Want healthy kids? Let them play in the mud

Book Review: “Let Them Eat Dirt” By B. Brett Finlay and Marie-Claire Arrieta

If you read about children’s health, you’ve heard a lot of this before: Microbes, vilified because they cause infectious diseases, can be beneficial to a child’s well-being. Our society’s penchant for hyper-cleanliness is actually making our children less healthy and more prone to allergies.

But microbiologists B. Brett Findlay and Marie-Claire Arrieta make that case with an unusually convincing display of evidence - as well as historical anecdotes and a parent-friendly sense of humor - in their new book, “Let Them Ea...