Being clean does not mean being healthy!

The last time I had any injections/shots of any type was in primary school. I got sick just about as often as anyone else would throughout my child hood, but between my high school years and up until now, for at least a good 6 years, I've been sick only once or twice, and each time was very manageable and short lasting. I also haven't visited a doctor in those 6 years. Now, some people may not want to do the things I describe in this thread, and consider it disgusting and unhygienic, that's fine, I'm merely making some suggestions based on my observations, I'm not an expert.

The number one things is do not wash your hands all the time. As disgusting as it may seem, don't wash your hands every single time you just urinate, in fact, do it as infrequently as possible. Trust me, no one will notice, they're freaking out over microscopic crap that are all over us and actually help us...unless you have odor issues or something, you'll be fine...if people are watching adhere to their standards if need be. If your hands get a bit gritty or dirt whilst working, don't clean it off all the time, that's what working hands should look like, do it when you get home and relax.

Now this next one probably wont be applicable to many people, but if you find your body doesn't sweat much, or smell bad just after one day, try showering every 1.5 to 2 days. This is where some people might begin to think I'm insane...but I often bite my nails to trim them down, and everyone knows some fair nasty crap can get under your nails, and doctors don't advise chewing nails because lots of crap can live under them. I advise you do chew your nails, not your feet nails, (unless no one is looking and you really feel like going wild).

The next thing is brushing your teeth, I don't have time to find any facts that back up what I'm about to say, and I don't know if there are any, however, I brush my teeth every 2 to 3 days, and I have a perfect set of teeth except one cavity which I got during my younger years from eating candy. If you have bad breath problems, try mints and gum, but I do not believe for a second brushing your teeth every day is good for them, it repeatedly rubs off the hard plaque you need to protect them, and hence you get cavities. I know plenty of people who brush every day, and they have terrible teeth. I'm sure lots of sugars don't help either.

Conclusion:

I believe trying to live clean is not the most healthy living choice as I will explain in this conclusion. Firstly, early man did not worry about cleaning themselves constantly, they lived as one with nature, they didn't have nail clippers, showers, injections, or tooth brushes, and yet they got along just fine, and were probably a lot healthier than modern day man, with far less a variety of health problems present in the populace. Secondly, by living clean and getting injections, you limit yourself to the exposure of harmful bacterias etc, and use man-made chemicals instead of your bodies own devices to fight off infections, and therefore your body is unable to develop immunities to those things throughout your early child hood. A child with chickenpox will most likely suffer symptoms such as rashing and coughing, however the consequences can be far more dire if an adult were to catch it, and they often are.

Sure, I got very sick at points in my childhood, and biting my nails and not washing my hands probably did lead to some of the really bad times where I felt like death, but because I've naturally built up my defenses instead of using man made tactics that don't work with the processes of nature, I now essentially never experience sickness, and if I do it's something more like a mild headache that doesn't last very long. But there is obviously a problem with my idea, because if you're already an adult and quickly change your clean living habits you will probably get terribly sick. And if you didn't bother reading to the end of this and instead start taking my advice to live unclean, and then get really sick, that will teach you to read threads properly.


EDIT: To give some backing to my claims, here are some articles you may find of interest. I just found this one titled Eating dirt: Can kids build healthy immune systems through dirt?. Here's an exert:

The marketing of products to keep your family safe and germ-free has fueled this fleeting fantasy of a hypersanitized childhood, free of the plagues and pathogens that had befallen previous generations. It is a noble, but futile fight.

Now comes news that these germ-free adolescents may be suffering from too much of a good thing. Too much cleanliness can be a bad thing for a young child’s developing immune system, according to a recent article on Slate.com by Amanda Schaffer.

The article goes on (backed by multiple recent scientific findings) to assert that early exposures to germs help teach a child’s immune system to regulate itself and provide much needed stimulation and training to insure future health and a bolstered immunity.

And another interesting article for your viewing pleasures; You Dirty, Healthy Rat. An exert:

WASHINGTON -- Gritty rats and mice living in sewers and farms seem to have healthier immune systems than their squeaky clean cousins that frolic in cushy antiseptic labs, two studies indicate. The lesson for humans: Clean living may make us sick.

