Strength Test

I was recently asked if I could remember anyone growing up who had a severe allergy to peanuts or any food sensitivities to things like lactose or gluten. I couldn’t remember anyone. I remember going to school with peanut butter sandwiches in my lunch bag!

The schools my children go to are very different. Everywhere seems to be a nut-free space because of dangerous allergies, and it’s almost impossible to keep track of which of my children’s friends have which types of food sensitivities. It’s so prevalent that it’s become the norm.

So what happened?

In a recent article in the National Post, “Why everybody is suddenly allergic to everything,” it points to two main reasons for this drastic increase in allergies. The first reason is that well-meaning parents were keeping their infants away from allergy-related foods like nuts, eggs, etc. However, “it turns out there’s a brief window of time after you’re born in which your body is super receptive to unfamiliar foods and won’t react to them.”

The second reason is that in our attempts to avoid dirt and germs, we’ve made our immune systems weaker. This would explain why farm kids, the Amish, and people living in poorer countries have fewer allergies. As my dad likes to say: “Kids these days just aren’t eating enough dirt!” (Of course, not all food allergies can be tied to a lack of dirt-eating and exposure).

It reminds me of the saying applied to sports, brain, and language science: “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” In the case of allergies, if you don’t use and test your immune system, it becomes weaker and non-functioning.

With cars, it’s very much the same thing. When looking for a second hand car to buy, you might be tempted by the description of “barely driven,” or an older model car with very low kilometres. However, as a used car dealer explains: “cars were built to be driven and not to be sitting. Countless things can go bad with them, and not all of them are preventable or repairable.” Even a car that sits for just two weeks will sound rough on starting and perform poorly in a number of ways. 

The long list of maladies that vehicles experience when sitting include drained battery, warped or rotted tires, malfunctioning fuel pump, rust in the gas tank, frame rust, rusted brakes and rotors, unlubricated parts, misfiring plugs, and insect infestations.

So what about the work we do? If you’ve ever been off work for longer than a few weeks, you’ve probably noticed that it’s tough to get back on track when you return. Some things that you used to do easily are now a bit more of a challenge.

It’s important that we not only keep up our daily tasks, but also to test ourselves and push to do more. It’s in facing tests and trying new things that we will continue to grow and get stronger at whatever we’re doing. If we sit back and avoid challenges, we might not develop allergies or get infested with insects, but our performance will ultimately suffer.