It's OK to Be Dirty
Every once in a while the world of science comes up with a study that speaks to me.
There is my personal favorite, the one that found that dark chocolate was good for you - as in healthy! My husband still thinks I robbed a bank to fund that study.
Then there was the study by my science guy hero Dr. William Parker of respected institution of higher learning and basketball
After observing that rats and mice toughing it out in sewers and farms were healthier than those living the good life in sanitized labs, Parker et al discovered that the feisty wild rodents fought off germs better than the spoiled lab rats.
Basically, Parker explains, immune systems coddled in our over-bleached and 409'd world have it so easy that they can't fight the good fight.
"People's immune systems aren't being challenged by disease and dirt early in life, so their bodies can't handle challenges like pollen and allergens," said the story.
I totally believe this theory. My mother kept a very clean home. No spill, soap scum or dust bunny had a chance against her arsenal of cleaning agents and germ-fighters.
My sister and I have multiple allergies and the lung capacity of a gnat. Coincidence? I think not.
I, however, let dishes hang out in the sink, wait for the mildew fairy to clean my shower and recently celebrated the tenth birthday of the first can of Lemon Pledge I bought for my house.
My older daughter is one of the healthiest kids I know and showers when the mood strikes her. My younger one has allergies, which, I used to blame on her vegetarian diet and our four cats. Now I know it’s because she showers twice a day.
So, according to Parker and the other smarties involved in this study, moms like me are really doing our kids a favor and raising super-human, germ-defying adults.
Let's take a minute to consider the significance of this. Now, when you leave the macaroni and cheese pot soaking in the sink for a week and let your kids draw pictures with their fingers in the dust on the coffee table, you are helping them grow strong and healthy.
Meanwhile, Supermom Suzy's kids, who sit on plastic-encased sofas and breathe in pine and lavender all day, are headed for a life of inhalers and pricy air purifiers from Sharper Image.
This study also confirms my belief that most Americans are too obsessed with cleanliness and too scared of a little personal grime.
Now there is scientific backup that skipping a shower or two not only won’t kill you, it will actually make you stronger.
The researchers say they have more work to do to support their hygiene hypotheses. Parker said he plans to build an artificial sewer to introduce the lab rats to a man-made dirty environment.
If they were kittens or bunnies, I'd say, "Just send them to my house."
