Allergies and rural living

Amish children raised on rural farms show significantly lower rates of allergies and asthma than other children.

That’s according to a new study that looked at amish children in northern Indiana.

It’s part of a long observed but little understood phenomenon known as “the farm effect.”

It’s not entirely clear why this happens, but some theories argue early exposure to diverse allergens helps to develop the immune systems.

Here in Canada, there are about 31,000 people in the Amish and Mennonite communities.