The Germ Files
The Surprising Ways Microbes Can Improve Your Health and Life (and How to Protect Yourself from the Bad Ones)
SOME GERMS ARE OUT TO GET US. . . . But we shouldn’t let a delinquent, pathogenic minority taint our view of the other 99.9 per cent.
The microbes living on and inside us outnumber the cells in our bodies three to one. Many provide services on which our well-being, our moods, our very lives depend. They help to digest our food and operate the immune system. They trade information about potential mates when we kiss. They alert the brain to problems in different locations around the body. The balance of their populations in our gut is a crucial factor in our physical and mental health.
The effect of germs on our lives is not, however, a one-way street. We can…
Jason Tetro studied microbiology at the University of Guelph, and for fifteen years researched health-related microbiology at the University of Ottawa. He has been a consultant to government and private industry in many health-related areas. He is a regular contributor to print and broadcast media. He lives in Toronto.