Let Them Eat Dirt: How Microbes Can Make Your Child Healthier

Let Them Eat Dirt takes you inside the inside tract of a child's gut, and shows you how to give kids the best immune start early in life.' William Sears, MD, co-author of The Baby BookWe all want what is best for our kids, but for years we've believed that microbes cause infectious diseases and have battled to keep them under control.
In the two hundred years since we discovered that microbes cause infectious diseases, we've battled to keep them under control. But a recent explosion of scientific knowledge has led to undeniable evidence that early exposure to these organisms is beneficial to our children's well-being. Our modern lifestyle, with its emphasis on hyper-cleanliness, is having a negative effect on our children's lifelong health. In this engaging and important book, microbiologists B. Brett Finlay and Marie-Claire Arrieta explain how the trillions of microbes that live in and on our bodies influence childhood development and why an imbalance in those microbes can lead to obesity, diabetes and asthma, among other chronic conditions. Offering practical advice from conception through to pregnancy and beyond on what parents can do to impact their children's health - from natural childbirth and breastfeeding to the benefits of antibiotics and vaccinations - this invaluable guide will help you to nurture stronger, more resilient and healthier children.