Wash Your Hands by Saldman

Ref: Frédéric Saldman (2008). Wash Your Hands: Dirty Truth about Germs, Viruses, and Epidemics. Hatchett Books.

____________________________________________________________________________

Summary­

  • “Wash Your Hands” explores the prevalence of pathogens around us and how we can best protect ourselves from infections.

____________________________________________________________________________

Pathogens

  • Germs need two things to grow: moisture and time.

  • Microbial growth increases with the passing of time, until it attains what is known as the MID, minimum infectious dose- that is, the number of germs needed to cause disease.

  • High levels of humidity give rise to many other problems: the spread of bacteria and dust mites, the proliferation of fungi, and the decay of building materials, which leads to the release of toxic compounds.

____________________________________________________________________________

Sanitization

The Kitchen

  • Germs proliferate slowly in dry foods, but foods like mayo and raw meats allow them to multiply more rapidly. Outside temperature is just as important as cold slows germ growth while room temperature promotes it.

  • The average kitchen sponge houses 7.2B bacteria.

  • Fruits and vegetables can, once in a refrigerator, contaminate neighboring foods if they are not cleaned and put away properly in separate compartments or sealed containers.

  • Contrary to received wisdom, the act of reheating leftovers in a microwave oven in no way constitutes sterilization.

  • Cook meats thoroughly, especially ground beef.

  • The average apple receives up to 20 successive chemical treatments. All you have to do to avoid these chemicals is peel the fruit before eating, bearing in mind this important fact: most of a fruit’s vitamin content is found near its outer edge.

  • Wash vegetables, fruits, and especially herbs with care, as the last are less often thought of as vectors of disease.

  • Separate raw foods from cooked in the fridge.

  • Reheat leftovers sufficiently and don’t keep them for more than 2-3 days.

  • Throw out the remains of any foods that spoil easily.

  • Clean and dry kitchen implements and countertops after each use.

  • Always wash your hands thoroughly before preparing meals, after handling raw foods, and after using the bathroom.

  • Aflatoxins

    • Brown patches on fruit, mainly apples, are carcinogenic and are called aflatoxins. You can see them with a black light. These molds show up as brown spots on the skin of the fruit. Some of them secrete a dangerous toxin called Patulin, a well-known carcinogen. All apples are exposed to such risks, but in conventional agriculture, the use of pesticides- in this case, fungicides- protects the fruit and curbs the growth of molds.

    • Contrary to popular wisdom there is no difference at the nutritional level between “organic” and other products; the levels of vitamins and other nutrients are the same.

  • Freshly pressed fruit juices should be immediately consumed, in order to maximize the benefit of its vitamin C content, as vitamin C oxidizes quickly once exposed to light and air.

  • Carcinogens: As with the cake bottoms and pizza edges, overcooked, blackened meats and fish are extremely carcinogenic. The blackened parts contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with a high tar content. Eating just a little one-inch piece of burnt crust is the same as smoking no fewer than 10 packs of cigarettes in terms of the amount of tar absorbed.

 

Washroom

  • Anything possibly bearing traces of blood: razors, nail clippers, makeup and depilatory applicators, toothbrushes) must not be shared. In the case of herpes, lipstick, lip gloss, lip balm must absolutely not be shared, not even by best friends. Such carriers spread the virus quite easily. Toothbrushes are associated with specific additional risks that deserve attention.

  • A toothbrush, quickly rinsed after brushing, is a hotbed of bacterial activity par excellence in which streptococcus, staphylococcus, herpes, and the flu virus readily proliferate. Toothbrushes are even capable of transmitting such serious viral pathologies as hepatitis among people within a single household. The virus can survive for up to a week on bristles.

  • Towels can pass on many STDs, mycoses, bacterial infections, and parasites, especially if they remain damp several days at a time.

 

Personal Objects

  • The average cell phone has 11,000 microbes per square inch.

  • Hats, combs, headbands, barrettes, and hair brushes are strictly for the use of a single person only, lest lice, fleas, ticks, crabs, or ringworms take advantage of the vehicle to find a new host.

____________________________________________________________________________

Sleep

  • Keep Cool (~18C is optimal): Anything that raises the body’s temperature promotes wakefulness.

____________________________________________________________________________

Travel

  • Studies by John R. Balmes at UCLA has shown that 20% of people in long flights come down with colds in the 5 days that follow.

____________________________________________________________________________