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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    When Germs Make You Healthy

    Despite huge leaps in modern medicine throughout the 20th century, certain ailments have only gotten more common-- ­­ About one in five Americans now has some kind of allergy, ranging from seasonal hay fever to life­-threatening food sensitivities.

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    KCRW placeholderBy Barbara Bogaev • Jul 1, 2016 • 1 min read

    Despite huge leaps in modern medicine throughout the 20th century, certain ailments have only gotten more common-- ­­ About one in five Americans now has some kind of allergy, ranging from seasonal hay fever to life­-threatening food sensitivities.

    Roughly one in 13 has an autoimmune disease-- a disorder in which the immune system tasked with our protection instead attacks our own body --­­ such as Crohn’s, lupus, and ulcerative colitis.

    These diseases are twice--­­possibly three times-- ­­ more common in recent decades. Why-- ­­ and what’s to be done?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    The Re­-Education of the Immune System
    1. 1:53AG Loretta Lynch accepts Officials’ Recommendations on Clinton Emails
    2. 8:53When Germs Make You HealthyYou’re reading this
    3. 42:42First Fatal Collision for Tesla's Autopilot Feature
    • KCRW placeholder

      Barbara Bogaev

      radio journalist

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sáša Woodruff

      Producer, 'To the Point'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Jenny Hamel

      KCRW

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

    • KCRW placeholder

      Moises Velasquez-Manoff

      writer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Mikael Knip

      University of Helsinki, Finland

    • KCRW placeholder

      Dave Elliot

      University of Iowa College of Medicine

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    The Re­-Education of the Immune System
    1. 1:53AG Loretta Lynch accepts Officials’ Recommendations on Clinton Emails
    2. 8:53When Germs Make You HealthyYou’re reading this
    3. 42:42First Fatal Collision for Tesla's Autopilot Feature
    Back to To the Point