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dheath.

ARE WEtSe exerts a r bsess wth eaess a be ed t a rease aer dseases. S hw h er rtet d we eed, ass Be Vaha

With all the products on the market that promise

to liberate us from the tyranny of germs, you

would think our lives were under serious daily

threat. Thanks to a staggering choice, we can arm

ourselves with soaps, detergents, hand gels, toilet

cleaners, air fresheners, surface sprays and wipes, bin

liners, mouthwashes, toothpastes, cutting boards and toys

that pledge to kill 99.9 per cent of harmful bacteria before

it kills us. In the 21st century, it seems the simple act of

combining soap, water and a little commonsense doesnt

cut it anymore. But should it? As our obsession with

ber-cleanliness has gained momentum over the lastcentury, so has the number of autoimmune and allergic

diseases. And many experts suspect this is no coincidence.

Why some bacteria is good for us

Ba 1989, Brtsh

setst Davd Straha

d a betwee

haever ad a sze,

w as the hee

hthess. He dsvered

that aer dsrders were

ess er

sbs are aes

thas t rss-et

ear hdhd r

brthers ad ssters r

r a ther eted

b tat wth her

der hdre.

Ths ave rse t the

dea that hdres a

exsre t ers ad

ther ets sbstaes

has ed t derdeveed

e sstes. Fe

ths ther are addta

stdes shw that:

hdre wh rw

ars wth aas have

wer rates aeres

ad e-reated

dseases tha ther rba

terarts; the se

atbts the rst ear

e has bee ed t

astha ad ther aer

dseases; ad that the

dee a

dsrders rses t

hdre rats

wh have ved West bt

as thse br t

reas aet

thrd-wrd tres.

Tae tether, ve

t se e

reass t sder that

ever tte

rbe a be d s

re har tha d.

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Photo

graPhygETTyimAgES

EmBRAcE SoAp AnD WATER

y shd awas wash ad dr r hads ater t the

tet, bw r se ad bere had d esea

whe swth betwee raw ad ed. Bt s a

sa ad ht water w se. yre r ra s

fra ad era deratts whe wash wth

atbatera sa.

Sar, r the ad bathr sraes d t eed

t be dseted. y shd avd h veetabes

the sae tt bard as raw eat, he r sh, r

stae, bt dt eed t verbard. S we

dw the tt bard wth ht sa water ad tr t ver.

REplAcE clEAning cloTHS FREquEnTly

That es r ses ad tea twes, t. Whe we

seth dw, eed t ether rse ad dr t the

th r et rd t. Dt eave t srhed ad wet

ts a e evret r rbes t rerate ad ts

rbab reas r exsre.

Skip THE ToilET clEAnER

B a eas srb r tet ea bt ret abt es, bs,

beah, as r dss. y dt eed t r ath dw

r tet ther tha what se t ea t t reve a the

artate atter. As r a the batera the bw, there are

tw res: se the d bere fsh t ee ers r

be arbre, ad dt dr the water t.

DiTcH THE mouTHWASH

We eed t be det abt tth dea ad ets

dsease, bt s atrba thwashes r

tthastes s t the wa t . gd deta hee s

as se as rev d resde r r teeth. The

hsa at brsh s te re rtat tha

the tthaste. Abrasve brs ds sh as arrts,

eer ad aes as he sr the teeth. Ad,

rse, dt ret t fss.

REDucE youR AnTiBioTic inTAkE

over-resrb atbts has ed t sh wdesread

batera resstae that dtrs are r t eetve

atrbas t treat ets wth hstas. The vast

ajrt er resratr trat ets, sh as

good versus

bad germs

or bdes are ave wth

batera, a hst t

bs rrass,

r ra fra, that t

as a d rba

esste. These rbes

reate r s

ad r rar trat,

resratr trat (a

the se) ad, st

redat, r

destve trat (rar

the th ad ).

Setsts are

be t derstad

the re the a. or

e sste s tate

deedet r ra

fra, ad the arest art

r e sste s r

t, sas pa A gateb,

ressr at

the Astraa nata

uverst. Hav ra

t fra, were w reas,

s abste vta t r

vera heath.There are detve

ss et whh

batera are d, whh

are bad, r eve where the

sae-t-har threshd

exsre a e.

Researhers are st tr t

re that t d

Barbara Fazeas de St grth,

ressr at

Sdes cetear isttte.

What we d w, she

sas, s that we ad r t

batera have -evved

t et the best ssbe

te r a ered.

There v r e

sste a ds a the

te, ad we th that there

s a ra fra that aes

heath ad whh eeds

t be trastted r

ers t ers at brth

ad wth the rst e

ears e.

Why our use ofantibacterialproducts isoverkill

mst exerts aree that b

t the ser

wsd that r hads,

ths, thes,

bathrs, rtre, frs,

ad eve the ar we breathe

shd be 99.9 er et

batera-ree, we a we

be w t a the d

bs a wth the bad.

gateb ssts that there

s e sear r

whh the se atset r

atbatera rdts the

he s arrate, ad

that s re hav a

sa feza ede

wth the a.

Hw aee ea ehHere, Professor Gatenby explains

what you need to know

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feza ad the d, are vra, ad atbts d

t vrses there eetve aast batera. We

shdt be s e r dervatves t treat vra

ets. A re d s ater r ra fra

ad breed resstat bs.

Eve we avd resrt atbts, we a st be

est the wtht eve reas t. The Astraa

veret exerses strt reatr trs aed at

esr ressbe atbt se a aa-based d

rdt dstres. The ber er s rted sead.

Earer ths ear, rerts sraed that the ber Asa sh

rts ta baed atbts s rs de t w eves

test b the edera deartet. i wd t eat a

rted d eat, sh r veetabe.

lET youR kiDS gET A liTTlE DiRTy

i th ts ver rtat that hdre are exsed t a deree

rba aets the evret. Jst ae sre the

wash ther hads bere eat. The st rtat th s

the reva srae atter. i theve bee s the sadt

ad w the at hast bee s t as we, ts rbab

t eve eessar t d that.