Kids And Dogs Means A Stronger Immune System

We love our dogs, right. At  least my wife and daughter love our dogs and most of my friends have dogs and love them dearly.  They generously give (the dogs, not my wife and daughter) their loyalty, companionship, playfulness and don’t forget immune system hardiness! Canadian researchers set out to find out why growing up with a dog is linked to kids having lower rates of allergies.

Men’s Health reported on the study and I’m all for it, just not that excited about the methodology.  To search for clues pediatric epidemiologist Anita Kozyrskyj examined… baby poop.

She found a higher diversity of microbes inside the diapers of babies who lived in households with dogs and it’s the exposure to more microbes that helps kids develop stronger immune systems.

Interestingly, having dogs around adults doesn’t seem to affect their immune systems but owning a dog as a grown-up has been linked with lower levels of the type of inflammation related to diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. (Men’s Health)