The studies give more weight to a 17-year-old theory that the sanitized Western world may be partly to blame for soaring rates of human allergy and asthma cases and some autoimmune diseases, such as Type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The theory, called the hygiene hypothesis, figures that people's immune systems aren't being challenged by disease and dirt early in life, so the body's natural defenses overreact to small irritants such as pollen.

[edit on 19/7/10 by CHA0S]

reply to post by CHA0S


I would highly recommend hand washing after defecating, especially if you have a job that is in any way associated with food prep. Also, there have been studies that show good gum hygiene (not tooth hygiene) may help prevent heart disease.

Firstly, early man did not worry about cleaning themselves constantly

Agreed; this is likely true.

and were probably a lot healthier than modern day man

This I would like to see some evidence for.

reply to post by Disinformation Man

I would highly recommend hand washing after defecating, especially if you have a job that is in any way associated with food prep.

Haha, yeah, I was going to make mention of something like that, but I thought it was obvious...and I made note of not washing your hands after every time you urinate only...

As for more evidence about the health thing, I believe ancient man would have definitely been much healthier...except for maybe their teeth, but they were definitely a lot less susceptible to disease and sickness...

[edit on 18/7/10 by CHA0S]

Originally posted by CHA0S


As for more evidence about the health thing, I believe ancient man would have definitely been much healthier...except for maybe their teeth, but they were definitely a lot less susceptible to disease and sickness...

A lot less susceptible to disease and sickness?

Infectious disease was the number one killer of paleolithic man, and that's assuming he surpassed the odds of dying before the age of 5.

CHRONIC disease would not have been an issue with pre-agricultural/pre-industrial (processing foods) man.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd

Infectious disease was the number one killer of paleolithic man, and that's assuming he surpassed the odds of dying before the age of 5.

CHRONIC disease would not have been an issue with pre-agricultural/pre-industrial (processing foods) man.

Ok, "ancient man" wasn't a good phrase to use, but I didn't say "paleolithic man"...basically what I meant was as you said, before man had all these modern devices to help keep us clean, and before all of these processed foods as you state, which is a good point.

[edit on 19/7/10 by CHA0S]

Well I shower about 2 times a week. I have no girlfriend (its probably why!) and live alone. It doesn't bother me about my smell. No one has ever complained to me and if they did, I would hit the shower. I also wash my hands before I urinate. I've always done this and thought it was ridiculous to do it the other way. Do we really want germs on our genitals?? Right, so wash before urinating.

Its so nasty to be nasty - ickky!

reply to post by crazydaisy

Its so nasty to be nasty - ickky!

I haven't showered for over a day and a half...I haven't brushed my teeth in two days...I chewed my nails earlier today, and probably yesterday, and the day before that. I've probably washed my hands once today - after eating dinner. I feel fine, my breath isn't really bad, a mint could fix it up for a while if need be. My body odor hasn't really gotten bad yet, but I'll be showering soon anyway. I keep it on the point of where I can be what most would consider unhygienic, yet they have absolutely no knowledge of it. They don't say anything because they don't know anything, my hands always seem perfectly clean to me and anyone else, even my nails look fine as my biting technique is mastered.

So it's easy to see the ickyness and nastiness is only in your head, if you don't know about it, it may as well not exist, but as soon as people start telling you all deadly microbes can make you sick, so you should keep very clean, you do exactly that, and you start fearing something there was apparently no need to fear in the past. People don't understand the deeper processes. In reality, there s no need to keep so clean, because all it does is weaken your immune system in the long run, hence making you more susceptible to deadly diseases and viruses. I bet a qualified doctor would agree with me on this.

[edit on 19/7/10 by CHA0S]

reply to post by CHA0S


I remember a friend of mine, when we were little, her brother was always sick, he caught everything! His mom had taken him to the doctor for one more cold he had, and the doctor told her that he needed to eat some dirt. Really. She was a cleaning fanatic, and used bleach all the time on everything she cleaned, the bacteria she was doing away with was not all bad bacteria, and it was robbing the kids of bacteria they needed. After she let him play in the dirt, make mud pies, ect, let him run around dirty and play, he slowly stopped being this sickly little kid.

