In today's world, germs are the enemy. We are constantly washing our hands, wiping down surfaces, and slathering on the hand sanitizer. But what does this over-sanitization mean for our skin and overall health? Maya Shetreat, MD is a neurologist, herbalist, urban farmer, and author of The Dirt Cure: Healthy Food, Healthy Gut, Happy Child (Simon and Schuster, 2016), which has been translated into ten languages. She has been featured in the New York Times, The Telegraph, NPR, Sky News, The Dr. Oz Show, and more. Dr. Maya is the founder of the Terrain Institute, where she teaches Terrain Medicine™, earth-based programs for transformational healing. She works and studies with indigenous communities and healers in Ecuador, and is a lifelong student of ethnobotany, plant healing, and the sacred. Has spending more time in nature improved your overall health? Let me know in the comments! In this episode: The problem with over-sanitization How antibiotics affect the gut Connection between the immune system and the skin Does over-sanitization as children affect us as adults? Quotes: “Everything's connected in the body. And this is a thing I think that unfortunately is forgotten about by all doctors and especially by dermatologists. Dermatologists are always thinking topical. Like, what will I do topically rather than thinking that, you know, how we heal skin is from the inside out.” [5:51] “The immune system is a remote system. So when something's activated in one place, like the gut, it can totally cause symptoms in another place like the skin.” [8:56] “What you need for a healthy immune system, particularly in infancy and childhood but throughout life at any point in life, is you need small stressors. And that's a concept called hormesis, which is the idea that something that might be toxic in a large amount, in a very tiny amount it actually optimizes health.” [13:20] Links: Find Dr. Maya Online Download Dr. Maya's FREE Earth Medicine Transformation Bundle HERE Follow Dr. Maya on Facebook | Instagram