Germs: Friend of Foe?

True or false: when you come in contact with a germ, you’re bound to get sick from that particular germ.

While many people believe this statement to be true, the answer is actually false. Just because you make contact with a germ doesn’t mean you’ll get sick. The truth is that healthy people remain healthy when they contact a germ; it’s the unhealthy people who develop serious illnesses from germs.

The human body is not indestructible, and therefore very healthy people may develop a simple illness like the common cold, or perhaps the stomach flu, but rarely anything worse. People who are truly strong and healthy on the inside do not drop over dead from heart attacks or get cancer. Only people whose inner health has slowly deteriorated and whose resistance has become compromised get sick with serious illness.

Think about it like this—if the germ theory was true, no one who works in a hospital would be alive to talk about it. Doctors, nurses and health care workers come in contact with germs all the time, yet just the opposite occurs. They rarely get sick because their body’s resistance has been built up.

To compliment the germ theory, a new fear of germs has spread across the U.S.—it is called the “hygiene hypothesis” In a nut shell, the hygiene hypothesis tells us that we’re not safe from the illness caused by germs, therefore we must eliminate germs every chance we get. That’s why we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the use of antibacterial soaps and hand gels. As a theory, the idea sounds great, get rid of the germs before they get you. But in reality, just the opposite it true.

Everyone’s immune system needs exercise, or else is gets weak and becomes unable to fight off sickness. By creating sterile environments with antibacterial washes, sprays and cleaning agents, we’re making our immune systems lazy. Then, when a germ happens to sneak past our line of defense, its ability to make us sick increases dramatically because our immune system is too weak and out of shape to fight it off.

To prove this point, let’s look to the Amish community of America.

The Amish are comprised mainly of farmers who live in less than sterile conditions. They do not use vaccinations or medications of any kind. They don’t seek medical doctors, but believe in natural home remedies and chiropractors to keep their health in check. They eat fresh produce and get natural exercise from their active lifestyles. Many also interact with livestock on a daily basis and their children often get dirty playing on the farm. Yet, these people who come in contact with all sorts of germs everyday—and never visit medical doctors—have one of the healthiest track records in the world. Why? They’ve allowed themselves to be exposed to life and the germs that come with it. That exposure has exercised their immune systems so that they can withstand the sickness caused by germs.

It all boils down to this—don’t be afraid of germs. Instead, allow yourself to live a full and healthy life, and in the process eat lots of fresh produce and avoid processed foods. Exercise. And optimize your immune system by getting regularly scheduled chiropractic adjustments.

[Source: Book, “Setting Things Straight” by Dr. John Madeira, D.C.]