Consumers have been blindly purchasing these products for years based on the unproven promise -- promoted by the soap sellers, of course -- that antibacterial products offer "protection from germs!" It's those nasty germs again! Yet, in reality, no kitchen is a sterile environment in the first place. Take a breath of air and you're inhaling "germs." Sleep in your bed and you're covered in germs. Dry yourself with yesterday's towel and you're scrubbing yourself with germs. We have germs all around us, which brings me to the immune system. The immune system's job is to take care of all those germs you have been exposed to, eliminating the need for toxic chemicals in your kitchen and on your dishes. In fact, the very idea of washing your dishes in Agent Orange strikes me as absurd, and yet it's very nearly what tens of millions of consumers are doing every day.
Word of advice: avoid all soaps, detergents, shampoos and other products containing fragrance or artificial colors. Use what I use: Dr. Bronner's soaps, available at any health food store. Or buy Sal Suds for your dishes. Check out the cleaning products made by a company called Seventh Generation. That's what I use for my laundry. I wouldn't touch any cleaning product sold at WalMart or regular grocery stores... those products are simply too toxic!
But I'm the exception. Most U.S. consumers regularly load up their shopping carts wish all sorts of toxic chemicals. Then they wash their clothes and dishes in those chemicals. Following that, they eat off those plates and wear the clothes that have been soaked in toxic chemicals. And they can't figure out why they feel so sick all the time. Go figure...
"For years we've been using antibacterial products and everybody
assumes a health benefit," says study author Elaine Larson, a professor
of pharmaceutical and therapeutic research at Columbia University School
of Nursing in New York City.
One explanation for the findings is that the infections that occurred
might have been viral and not bacterial, Larson says.
"It's possible [these products have a role] in different settings with
different modes of transmission and different likelihoods of
transmission," says Weber, an antimicrobial resistance expert who is
assistant to the director of the National Center for Infectious
Diseases.
"If you want to kill a lot of germs on your hands quickly, the best
thing is to use one of the alcohol hand rinses because they work much
faster than soap and they kill bacteria and viruses much more," Larson
says.