Dirt is Good

A recent article in U.S. News and World Report Magazines echoes something we wrote about a while back - that our increasingly germophobic society may be making itself sicker by our relentless obsessions with being "germ and dirt -free". According to the article, bacteria that routinely inhabit our bodies actually produce vitamins and proteins our bodies need to make our immune and gastrointestinal systems work properly. Overuse of antibiotics, even overuse of antibacterial soaps can cause resistant bacteria. Think of it this way - you are killing all the weak germs but allowing those germs that are stronger to live, and to multiply. The article concludes: let your children play in the dirt! An overly hygenic infancy can cause asthma, type 2 diabetes, dermatitis and Crohn's disease. So let your kids be kids. A dirty kid is a healthy kid!