I like an outdoor swim, whether a dip in the river in the middle of winter or (like Sunday) a glorious sunshine bathed lake swim up at Caversham lakes.
After I had finished, one thing about the person’s belongings next to where I was changing. They had an Antibacterial bag that claimed to ‘protecting you from the dangers you can’t see’ (definitely not sinister and creepy!?!)
It got me thinking about what education and beliefs that person has about microbes (germs, bacteria and viruses among others) to have faith in that statement.
We have an obsession in our society about being clean. Before the pandemic the one area of lifestyle I would say humans had covered was personal hygiene (not everyone we all have that one friend whose odour is questionable).
This has now gone into overdrive to a point where people were bathing their groceries in bleach before consuming them. Cinemas are fogged with some very chemical weapon type gas, hand sanitiser is the new eau de parfum for the whole population and hugging is outlawed.
Do we really need to be more hygienic and more ‘clean’ in order to live our lives to the fullest and protect our loved ones?
Consider that while these chemicals we abundantly use kill all the ‘nasties’ they all also have a devastating affect on our internal and external environment.
Bugs, bacteria, viruses and the suchlike are a part of the eco-system of those environments.
Changing those parts of the eco-system (just like when we change the Amazon or the artic ice cap) there is a reaction and a consequence.
70% or our immune system is contained within our digestive system. The basis of this is something called our microbiome.
Babies get the majority of this from their mothers on their journey into the big world through the birth canal.
C-section rates have increased exponentially in the last 30 years. Those babies miss out on that crucial exposure.
Pesticides have become common place, more effective at killing anything and everything, including our own friendly bacteria.
Antibiotic use is so widespread that the majority are ineffective against lots of dangerous pathogens.
Antibiotic use x2 in children under 10 has been linked to a 50% increased chance of depression in later life.
S ‘Superbugs’ (like MRSA) only really exist in hospitals and similar settings, ultra-clean environments. The bugs have little competition.
A great analogy (that I heard from Dr Zach Bush MD-worth a google) is that bacteria and viruses act like software upgrades for our immune system.
Every time we venture into our natural environment (this does not include Bracknell on a Friday night!) and interact with that eco-system our immune system is learning, growing and developing.
So the less we go outside, get muddy, eat stuff off the floor, swim in rivers/sea, clean everything to within an inch of our life the more our software becomes outdated.
We are then much more likely to be left behind health-wise.
As always take care
Dr Gareth Ward DC, Chiropractor
