more than 9). All of us grew up on an active farm except the youngest one. None have had any food allergies except from my youngest brother.
> I also wonder about doctor's who work in the emergency room. How are they not constantly sick with some kind of common cold / flu / bronchitis?
A colleague of mine told me his wife would eat anything that had expired best before date etc while she was in training, just to build her defenses.
I cannot vouch for this theory but maybe someone else can tell if it is a common tactic.
(I think it sounds weird.)