Get Your Probiotic Cuddles

We could all use more hope when it comes to the future of public health. Did you know that our pets are the key to many studies from the late 2010s that concluded that the more animals one meets in their first year of life, the lower the risk of asthma, hay fever and eczema in the future?

According to one such study, the microbes (organisms that are too small to be seen without using a microscope) of dogs, cats and farm animals stimulate our immune systems. This sounds odd, but it isn’t. The truth is that the external world is constantly interacting with our bodies, and the fact that we aren’t noticing it is actually a sign of health. 

BUT, WHY?

Our furry friends are willing to sniff, lick and swallow things that we (hopefully!) wouldn't. They then bring them near us. Another recent study further confirms that “babies exposed to dirt and bacteria from a pet's fur or paws can create early immunity” and that it can also happen from the pet-to-mother-to-unborn baby! 

A 2016 study concluded that Amish children who lived close to barnyard animals in Indiana had far lower rates of asthma than Hutterite children living in North Dakota’s mechanized farms. This suggests that farm animals are even better at helping kids develop immunization than pets. This is not to say that we should all bring home some farm animals! A better suggestion? “If we can’t bring our kids to the farm, maybe we can bring the farm to kids,” says Dr. Gilbert, the co-founder of the study. 

A-MOO-SING CATTLE

On top of helping us have fewer allergies, cattle are also the key to how vaccines were invented. When Edward Jenner (1749–1823) noticed a possible relationship between cowpox – a mild disease that cattle experience – and smallpox, he got straight to work on a vaccine. Once he found the right process to make an effective smallpox vaccine, the most deadly infectious disease in the world was history. Thanks again, cattle!