|aAllergic to the 20th century :|basthma|ca presentation of Films for the Humanities & Sciences, BBC Education & Training ; written and produced by John Groom. |h[videorecording] /
|aCamera, John Adderley ... [et al.] ; editor, Jana Bennett ; narrator, Lesley Judd.
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|a(Producer) If figures are correct, asthma has become the plague of the 20th century. This comprehensive program addresses the issue and asks the question, "Are we allergic to our modern lifestyle?" Tracing the asthmatic response to a defense mechanism in early humans that evolved to defend our ancestors against worms and parasites, the program goes on to examine the possible causes of asthma's reappearance in modern times: household mites, smoke, pollution, stress, and seasonal changes. Recent studies suggest that breast-feeding mothers with asthma may be able to insulate their infants from acquiring the condition by avoiding certain foods and controlling the infant's early environment.