It depends.

Post #27,465 by Ric Locke 2/5/02 11:11:02 PM Reply	It depends. I'm a slob. I go to Mexico and eat from the pushcarts in Mexico City, and I don't get sick. I eat at roadhouses and truck stops. I drink the water if the natives do; there's a reason bottled water is so popular there. Once in a while I'll have twenty-four hours of discomfort, easily controlled with Immodium AD(TM). My boss is a clean&neat person, like most Americans. She gets tetchy eating at the hotel restaurants. Once she had to go home early and go to the doctor. Our friend is right for once; it's all down to intestinal flora populations. If you're a typical American, you probably have very few strains, because you keep yourself clean and sanitary. When strangers show up, war ensues. Death to the invaders! Conquest for King and country! All bets are off when it comes to amoebae. Amoebic dysentery is a real problem. Gratifying to realize I'm a genuine internationalist, right down in the gut :-) Regards, Ric
Post #27,481 by wharris2 2/6/02 3:20:52 AM Reply	Interesting theory A local talk show host has the theory that people are getting sick more often because they're being more protected. If we were less careful about the molecules of E-Coli and trying to say "cook well done", we might be healthier. "Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it." -- Donald Knuth
Post #27,498 by a6l6e6x 2/6/02 10:10:02 AM Reply	Not to mention the "sanitizing" liquid soaps... over time selecting for dominance the hardier strains of "bugs" for our bodies to deal with. Alex "Of course, you realize this means war." -B. Bunny
Post #27,600 by Ric Locke 2/6/02 10:51:44 PM Reply	Yep. As we get cleaner and cleaner our bodies develop less and less resistance. If your immune system has never seen a particular bug, it won't build any antibodies to it -- by definition, right? Then the bug comes along, and finds a clear field. All living things are opportunistic [including human beings (-;], so given plenty of food and no guardians, the bug starts reproducing rapidly. Sort of a social version of AIDS; the virus doesn't kill you, its the opportunistic infections caused by not having a healthy immune system. Hyperclean people have healthy immune systems, but they're "couch potatoes" that seldom get exercise. And strictly a speculation: I think that's why we see more autoimmune diseases (lupus, RA, etc.) nowadays. People's immune systems are so underused that they get bored and start running wild, like pampered teenagers at their first college dorm party. Moral of this story: cleaning up your house is bad for you :-) and dirt is your friend... Regards, Ric (who is about three-quarters serious about that last)
Post #27,619 by wharris2 2/7/02 5:39:56 AM Reply	Re: Yep. As we get cleaner and cleaner Moral of this story: cleaning up your house is bad for you :-) and dirt is your friend... If I only had that argument when I was a teenager. Now, I only have to rationalize that when my parents visit my home. :+*( Most of the work of government does not need to be done.

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