Amish Kids Almost Never Get Allergies and Scientists Finally Know Why
26th July 2025
In today’s world, allergies are nearly unavoidable. For instance, a report from Stanford Medicine suggests that nearly 40 percent of the human population (over three billion people) suffers from at least one allergic condition, making allergies one of the most widespread health issues globally.
The situation is even worrisome in the US, where over 50 percent of all kids suffer from this problem. However, surprisingly, there’s one group in America that seems almost immune to allergies, the Amish. Compared to the earlier 50 percent figure, only seven percent of Amish kids have developed any allergic condition.
Moreover, “generally, across the country, about 8 to 10 percent of kids have asthma. In the Amish kids, it’s probably 1 to 2 percent. A few of them do have allergies, but at much, much lower rates compared to the general population,” Carole Ober, an expert on human genetics from the University of Chicago, told The Washington Post.
These numbers are so incredible that scientists are now digging deep into Amish barns and homes to understand how these children are being protected. They believe that their findings could lead to treatments that prevent allergies altogether.
I thought it was the beards but what do I know?