No, really. This isn’t from The Onion.

The College Fix reports.

Is Eating Boogers Good For You? One Professor Thinks So

Scott Napper, a biochemist at the University of  Saskatchewan in Canada, believes that picking your nose and eating your boogers exposes you — and your immune system — to the pathogens inside, which in turn boosts immunity.

Why else would they taste so sweet, the professor said.

“I’ve got two beautiful daughters, and they spend an amazing amount of time with their fingers up their nose,” Napper told CBC News. ” And without fail, it goes right into their mouth afterwards. Could they just be fulfilling what we’re truly meant to do?”

The news website also noted Napper said snot has a sugary taste and that may be a signal to the body to consume it and derive information for the immune system.

Napper aims to test his hypothesis. Here’s how:

“All you would need is a group of volunteers. You would put some sort of molecule in all their noses, and for half of the group they would go about their normal business and for the other half of the group, they would pick their nose and eat it,” he told CBC News. “Then you could look for immune responses against that molecule and if they’re higher in the booger-eaters, then that would validate the idea.”

Apparently, there’s plenty of interest from people who want to participate in the study.

Napper added, with a chuckle, that he has already been approached by people keen to participate in a study.

Bottom line? Don’t just pick it and flick it.