article_snippet.sent: Exposure to a wide range of bacteria is necessary to prime the immune system early in life, according to the hygiene hypothesis .
article_snippet.sent: According to the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, exposure to a wide range of bacteria is necessary to prime the immune system early in life.
article_snippet.sent: Study author Jens Walter, of the University of Alberta in Canada, said: ‘There are several aspects of western lifestyle that have been hypothesized to alter the gut microbiome and decrease diversity.
article_snippet.sent: These include diet, sanitation, and clinical practices such as antibiotic use and caesarean sections, but we lack a conceptual understanding of how we microbiomes are altered.
article_snippet.sent: Professor Walter said: ‘These findings suggest that lifestyle practices that reduce bacterial dispersal - specifically sanitation and drinking water treatment - might be an important cause of microbiome alterations.
article_snippet.sent: We propose a model based on ecological theory that fits the data and provides an explanation for the decline of microbiota diversity in urban-industrialized societies.
article_snippet.sent: The scientists insisted that treating food and water is still vital - reducing the number of illnesses and deaths from bacterial infections.
article_snippet.sent: But The scientists said that Western diets may have contributed to increases in some chronic diseases.
article_snippet.sent: Co-author Andrew Greenhill, a senior lecturer in microbiology at Federation University Australia, said: ‘Co-author Andrew Greenhill, a senior lecturer in microbiology at Federation University Australia can think about how we can reduce the collateral damage of modern lifestyle practices on the gut microbiome without jeopardizing the benefits.
article_snippet.sent: ‘The findings from this study provide information that could be used to develop strategies to prevent and redress the impact of westernization and potentially support the dispersal and transmission of microbes that have been eradicated.