If you google “OBESOGENS” you will see that there are hundreds of chemicals that alter our metabolism, thereby increasing our chances of obesity and diabetes. Most of them appear to negatively impact our gut bacteria, which is where we metabolize the food we eat. (See October 2018 Newsletter.) The latest to be thus categorized are household cleaners.
Are we excessively preoccupied with hygiene in America?
Have you read about the Hygiene Hypothesis?
Did you know that children who grow up with pets licking their faces have less asthma and allergies?
Story time: Americans often attend Alliance Française meetings, in addition to French expatriates. On this occasion I was helping carrying the baguettes from my car to the house where we were having our monthly meeting. The organizer saw me drop one. “Hurry! Pick it up before the Americans see it!”
Use natural cleaners like lemons, white vinegar and baking soda, and curve your germaphobia.
References
Common household disinfectants may be linked to childhood obesity
The USA Today (9/17, Haller) “All the Moms” blog reports, “Common cleaning products are linked to childhood obesity,” research indicated. CNN (9/17, Scutti) reports, “Multi-surface cleaners and other commonly used household disinfectants could be making children overweight by altering the bacteria found in their guts,” researchers concluded in findings published online in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Babies “living in households where antimicrobial disinfectants are used at least weekly were twice as likely to have higher levels of the bacteria Lachnospiraceae at ages three to four months than children whose homes did not frequently use disinfectants, the” study revealed. When those youngsters “with higher levels of Lachnospiraceae were 3 years old, their body mass index (BMI) was higher than children who do not live in homes that frequently use disinfectants,” the study also showed. Fox News (9/17, Hein) reports that in arriving at the study’s conclusions, investigators examined “the gut microbiota of 757 babies.” Despite the study’s findings, the study authors “cautioned that outside factors that potentially contribute to weight gain couldn’t be ruled out in the study, including a mother’s diet while pregnant.”
American Thoracic Society Annual Meeting, May 2001, Exposure to pets early in life helps prevents allergies and asthma.
J. Lancet 2001;358:1493, Parasites protect from asthma development
Am J. Resp and Crit Care 9/2002, Children’s allergies tied to antibiotic use during pregnancy.
J. Allergy Clin Imm 2002;110:72, Use of antibiotics in pregnancy associated with asthma in 5 year-old children.
