Amish Children Remarkably Immune

**Gannon** · May-06-12, 08:56 PM

No kidding?!

Gee, I wonder what living like it's the 19th century does to help bolster the immune system?!

[[that, my dear friends, is a facetiously ironic rhetorical question)

Feel free to answer anyways. This could get fun.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/amish-farm-...200835366.html

**oladub** · May-07-12, 01:29 AM

No one mentioned that the Amish immigrated from Switzerland the other place the article mentioned with children not having many immune problems. So the answer could be genetic.

**Gannon** · May-07-12, 07:44 AM

But they did say the Amish were more healthy than even Swiss farm kids.

I was wondering why they mentioned that, perhaps it was a link that got edited out for publication. Happens all the time in print journalism.

**Gannon** · May-07-12, 07:46 AM

It is there! Eighth paragraph.

Amish families, who can trace their roots back to Switzerland, typically farm using methods from the 1800s and they don't own cars or televisions.

**jcole** · May-07-12, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by Gannon

It is there! Eighth paragraph.

In addition to the above stated reasons, I'd have to guess that the Amish use little to no chemicals in their farming techniques. I've long held that all the damned fungicides, fertilizers and weed killers that Americans slather on their lawns cause many of the cancers that we're fighting today, so why not compromised immune systems and allergies?

**rb336** · May-07-12, 08:38 AM

The kids work on farms, they don't carry around little bottles of Purell, etc. They are exposed from a young age to various pathogens and develop stronger immune systems AND they have less exposure to the nasty chemicals that run the rest of our food system

**Wheels** · May-07-12, 09:20 AM

It could be the splinters in their buts over time help build their immune system.

**oladub** · May-07-12, 10:09 AM

The Amish do use some pesticides, herbicides, and other farm chemicals but probably less than other farmers. They rely more on manure than spray on fertilizers for instance. Drinking fluoridated water is one thing rural residents don't do but that still doesn't differentiate rural US Amish from rural Swiss residents' immunity rates. If the study just compared US farm families with Amish families that, in itself, might turn up some different habits. Going back to fluoride, I don't think fluoride is even is Swiss urban water supplies. One thing I would suspect is that the Amish rely more on their own food supplies and purchase a smaller percentage of grocery store food laden with preservatives, GMO matter, rGBH, etc.. Again, Swiss grocery store food probably has less of that than US grocery store food.

The Amish, who live here historically largely because they escaped Swiss persecution, don't exist in Europe anymore as far as I know.

**Downtown Lady** · May-07-12, 12:03 PM

Autism is nearly non-existent among the Amish; this has been linked to the Amish not being vaccinated.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...-part-one.aspx

**rb336** · May-07-12, 12:04 PM

The Amish and Mennonites both migrated here largely due to poverty caused by the 30 years war, although there were certainly some persecutions. They were from Switzerland and the German duchies that made up the Palatinate of the Holy Roman Empire - currently Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria, Saarland and Baden-Wurttemburg. My father's grandmother's family were Amish until a schism split the Amish community into Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish. The Amish who remained in Europe eventually re-integrated with the general Anabaptist/Mennonite populations.

The Amish also have significantly lower instances of cancer, even among those who smoke. This is thought to be because of specific gene variations due to the small size of the founding community. Perhaps that also results in lower asthma rates

**rb336** · May-07-12, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by Downtown Lady

Autism is nearly non-existent among the Amish; this has been linked to the Amish not being vaccinated.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...-part-one.aspx

considering that there have been numerous studies that have disproven the vaccination connection to autism, that is dubious. considering that the Amish DO, in fact, vaccinate children adds to the dubious nature of that claim

**Downtown Lady** · May-07-12, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by rb336

the Amish DO, in fact, vaccinate children

Most of what I've seen online indicates that largely they don't. Do you have a link that I could read? Thanks.

**rb336** · May-07-12, 03:00 PM

http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...-2599.abstract

**Meddle** · May-07-12, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by oladub

So the answer could be genetic.

As in a very limited gene pool.

**Downtown Lady** · May-07-12, 03:55 PM

Thanks rb336, but I don't know that the article really disproves that Amish largely don't vaccinate. The article is titled "Underimmunization in Ohio's Amish" and states:

Holmes County, Ohio, one of the largest Amish communities in the world, has persistently low immunization rates. Studies of other Amish communities have revealed that parents do not immunize their children because of lack of access to immunizations.

The article states that 85% of Amish parents that replied to a survey accept some vaccines. However, 63% of the Amish parents surveyed did answer the survey. I understand about sample size, but in truth their statistic is that 85% of 37% of parents surveyed accept some vaccines, with the other 63% unaccounted for. Perhaps those parents who don't respond to surveys don't vaccinate their children either. [[I know that you can't assume they don't vaccinate their kids, but you can't assume that they do either.)

Additionally, this article is specific to only Ohio.

Not trying to be difficult here! This is just something that I would really like to know. Thank you.

**Meddle** · May-07-12, 04:48 PM

Keep in mind that the degree of Amish varies quite a bit by group. Some drive, others don't. Some will ride in a motorized driven by someone else, others will only use a horse and buggy.

Some have electricity, some have telephones. Some even have cell phones. Some only use electricity as necessary -- example, refrigeration of food, but no overhead lights.

So, to say that Amish immunize or not really depends on how Amish they are.

Then there are the Mennonites.

**rb336** · May-08-12, 08:24 AM

The Amish are interesting. Samuel Zug came from what was probably an Amish family that left the fold after the same schism that prompted my family to leave. oddly enough, a lot of those families went Presbyterian