An investigative report recently aired on Good Morning America that revealed a dirty little secret. According to the report, representatives bought blouses, pants and underwear from a variety of popular retailers. Then they brought them to Dr. Philip Tierno, director of microbiology and immunology at New York University for testing. The results: some garments tested positive for respiratory secretions, vaginal organisms--including yeast and fecal germs. According to Dr. Tierno, "Some garments were grossly contaminated with many organisms … indicating that either many people tried it or ... someone tried it on with heavy contamination.” He likened it to “touching somebody's arm pit or groin.” While the chance that you would get sick is somewhat slight, Dr. Tierno says that it could happen. Before you wear those new clothes you should wash them. Or run them through one cycle in a hot dryer. Dr. Tierno also suggests wearing clothes underneath while trying on new clothes and washing your hands after shopping. Personally, I find the information in this report really disturbing – maybe that’s because I never dreamed I would live to see the day when I would be grossed out by new clothes.
Your breath can be gross too. So what do you do when you are out with friends or at work and you want to know if you have bad breath? Try licking the back of your hand using as much surface area of the tongue as possible. It is kind of a weird thing to do so you will want to make sure no one is looking. Then wait 30 seconds and sniff. If the scent is sulfurous – it is time to brush or pop an Altoid.
January is National Puzzle Month! Several studies have found that people who participate in leisure time activities such as jigsaw puzzles have a better quality of life, longer life expectancy and decreased incidence of brain illnesses like dementia, memory loss and most notably, Alzheimer's disease. Make the time to be good to you by giving yourself an intellectual workout – make a jigsaw puzzle.
Good Health!
Terry
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
~Robert Brault
