You Might Have Fewer Allergies If You Ate More Dirt

The title sounds like clickbait. It's not. There's substantial evidence that early-life exposure to dirt, dust, animals, and microbes significantly reduces the risk of developing allergies and asthma. This isn't fringe science—it's the hygiene hypothesis, supported by decades of epidemiological and immunological research.

I'm not advocating eating mud pies or abandoning hand washing after using the bathroom. The medical profession's adoption of hand washing in the mid-1800s dramatically reduced maternal and infant mortality from puerperal fever. Ignaz Semmelweis, the physician who proposed that doctors wash their hands between autopsies and deliveries, was ridiculed by his colleagues, institutionalized, and died shortly after—only to have his theories validated posthumously as germ theory became accepted.

Hygiene matters. But our modern obsession with sterilizing every surface, eliminating all bacterial exposure, and using antimicr...

TMJ dysfunction creates symptoms throughout the body—not just jaw pain. Because the temporomandibular joint sends approximately 35% of all sensory input to your central nervous system and connects mechanically to the upper cervical spine, sphenoid bone, and hyoid complex, dysfunction here cascades into seemingly unrelated problems.

For a comprehensive explanation of how TMJ affects whole-body health, see: Can TMJ Cause Other Problems?

Here are the ten most common signs of TMJ dysfunction:

1. Headaches and Migraines

Headaches are the most common symptom of TMJ dysfunction. Tension headaches from overactive temporalis, masseter, and pterygoid muscles. Migraines triggered by trigeminal nerve irritation (the trigeminal nerve innervates the jaw and is the primary pain pathway for migraines). Cervicogenic headaches from upper cervical compensation.

Clinical example: Patient presented with 32 consecutive days of migraine-type headache. Multiple ER visits, two neurologists, MRI and CT sca...

Most people say "I have TMJ" when describing jaw pain. That's like saying "I have knee" instead of "I have knee pain." TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint: the hinge connecting your jaw to your skull. We all have two of them. What people mean is TMJ dysfunction: the joint isn't moving correctly, muscles aren't firing in proper sequence, or structural compensation has developed.

Why does this matter? Because TMJ dysfunction doesn't stay isolated to your jaw.

The Neurological Reality of TMJ Dysfunction

Your...

What Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?

IBS is one of those diagnoses that patients mention almost apologetically. Most people don't walk into my office saying "I have IBS." They tell me about gas, bloating, unpredictable bowel movements, stomach pain that comes and goes.

They've learned to plan their lives around bathroom access. They know which foods will wreck them for days. They've been told it's stress, or anxiety, or just something they'll have to live with.

Here's the reality: about 20% of the populatio...

PCOS: What It Is and Why It Matters

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome affects 5-15% of women of reproductive age. Approximately 6 million diagnosed annually in the US. Despite how common it is, most women receive inadequate explanations about what's actually driving their symptoms.

Common manifestations include irregular or absent menstrual cycles, subfertility or infertility, male-pattern hair growth (hirsutism: not just facial hair, but thick growth on arms, chest, abdomen), difficulty losing weight despite caloric r...

Food Allergy 101: Understanding Food Reactions

Constant fatigue. Waking up exhausted even after a full night's sleep. Brain fog that won't lift. Digestive issues that come and go without any obvious pattern. Skin problems that don't respond to treatment. Anxiety or depression that seems to appear from nowhere.

These symptoms don't seem related to food. But they often are.

Food allergies and sensitivities are one of the m...

What are allergies?
By J. J. Gregor DC, DIBAK, DCCN

It's allergy season again here in North Texas.  I’ve been told since I moved here 14 years ago that there are two types of people here: those who have allergies and those who will get allergies.   

Growing up in West Virginia, I experienced horrible sniffling, sneezing, sinus headaches, you name it, for a week every spring and every fall.  What's crazy is that when I moved to Dallas, all my allergies 'went away'.  So, why when I moved to one of the worst allergy prone places in the US, I suddenly felt my best? 

Allergies are an immune response or reaction to specific substances.  Allergens are all around us and are particularly problematic in the spring with trees budding out, flowers blooming, grass being cut and tons of pollen flying through the air.  And in Fall, it's the budding of other seasonal plants and the sap moving in trees. 

Conservatively 10 to 20% of the population of the U.S. suffer from some seasonal allergy at var...