Well as long as no one knows I guess your ok - So your Masters is in nail biting - do you teach a class

Do you consider showering once a day, washing hands 4 times a day( not counting the times they are in the dishwater) and brushing teeth twice a day obsessive? I do clip my nails as I think they are more sanitary if short. Biting them - ick!

reply to post by space cadet



I think in this case Mom was being obsessive with the bleach.

I use to be a nurse - never heard a doctor tell a kid to play in the dirt.

It's true that our obsession with cleanliness does us no favours.

We are bombarded on a daily basis with messages that CLEAN IS GOOD. To get clean buy stuff. Anti bacterials soaps, body sprays, deoderants ect;
This industry makes billions.

For women, the pressure is even worse. Not only must we be clean, we must also smell like lilies, gardenias, musk, vanilla ect; Our vaginas must be clinically clean, and preferably smooth as a baby's bum. Our teeth must be unnaturally white, our breath must smell like an alpine valley.

I do not use any type of anti perspirents. I do not use any type of vaginal cleaners. I do not use body sprays. I do not use chemicals to dissolve the hair on my body. I do not dye my hair, or paint my nails. I do not bleach my teeth. I do not use any types of anti bacterial products.

I generally go a couple of days between showers ( water only). I wash my hair ( with a clear non sceneted shampoo) a couple of times per week. I epilate my legs once a month ( Epilation is pulling the hair out at the roots, it does not involve any chemicals). I brush my teeth with water and baking soda daily.

My partner knows of course, he prefers my natural scent over the chemicals. There is nothing more comforting to me then when we wake up tohgether and the first scent is our intermingled scents, a cross between freshly baked bread natural muskiness.

People think I'm weird, but I believe I am healthier for it.

I think I do agree with you here, I mostly work outside and hardly wash my hands during the day (even when eating), I bath maybe once every week or so, and I hardly get sick. One time I got into bathing twice daily and washing hands at every opportunity and after few days I got really sick and was bedridden for almost two weeks.

The mud thing is probably true, as mud does work as a detoxifyer.

reply to post by space cadet


Great story, that's makes the point I'm getting at very nicely. Thanks for the contribution!

reply to post by crazydaisy

Originally posted by crazydaisy
So your Masters is in nail biting - do you teach a class

Haha...that'd be a negative...it's a delicate art one must learn alone...

Do you consider showering once a day, washing hands 4 times a day( not counting the times they are in the dishwater) and brushing teeth twice a day obsessive? I

No, I wouldn't say obsessive...but it's getting there, brushing your teeth twice a day would be quite damaging IMO...

EDIT: Moved information to opening post to give some credence and fractal backing to my claims.

reply to post by Merigold

People think I'm weird, but I believe I am healthier for it.

I don't think that's weird at all. Star for that post. It really just goes to show you can implement the ideas I'm talking about and live a good healthy life with someone who thinks the same way. Well done.

[edit on 19/7/10 by CHA0S]

I have to agree with you on this one. Although I'm no sure I would take it to the extreme you do. i work in an office so I wash my hands regularly at work. At home though.... eh not so much.

Also many doctors and scientists believe in the theory of a super bug caused from over sanitation.....

In regards to brushing you teeth..... I found this video on you tube after someones post of some of these short videos, this one was not included and it caused me to do more research.... I found it to be an interesting conspiracy going back a few decades. Enjoy.

www.youtube.com...

Great post, my wife and I have 4 kids and we've never been overly concerned with all the panic about hand sanitizers or even hand washing to the extreme. Our bodies are designed to fight off viruses etc. I believe that of course these companies that sell these cleaning products want you to think that they're vital to a healthy life, but this just doesn't seem to be the case. Our children never miss school due to illness( maybe 1 a year), and even then it's just a common cold. We've also always tried to keep them off anti-biotics as much as possible and can't remember the last time we had a prescription filled. I was sick from time to time as a child, and my mother was a clean freak. As they say, "dirt don't hurt, just don't eat yellow snow". Have a good one.

Nice post OP.

I have been cleaning my hair with baking soda and now I usually only need to wash it every couple of days - unless I go to the gym.

I have noticed vegetarians' body odor is typically more pleasant. I'm not talking about people who are going for days without showering, or those covered in sweat on a hot day. Just people's natural scent.

gross dude.
that is all.