Saturday, April 28, 2012

Stop killing and demonizing microbes!

Here is some relevant research. I have always followed in mind this line of thinking; microbes are our friends. Microbiota co-inhabiting us regulate our immune system and prevent us from allergies and immune deregulation. Daily shaving, shampooing, scrubbing with antibacterial soaps (Dettol, Savlon, Lifebuoy, etc.), gargles with spirited mouthwashes and then spraying denat and brut based deodorants - these have devastating impact on the body surface microbiota. We have been doing this for 50 years now and I am afraid, we might have by now grown a completely different bacterial microflora than what was populating our elders about 100 years ago. I think we can't say they were dirtier, but they were definitely healthier and active. Any thoughts?

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2012/03/21/science.1219328.abstract