{"id":14530,"date":"2022-01-04T17:28:11","date_gmt":"2022-01-04T17:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/?p=14530"},"modified":"2023-02-28T12:28:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T12:28:11","slug":"how-clean-is-too-clean-heres-what-your-microbes-need-to-thrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/how-clean-is-too-clean-heres-what-your-microbes-need-to-thrive","title":{"rendered":"How clean is TOO clean? Here&#8217;s what your microbes need to thrive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">Stemming infection spread is important &#8211; but let\u2019s not forget about what your microbes need to thrive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">There is zero doubt that strong hygiene measures, especially right now, matter. Yep, from solid hand-washing techniques to cleaner public transport, these methods of controlling infection have their role to play.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">At the same time, it\u2019s crucial that you remember what your gut microbiome needs to function at its peak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">So&#8230;what&#8217;s that? Well, have you ever heard of the \u2018hygiene hypothesis?\u2019 This is the idea that exposure to all sorts of microbes (Aka &#8216;germs) helps your immune system to develop &#8211; teaching it to learn the difference between harmful and benign substances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Essentially, being OVERLY clean is thought to have harmful side effects<span class=\"s1\">.<\/span> Being exposed to different microbes, on the other hand, is paramount to your microbiome being in decent nick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">So, in a world of anti-bac, how can you best support your GM?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Embrace the Diversity Diet<\/strong> &#8211; FYI it\u2019s about diet, it&#8217;s not about \u2018dieting\u2019. You\u2019ll find your comprehensive toolkit for this in my new book, \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Eat-More-Live-Well-Favourite\/dp\/0241480469\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1625134302&amp;sr=1-2&amp;mc_cid=7118e4d791&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID\">Eat More, Live Well<\/a>\u2019, (out now- link in bio)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Play in \u2018clean\u2019 dirt<\/strong> &#8211; Head to your local park or your garden, if you have one, hunt down some fresh dirt and play around. Just sifting some dirt between your fingers counts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Visit a forest<\/strong> &#8211; Good for your brain, good for your body. When you\u2019re surrounded by trees, you get to breathe in all of the airborne microbes in the atmosphere (that&#8217;s right they&#8217;re floating around in the air too!).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Take it easy on the antibacterial sprays<\/strong> &#8211; You want to keep a clean house, natch, and sprays for sure have a role to play. Just try to use them when necessary- there is truly no need to wipe down your kitchen bench 10 times a day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Play with a furry pet<\/strong> &#8211; If you don\u2019t have a fluffy friend living with you, can you head to a friend\u2019s house who does and have a play? Borrowing is best, the last thing we need are more pandemic pets who end up being re-homed!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stemming infection spread is important &#8211; but let\u2019s not forget about what your microbes need to thrive. There is zero doubt that strong hygiene measures, especially right now, matter. Yep, from solid hand-washing techniques to cleaner public transport, these methods of controlling infection have their role to play. At the same time, it\u2019s crucial that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-myth-busting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How clean is TOO clean? Here&#039;s what your microbes need to thrive | The Gut Health Doctor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a world of anti-bac, how can you support your GM? 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Infection control measures must be balanced with strategies that promote microbe diversity!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/how-clean-is-too-clean-heres-what-your-microbes-need-to-thrive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Gut Health Doctor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-04T17:28:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-28T12:28:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SQUARE-IG-Post-Templates-4.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shirley Clinic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shirley Clinic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/how-clean-is-too-clean-heres-what-your-microbes-need-to-thrive\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/how-clean-is-too-clean-heres-what-your-microbes-need-to-thrive\",\"name\":\"How clean is TOO clean? 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