Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Aromasin 457 days ago
It's probably a bit of one, a bit of two. Despite spending everyday in the garden growing up, I've always struggled with allergies and they've changed throughout my life. I was deathly allergic to tomato's and eggs as a child but grew out of it around 11-12, became very allergic to pollen and pet dander at 5, which is now life long, and recently in my late 20s become allergic to hazelnut and some other foods I've yet to pin down (my mouth comes up in hives with no rhyme or reason while eating occasionally). I've also developed oesophagitus in my late 20s, to the point where I choke on foods daily unless chewed to a pulp before swallowing.

To me, it seems the parasite theory makes sense in tandem with hygiene. Some people by upringing become predisposed to allergies, while others have genetically as a result of humanities constant fight against intestinal worms. As our genetic profile changers as we age, so does how our bodies express said genes which would be designed to fight something we no longer have.