An Epidemic of Absence
by Moises Velasquez-Manoff · first published 2013
15mentions
6recommended by
8HN commenters
2013–2024first – last mentioned
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Science journalism on the hygiene hypothesis, linking reduced microbe exposure to rising asthma and autoimmune disease; readers value its many studies, individual stories, and clear summary of an evolving field.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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For those interested in recent research focusing on the interplay between bacteria and our immune systems, I recommend An Epidemic of Absence by Moises Velasquez-Manoff. Podcast introduction from Chris Kresser: http://chriskresser.com/what-are-the-hidden-costs-of-modern-... Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439199388?tag=chrikres-20&link_cod...
on “Gut Bacteria From Thin Humans Can Slim Mice Down” ↗…and IBS are only pathogenic if we get them later in life. When we get these bacteria in childhood, before the age of 7, they grow symbiotically with us and help ward off disease. Check out the book An Epidemic of Absence by Moises Valesquez-Manoff [1] if you guys want to learn more about this stuff. It's a fascinating account of a man who experiments with altering his gut biome to overcome Alopecia areata (total hair…
on “The Gut Microbes of African Hunter-Gatherers” ↗…There's a school of thought that thinks our modern city existence is too clean, and we're no longer exposed to "old friends" that keep asthma and other chronic illnesses at bay. Check out the book "An Epidemic of Absence" for more details: http://amzn.to/12Blhij. In ten years from now, we may be taking pills for "beneficial parasites" as we do now for beneficial bacteria.
on “A Filthy History: When New Yorkers Lived Knee-Deep in Trash” ↗…to gut bacteria is not new. The relationship between MS and gut bacteria alone goes back to at least 2006 [1]. To learn more about auto-immune diseases and gut bacteria, I highly recommend the book An Epidemic of Absence [2]. It's an impressively well researched book that doesn't skimp on the science. I managed to get my eczema under control by learning about the relationship between gut, food, inflammation, and auto-immunity.…
on “Gut Germs Appear to Play Role in Multiple Sclerosis” ↗The book An Epidemic of Absence presents a pretty compelling case, I recommend it.
on “Some Bacteria Are Becoming 'More Tolerant' of Hand Sanitizers, Study Finds” ↗I recently read a book about this very concept, the author went over hundreds of studies like the one you just read and has some interesting conclusions, in the book titled "An Epidemic of Absence"
on “Dirt may explain why richest countries suffer diseases rarely seen anywhere else” ↗The book "Epidemic of Absence" is the best summary of the research on this, to my knowledge.
on “FDA: Antibacterial soaps could pose health risks” ↗…the arguments for Hygiene Theory being the cause of the increase in autoimmune diseases and allergies much more credible, and it seems to have more science behind it. There was a good discussion of "An Epidemic of Absence", a recent book on the topic, on EconTalk this week. The basic premise is that these disorders may be caused by a lack of microbes and parasites in the modern Western world. The lack of those microbes…
on “Is Roundup the Cause of 'Gluten Intolerance'?” ↗I read "Epidemic of Absence", a science journalist's survey of the research, telling of individual stories, and speculation about where the field could go. Super interesting. My takeaway was that there's clearly stuff happening…
on “Scientists sniffing out the Western allergy epidemic” ↗I am reading An Epidemic of Absence (http://www.moisesvm.com/) which explores the hypothesis and it presents a plethora of cases and studies that support it. I have not searched for counter points but it seems pretty solid to me. I can…
on “Cleaning sprays have an impact on lung health comparable to cigarettes” ↗I am reading the book "An Epidemic of Absence" by Moises Velasquez-Manoff, which articulates a basis for everything being covered in this HN thread. While I wish the author made better use of citations and footnotes, the narrative seems compelling.
on “How an Alzheimer’s ‘cabal’ thwarted progress toward a cure” ↗This one: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/An-Epidemic-of-Absenc... An Epidemic of Absence, by Moises Velasquez Manoff.
on “Hannah Gadsby on her autism diagnosis” ↗Does "Epidemic of Absence" actually address chlorine? I thought it was a useful and interesting book, but I don't remember it discussing chlorine in specific.
on “The first mass chlorination of a city’s water supply” ↗The book "An Epidemic of Absence" documents the hygiene theory mentioned in his piece. There is a review of that book here [1] [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/science/an-epidemic-of-ab...
on “The reason(s) food allergies are on the rise” ↗I guess I'm cool coming out and saying it. Out of curiosity I bought some helminths online and infected myself. I was inspired to do it after reading a book called An Epidemic of Absence. I can't say a whole lot -- positive or negative -- came from it, but it was easy to do and inexpensive. So even though the article says you shouldn't try it at home, I did. I consider it safe. I'm not…
on “Your Immune System Is Not a Muscle” ↗