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Mother Dirt Knows Best? Why You Should Stop Fearing Bacteria
Mother Dirt Knows Best? Why You Should Stop Fearing Bacteria
Sputnik International
COVID-19 is not the first disease to be associated with a pathological fear of contamination and germs. So-called bacteriophobia dates back to 1879, when it... 14.02.2022, Sputnik International
2022-02-14T12:16+0000
2022-02-14T12:16+0000
2022-02-14T13:34+0000
scientists
bacteria
covid-19
coronavirus
pandemic
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You've probably met people who are obsessed with repeatedly washing their hands for the express purpose of tackling bacteria and saying something like "cleanliness is next to godliness".It turns out, however, that being scrupulously clean is not that good for your health. Aside from an unhealthy obsession with so-called germaphobia or bacteriophobia, here are some reasons why you may want to put that soap down.What's more, some types of bacteria have yet to be systematised, while others are believed to be on "missions" to help the human body.As for the total biomass of bacteria on the planet, researchers say that it is much greater than the biomass of all plants and animals.One gramme of ordinary soil contains about 50 million bacteria, and given that your body certainly weighs much more, you can imagine how much bacteria is on your skin right now. That is why some say that removing all the bacteria from a human is an impossible task and can be likened to attempts to scrap all the stars from the universe.Now let's turn to the issue of bacteria's usefulness. Dave Whitlock, a chemical engineer and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate, once conducted an experiment to prove that restoring good bacteria to the skin is a healthier option than the use of soap, for example.For 12 years, he had no full-fledged shower as he kept an eye on the effect of so-called AO+ bacterium on his skin, which kept him from smelling of sweat, among other things. In other words, his sweat was sort of a food for AO+, which finally resulted in Whitlock's skin becoming clean and acne-free without being cleaned with various modern-day bath and shower gelsAnother example pertains to Bifidobacteria, a well-known type of organism useful for babies' and adults' intestines. What is less well-known is that sometimes, in order to get a patient's gastrointestinal microflora back to normal, doctors place faeces from a healthy person in the patient's digestive tract. Shortly thereafter, bacteria contained in the faeces start to work and the patient's intestinal metabolism shows signs of improving.With the COVID-19 pandemic still with us, washing your hands with soap remains a must, but the main thing is not to turn the process into a mania and keep in mind that a certain quantity of bacteria on your skin is of great importance to your overall health.
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scientists, bacteria, covid-19, coronavirus, pandemic
scientists, bacteria, covid-19, coronavirus, pandemic
Mother Dirt Knows Best? Why You Should Stop Fearing Bacteria
12:16 GMT 14.02.2022 (Updated: 13:34 GMT 14.02.2022) COVID-19 is not the first disease to be associated with a pathological fear of contamination and germs. So-called bacteriophobia dates back to 1879, when it was coined by US physician and neurologist William Hammond.
You've probably met people who are obsessed with repeatedly washing their hands for the express purpose of
tackling bacteria and saying something like "cleanliness is next to godliness".
It turns out, however, that being scrupulously clean is not that good for your health. Aside from an unhealthy obsession with so-called germaphobia or bacteriophobia, here are some reasons why you may want to put that soap down.
First and foremost, our skin is covered with millions of bacteria and there are huge amounts of germs in the air, according to scientists.
What's more, some types of bacteria have yet to be systematised, while others are believed to be on "missions" to help the human body.
As for the total biomass of bacteria on the planet, researchers say that it is much greater than the biomass of all plants and animals.
One gramme of ordinary soil contains about 50 million bacteria, and given that your body certainly weighs much more, you can imagine how much bacteria is on your skin right now. That is why some say that removing all the bacteria from a human is an impossible task and can be likened to attempts to scrap all the stars from the universe.
Now let's turn to the issue of bacteria's usefulness. Dave Whitlock, a chemical engineer and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate, once conducted an experiment to prove that restoring good bacteria to the skin is a healthier option than the use of soap, for example.
For 12 years, he had no full-fledged shower as he kept an eye on the effect of so-called AO+ bacterium on his skin, which kept him from smelling of sweat, among other things. In other words, his sweat was sort of a food for AO+, which finally resulted in Whitlock's skin becoming clean and acne-free without being cleaned with various modern-day bath and shower gels
Another example pertains to Bifidobacteria, a well-known type of organism useful for babies' and adults' intestines. What is less well-known is that sometimes, in order to get a patient's gastrointestinal microflora back to normal, doctors place faeces from a healthy person in the patient's digestive tract. Shortly thereafter, bacteria contained in the faeces start to work and the patient's intestinal metabolism shows signs of improving.
With
the COVID-19 pandemic still with us, washing your hands with soap remains a must, but the main thing is not to turn the process into a mania and keep in mind that a certain quantity of bacteria on your skin is of great importance to your overall health.
