Bathing and the microbiome
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2020 7:42 pm
Everyone knows it's important to wash your body regularly. Conventions have thee621 rule (6 hours of sleep, two meals and one shower per day) and now there's a viral pandemic! But... what if we have it wrong?
There's an interesting read in The Guardian about how we might be washing too much and one doctor saying how (Except for his hands! You should still wash your hands with soap.) he hasn't washed with soap for the last five years. (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... ring-wrong) He's also written his own piece for The Atlantic recently. (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... ed/612235/) If you're not into going so extreme, one of the featured dermatologists recommends only using soap on your "underarms, groin, feet."
The thinking behind all this is that the chemicals in soaps, shampoos and other products are harsh on your body and remove the natural protective properties, leading to a cycle of dependence because not using them causing problems that wouldn't have existed if you didn't use them in the first place. In addition, there is the worry that too much soap kills the good bacteria on your skin - your microbiome. That's something that people mostly think of as being important in their gut but which matters all over the body. (See attachment for a bit on how childhood exposure to bacteria to develop a good microbiome can help later in life) We are made up of about as many bacterial as human cells (which should challenge our idea of what an individual is).
It's a tough change to sell though but I guess it will get more popular if they can bring strong evidence for it. And it will probably be boosted even more once people stop seeing humans as something outside of nature but just one part of a network of living beings. But... if you're interested in seeing what will happen for you (some basic searching suggests it can take a couple weeks for your body to adjust), the lockdown is probably the best time for such a change.
There's an interesting read in The Guardian about how we might be washing too much and one doctor saying how (Except for his hands! You should still wash your hands with soap.) he hasn't washed with soap for the last five years. (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... ring-wrong) He's also written his own piece for The Atlantic recently. (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... ed/612235/) If you're not into going so extreme, one of the featured dermatologists recommends only using soap on your "underarms, groin, feet."
The thinking behind all this is that the chemicals in soaps, shampoos and other products are harsh on your body and remove the natural protective properties, leading to a cycle of dependence because not using them causing problems that wouldn't have existed if you didn't use them in the first place. In addition, there is the worry that too much soap kills the good bacteria on your skin - your microbiome. That's something that people mostly think of as being important in their gut but which matters all over the body. (See attachment for a bit on how childhood exposure to bacteria to develop a good microbiome can help later in life) We are made up of about as many bacterial as human cells (which should challenge our idea of what an individual is).
It's a tough change to sell though but I guess it will get more popular if they can bring strong evidence for it. And it will probably be boosted even more once people stop seeing humans as something outside of nature but just one part of a network of living beings. But... if you're interested in seeing what will happen for you (some basic searching suggests it can take a couple weeks for your body to adjust), the lockdown is probably the best time for such a change.
