The documentary clearly explains the mechanisms of our immune system using animations and interviews with leading specialists. A historical, scientific and medical investigation to follow this Saturday, May 21 at 11:30 p.m. on Arte or on arte.tv until July.
By 2050, scientists estimate that four billion people will suffer from some form of allergic disease. The massive use of detergents, global warming, culture without diversity, pollution and botanical sexism in cities, favor the multiplication of allergies, whether to peanuts, pollens, dust mites or even cat hair, harmless elements in themselves.
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But why does our body overreact to the point of causing anaphylactic shock in the most serious cases? The documentary A world of allergies directed by Cosima Dannoritzer for Arte, takes us to Liège, where a team of scientists has discovered that allergies were originally created by our body to protect us from toxins and venoms, setting up a mechanism to expel emergency. Inscribed in the genes of all those who have inherited interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, this ability to develop an allergy protected our ancestors but is no longer necessarily an advantage today.
The lifestyle started in the 60s favors allergies
The significant increase in allergies, very rare at the beginning of the 20th century, dates from the 1960s, a period when detergents were widely used, when people began to consume industrial foods and live far from farms. Enzymes, preservatives, surfactants, chemical perfumes and dyes enter our bodies in a minute way through crockery, cutlery, clothing that is insufficiently rinsed by machines or by the abundant use of surface detergents.
” READ ALSO –Allergy: the risk in children is underestimated
However, the tight cellular barrier, formed by the healthy cells of our body, collapses in the presence of these detergents, creating spaces between the cells which allow chemicals or microplastics, microbes, toxins and allergens to enter. The agents of our immune system are then overwhelmed and can get carried away. Asthma, atopic dermatitis or allergic rhinitis can then be triggered.
Increasingly frequent thunderstorm asthma
Our natural environment is itself becoming more and more allergenic, as explained in the documentary “Un monde d’allergiques” on Arte. In 2016, an asthmatic spring storm sent 8,500 people to hospital in Melbourne and died. A large amount of pollen from the pastures had been carried into the heart of the city. Humidity combined with pollution creates finer and more allergenic particles. This phenomenon is becoming more and more frequent in Europe, the United States and the Middle East. Poorly designed urban green spaces also emit large amounts of pollen. Botanical sexism, which consists for example of selecting only male specimens of a tree species to avoid fruit formation, is commonplace. 30% of the population is allergic to grasses. Plane trees, the most popular shade trees in the world, are particularly allergenic. In the heart of cities, solid pollutants combine with pollen to form an ever more allergenic cocktail.
Look for the effect of the farm
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A study showed that the allergy rate of Amish children living on farms is 7% while it is 45% among children living in Munich. Through daily contact with animals, sialic acid, which promotes an important anti-inflammatory action, is transmitted to farm children. The inflammation triggered by the allergy is no longer felt but kept under control. The documentary also reveals that immunity comes from eating high allergenic products such as peanuts at a very young age. Instead of banishing them, the body should on the contrary be accustomed to their presence. Oral immunotherapy can slowly re-educate young city dwellers who are allergic, but many are discouraged by the slowness of the treatment.
A new treatment that targets inflammation
Messengers called cytokines play an important role in allergic diseases because they ensure a disordered communication between the cells of the immune system, which causes phenomena such as inflammation. Targeting the underlying inflammation, by preventing proteins from communicating, helps anticipate the problem. This new treatment has recently been available in France for asthma and allergic dermatitis. However, it would already cost “4 million euros per month to health insurance”specifies the documentary of Arte.
Siberian cats with low allergen levels
The allergen is secreted by the sebaceous glands, the fur and the saliva of the cat and is therefore located on its hair. When he grooms himself, he releases allergens. The Siberian cat, however, represents a hope for allergy sufferers dreaming of a little companion. The ratio of its allergen rate is 1 in 400 compared to other species of cat.
” READ ALSO – 5 Hypoallergenic Cat Breeds
So that the worst is not yet to come, create crèches and kindergartens with farm animals, a female pollen-free botanical garden, a thoughtful selection of trees and plants, limit pollution and the intensive use of detergents , are solutions to put in place quickly because allergies are real warning signals that our body sends us.
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