RJ from Prospect Hts - The Radiolab parasite/hookworm episode to which you refer is linked, just below the show description, above.

Wait a minute! Homeopathy is nothing like what you are saying. Some of the idea in homeopathy, is that the water molecules have "memory" of the substance. They have to say this because some of the dilution are so dilute there is statistically no chance the a molecule of the original substance exists in the dilution. And then there was this claim that this memory could be endowed over the telephone (do a search for a retracted French study on this). And, as far as I have found out there is no increasing the dosage like the author was describing about oral therapies

No. It’s not like homeopathy at all.

Re: suggestion that increased weakness may be a function of improved medical care (-Truth).
Go right ahead. I always thought the people in my rural community were stronger that those of my second home in suburbia. Still there is the inconvenient truth of lifespan. It is indeed longer here than there.

Do people whose immune systems are suppressed by anti-rejection drugs, or even by AIDS, have fewer allergies?

Liz, the immune system has more than 1 home, incl. the thymus gland & the bone marrow.

Some allergies are a matter of degree. For example, some people don't have allergic reactions to pollen except during very heavy pollen seasons.

Could the apparent predominance of high-income people among those w/gluten intolerance be because people who can afford better medical care are more likely to be diagnosed correctly? Until recently, gluten intolerance & related disorders weren't even recognized, let alone generally accepted as legitimate by most doctors. And of course, the rate of diagnosis of any health problem goes up when it becomes a recognized/defined diagnosis.

As a person with celiac disease it worries me a great deal that gluten free diets are the rage they are.
Once I hoped for more awareness but knowledge without wisdom is useless.

For some of us a gluten free diet is a matter of life and death.
Sadly for others it's the 'in' thing and prescribing a gluten free diet when people don't need to be gluten-free is akin to treating a broken ankle with thyroid hormones and will yield similar results.

When I go to a restaurant and inquire about gluten, I need to know I am being taken seriously and fads are never taken seriously.

Can you comment on rheumatoid arthritis and how your findings apply. Thanks

RadioLab did a segment on a fellow who had horrible allergies. I don't remember what brought him to hookworms, but he went to Africa where hookworm is prevalent and he literally walked through their feces, where the hookworm were found, and he has essentially been cured of his allergies. He's now selling hookworm online.

Why do some people, like myself, just not have allergies?

Any correlations for people in the developed world who don’t have autoimmune diseases?

I hate to do this, but I have to suggest that this may be part of evolution. Darwin postulated survival of the species, suggesting that species that couldn't adapt would die out. People who had some of these allergies and autoimmune diseases in the past would not have survived to pass them on. It is only because of modern medicine that prolongs their lives and allows them to reproduce that we find increasing cases of allergies and autoimmune disorders.

What does Mr. Velasquez-Manoff have to say about this?

Speaking of parasitic infections causing unexpected symptoms, wondering what your guest thinks of this:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/toxoplasmas-links-to-schizophrenia-bipolar-disorder-and-increased-risk-taking-8102706.html

I am a lay person, but how is this for an idea:
Decades ago some people with certain illnesses, for example serious asthma, would not have survived childhood without medicines and modern medical care. Asthmatics might not have lived long enough to have children and pass the gene on to the next generation. Perhaps this happens with allergy and celiac, etc. as well. I'd like the opinion of a medical expert.

Something about the Neanderthal portion of our genome being responsible for some of our autoimmune diseases?

Alopecia areata is an associated autoimmune disease with celiac disease.

For many years, I had severe seasonal allergies. A friend recommended the local honey treatment. I was skeptical, but I religiously consumed one teaspoon of LOCAL honey a day starting in May of 2011. By allergy season 2012, I was symptom-free. I used to spend a lot of money on prescription allergy medicine, but no longer. This is one study big pharma companies won't fund, for obvious vested-interest reasons. (I couldn't locate any in-depth studies via quick internet search). I would love to hear your experts discuss this topic (honey immunotherapy).

The GI tract is the 'home' of the immune system, so it would seem logical that a healthy gut would help alleviate the symptoms. I second Dr. Mercola's columns. They are excellent.

It's been my (mostly recent) experience with allergies that they can affect just about everything: causing insomnia, lowered stamina, itchy skin, blood-sugar issues, etc. Would this be possible?

I was given Levaquin 13 years ago, and after 10 days, my body suddenly had out of control inflammation and pain in lower legs (both) AND i had two achilles tendon ruptures. developed chronic pain and tendinitis/tendinosis that is chronic in both achilles tendons. so bad it has put me on disability.
Now I have these spontaneous allergy symptoms, scratchy throat, both hands are swollen all the time, but are 'itchy' when these allergy episodes occur. Is Is there anything I can do about it? Or am I doomed to live a damaged life with more symptoms cropping up as the years go by? If these antibiotics are do damaging, why are they used for common infections instead of a last resort drug for people only in the hospital?

I too believe I have "cured" my allergies through probiotics. In the past, I had horrible seasonal allergies. The Spring of 2011 was the worst. My sinuses shut down and I was unable to breathe and needed to take prednisone. In the fall of 2011, however, I have been brewing my own kombucha, which is chock full of probiotics. I did not have one day of suffering from allergies this past Spring. Even environmental triggers, like my parents' dog, do not affect me now. I have not changed anything else in my environment, diet, or lifestyle, aside from drinking more kombucha, and, therefore, probiotics. I, too, am surprised that there is not more information out there on the affect of probiotics on allergies.

Gary, Check out the mercola.com website and read some of Dr.Mercola's articles on the digestive tract and diseases related to problems with your digestive tract. They are a wealth of information. Finding the best probiotic is the answer to a road to health these days. With all the Genetically Modified Foods in our food system it's a wonder we have any health at all.

I have basically cured my fairly severe spring and fall hay fever allergies with probiotics. It was not intentional; I was taking the probiotics for a digestive disorder, and sure enough, for the first time in over 45 years I didn't suffer from seasonal allergies, and my eczema cleared up as well. Three years ago, April came around and I wondered why for the first time I didn't have allergies, and the only difference was I had been taking the probiotics for a few months. I did some research and discovered the connection. But I wonder why more research has not been done on this, do the pharmaceutical companies have something to do with it? They would lose a lot of business once this becomes known.

I am curious about what role the digestive tract and "gut" plays in the immune system. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome appears to be an autoimmune dysfunction; what is the speakers opinion on it's possible causes. What are the genetic effects on autoimmune disorders, has this link been studied. Thank you for your respond.