Can harmless bacteria actually make you HEALTHIER? Risks of excessive cleaning documented in new study

Are you one of those people who obsessively washes their hands with anti-germ handwash and sprays the countertops repeatedly with hygiene cleaners? If so, it may come as a surprise to know that some scientists believe that this kind of obsessive cleaning could actually be making you sicker.

It may sound counterintuitive, but as reported by Science Daily, a group of researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) have warned in an article published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution that rigorous cleaning interferes with the diversity of microorganisms in our bodies, potentially weakening immunity. (Related: Do you know that some of the most common endocrine disruptors are found in your kitchen?)

More cleaning = fewer germs = more sickness?

The iDiv researchers noted that ecosystems with high levels of biodiversity, such as forests and grasslands, are far more resistant to invasive species and other disturbances than lower diversity ecosystems. When these high levels of diversity are somehow diminished, the ecosystem is weakened, and functionality is reduced. This has been proven hundreds of times in animal and plant studies.

The iDiv team believes that much the same could be true of the high levels of biodiversity in the human body.

“We influence this micro-biodiversity on a daily basis, especially by comba