
About this episode
Are your kids too clean for their own good?
Amish children experience 90% less asthma than the national average—not despite getting dirty, but because of it. When scientists analyzed the dust in their farmhouses, they discovered an invisible ecosystem that was training immune systems to be resilient instead of reactive.
In his episode, host Jason Wachob explores the groundbreaking research behind the "hygiene hypothesis" and its implications for modern parents raising kids in an increasingly sanitized world.
This discovery is forcing us to rethink everything about dirt, bacteria, and health. And it's already led to treatments used by 100+ million people worldwide.
Are we too clean for our own good?
Study Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37210851/
Chapters:
[00:18] The Amish morning: A scene from another era
[02:23] The asthma epidemic vs. farm kids' secret weapon
[04:30] What's really in farm dust? (It's not what you think)
[05:46] Bacterial lysates: Recreating farm protection in a lab
[08:22] The hygiene hypothesis: Why clean might be too clean
🎙️ This new format episode, hosted by founder and co-CEO Jason Wachob, is from the mindbodygreen podcast, where science meets meaning—and small shifts lead to big health changes.
If this story resonated with you:
👍 Like this video
🔔 Subscribe for more science-backed stories on longevity, nutrition, and whole-body health
Read more here: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/
Shop our supplements: https://shop.mindbodygreen.com/
Join 1M+ subscribers on their journey towards strong and healthy: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/newsletters
Follow us:
Instagram: @mindbodygreen
TikTok: @mindbodygreen
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get every episode summarized
Each time The mindbodygreen Podcast publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from The mindbodygreen Podcast

Status, Sex, & Sports Cars: What Science Says
The mindbodygreen Podcast
Sep 6, 202611:08completed

665: Is Zone 2 training a waste of your workout time? | Kristi Storoschuk, exerc...
The mindbodygreen Podcast
Aug 30, 202645:49pending

664: High-achiever? Here’s how to prevent burnout | science writer Elizabeth Svo...
The mindbodygreen Podcast
Aug 23, 202651:42pending

663: Daily choices that shape brain health in your 30s, 40s & beyond | David Per...
The mindbodygreen Podcast
Aug 17, 202647:20pending