News
The 'Disease of the Rich'
Crohn's disease is increasing in young people. More and more boys and girls are being diagnosed with the ailment, while some experts blame a rise in the consumption of junk food and overuse of antibiotics.
Once quite rare, its frequency is on the increase with figures doubling in the space of a few years.
It is an inflammation of the digestive tract, that can occur anywhere from the mouth to the back passage. It is caused by a disruption of the immune system – in which the body’s own defence system goes into overload, producing antibodies that do more harm than good.
Another more speculative theory is that children growing up in the ultra-hygienic, germ-free environment of many Western homes may not have a fully-developed immune system because they have not been exposed to childhood infections. All conditions that are typical of Western industrialised societies, hence the nickname.
Apparently a way to avoid it is to get relatively exposed to the environment when young - allow your children to make mud cake at the playground in your public park - and to avoid unhealthy food with an eye on the long term consequences of a wrong nutrition.
Once quite rare, its frequency is on the increase with figures doubling in the space of a few years.
It is an inflammation of the digestive tract, that can occur anywhere from the mouth to the back passage. It is caused by a disruption of the immune system – in which the body’s own defence system goes into overload, producing antibodies that do more harm than good.
Another more speculative theory is that children growing up in the ultra-hygienic, germ-free environment of many Western homes may not have a fully-developed immune system because they have not been exposed to childhood infections. All conditions that are typical of Western industrialised societies, hence the nickname.
Apparently a way to avoid it is to get relatively exposed to the environment when young - allow your children to make mud cake at the playground in your public park - and to avoid unhealthy food with an eye on the long term consequences of a wrong nutrition.