Why do we have so much bacteria all over our bodies? One reason may be that they fight off viruses. That’s why it can be dangerous to be too clean.
We’ve learned that the average human body is covered with millions of germs. Different types of bacteria lurk in different places on our bodies, such as under our arms, in our nasal and oral passages, on our skin and in women’s vaginas.
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The hot dog that rolls off the plate, the baby’s cookie that falls on the floor, the candy bar that slides across the table–we’re told we have five seconds to pick it up before it’s contaminated. Is this true?
Researcher Jorge Parada says, "A dropped item is immediately contaminated and can’t really be sanitized. When it comes to folklore, the ‘five-second rule’ should be replaced with ‘when in doubt, throw it out.’"
All items that come into contact with a surface pick up bacteria (and dirt!). How much bacteria and what kind of microbes depends on the object dropped and the surface it is dropped on.
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We have a problem: We’re just too clean! The rise in allergies and autoimmune diseases during the past few decades may be at least partly due to our lack of exposure to the microorganisms in dirt.
We once walked barefoot in the dirt and washed it off of our food. Now we wear shoes and buy pre-washed vegetables from the grocery store, covered in plastic wrap. Even the increase in the rate of Caesarean section births means a potential loss of the germs that are usually passed from one generation to the next. The microorganisms in dirt establish "normal" background levels that keep our bodies from overreacting to germs.
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In 1968, a comedy called "The Odd Couple," starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, told the story of two divorced men, Felix Ungar (a neurotic neatfreak) and Oscar Madison (a fun-loving slob) who decide to live together. This is a script that plays itself out again and again as college starts and students find themselves paired with roommates whom they do not know and do not get along with.
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