that was very interesting, Erin, thank you for posting it.

I didn't know there was a surge in MS happening... although I *did* know about the odd little fact that MS occurs more readily in areas with HIGH sanitation.

and I was unaware that type I Diabetes was actually an immune disorder... (my mom had type II, and I never researched type I), and this news came out *after* I moved to the jungle, and I guess I sorta missed it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus

I found this part of the piece you posted to be particularly fascinating, along with the tidbit that more than HALF of Americans now have at least one allergy!

wow!

Although hay fever, eczema, asthma and food allergies seem quite different, they are all "allergic diseases" because they are caused by the immune system responding to substances that are ordinarily benign, such as pollen or peanuts.

Autoimmune diseases also result from the body's defense mechanisms malfunctioning. But in these diseases, which include lupus, MS, Type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease, the immune system attacks parts of the body such as nerves, the pancreas or digestive tract.

this fascinates me, as I recently (last November) ended up in the hospital with a severe allergic reaction to the local fire ants.

it took the doctors a while to figure it out, because... they USUALLY only see this kind of blistering, swelling, and hives in little CHILDREN... so, I was the FIRST adult they'd seen with a case so bad.

anyway, it's interesting... that it's all so *connected*