Who’s the Fairest Germ of All?
by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC
Sometimes I think we really are losin’ it. Whenever we (the proverbial one) come up with a good idea, we immediately jump on the more is better wagon and usually end up screwing things up. For instance: If soybeans are good for us, then let’s concentrate them into a powder that we can coveniently drink down with fruit juice instead of making breakfast, right? Actually, soy, in it’s natural (and traditionally fermented) state, IS good for us, but soy protein powders? Nope. We just changed it into a phytochemical overload. Fruit is good for us, but fruit juice - not so much. Movies, cell phones, TV? We all know the answer to that one.
So, when we figured out that washing our hands more frequently helped reduce colds and viruses, we were
on to something valuable. But when we started to go berserk over anti-bacterial formulas and devices, we depleted our immune response, increased bacterial resistance, killed the good bacteria that we need, contaminated our bodies and environment with chemicals and overall, started messing with nature’s plan. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?)
The voice that saw the light against anti-bacterial products has been slowly getting stronger, but unfortunately, so has the paranoia about germs in general. Keep in mind, the anti-bacterial craze is fueled by industry! Antibacterial wipes just popped up outside of supermarkets so you can wipe the handle of your grocery cart before shopping. Soaps are getting stronger, hand-sanitizers are sold as an accessory, fast-food places are now wrapping plastic silverware in more plastic, and dental floss is packaged by single use. There’s a new toothbrush sold with a santizing holder that sits in your bathroom. Many people now shun hand-shaking.
Are we any healthier from all of this ? Studies show not. If you look at the bigger picture, the same people who won’t use an open bottle of ketchup on the table are eating that burger and fries packed with transfats, pesticides and other chemicals. The more our immune system is challenged by our daily habits like food intake and lifestyle, the less resistance we have to bad bacterias. Simple as that.
If we could put the same amount of obsession into eating and drinking organic and healthy as we do to smearing our world with chemicals to kill bacteria (both the good and bad kind)….well, we could all relax a little and act more sane.
I’m not exaggerating. There are people who wash their hands 25 times a day, and/or wipe down everything with sanitizer before touching - even in their own homes and cars. It’s becoming a form of collective obession. And it’s not doing any of us any good.
Let’s get a grip, guys. Because there’s nothing like a good handshake.
December 14th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
thanks for this information, i as a school teacher, “bleaches” everything. this is required by the state of north carolina. i too am concerned about all this “germ free world.” i always was taught that “dirt” is good for you. i don’t know what it will take to get off this “clean clean clean” stuff. but, hopefully more articles like yours will be read by more people. thanks again for this information. i needed your help, i am in the “business” of washing and washing and bleaching all the surfaces constantly. and i like you think its “overkill”
December 14th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Right on! Fear not the germ; fear the counterfeit foods of today.
“DISEASE IS NOT CAUSED BY GERMS, BUT BY THE TOXIC ENVIRONMENT WE CREATE WITHIN OUR BODIES FROM TODAYS’ COUNTERFEIT FOODS!”
Dr. Henry Bieler
Germs, bacteria, viruses, etc. do us a favor and act like janitors, cleaning and removing toxins from our bodies. The key is to eat real food, use natural skin products and play in the dirt. You will feel better and the “janitors” will have very little cleaning to do.
Greg
December 15th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Phooey! Germs, bacteria, and viruses are just different forms of life doin’ their thing to survive. The fact that we, “humans” happen to be their food source does not cast them into some lower state of purpose. Not janitors. They are a life-form in the grand scheme, no less that we. Our obsession with cleanliness only gives them an easy entrance into our beings by compromising our immune systems. Kids used to get out and play in the dirt and mud and built up natural immunities to a lot of these micro-organisms. Our fear of illness , a different childhood experience doesn’t allow for that natural immunity to happen. Our food sources certainly contribute to the cycle.
I was thinking about this the other day as I was outside eating my apple with dirty hands, We cannot avoid all exposure to micro-organisms. Remember, in “War of the Worlds?? It was the micro-organisms on earth that brought down the the invincible aliens. And the smallpox that was deliberately spread to the Native Americans, that dessimated their population.
Fear not the germ? ok, but a good reduction in human population would not be a “bad” thing.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Point well taken, but I still hold to my point that germs, etc. do help to remove toxins from our bodies. I refer you to Aajonus Vonderplanitz, PHd in nutrition and the creator of the primal diet. He states the “janitor” role very clearly and he is one of the top nutritionist in the world.
I also refer you to “probiotics”, the friendly bacteria. Countless books have stated how friendly bacteria play on role in building out immune systems and removing toxins, etc. from our bodies.
December 15th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
More info on germs, bacteria from Aajonus.
Should We Worry About Bacteria?
Bacterial concern is a phobia that has swept the “civilized”
world. Our natural food-supply is being annihilated because of it.
We must look rationally at the bacterial issue. Consider the fact
that many tribes ate primarily unsalted raw meat, unsalted raw
fats and/or unsalted raw dairy products from the beginning. They
did not wash their hands or sterilize their food before eating.
Every form of natural bacteria, including salmonella, E. coli and
campylobacter1 were eaten with their food, abundantly and
constantly. Why were they vibrant, healthy and disease-free if
microbes are the culprits?
From the time babies are born, they put everything in their
mouths, dirt and microbes. It is believed that babies build
immunity through small benign doses of bacteria, allergens, and
pathogens. Some scientists call this “auto-immune inoculation”.
Rather than accept the inoculation-theory, I believe that for
millions of years animals, including humans, formed working
relationships with bacteria, including “pathogens”. Those
microbes have a janitorial role in nature and we benefit from
them. When parents stop babies from putting stuff in their
mouths, they hinder the relationship with microbes and the
environment, unless of course the objects are poisonous, such as
manmade chemicals and most toys.