Can you detect the sarcasm in that title?
Look, everybody knows that television and media are sensationalized. But we don’t always realize how sensationalized, exaggerated, or down right misleading health information tends to be. It’s scary because so many people rely on the information they see on the news, commercials, Dr. Oz, or the Doctors. I personally think that shows like this do more to confuse viewers and trick them into buying products that are not really healthy. An example I’ve discussed before is the popular advertisement for a CoQ10 supplement.
Today I caught a snippet of the Dr. Oz show where he was talking about fast food restaurants. This episode is a germaphobe’s worst nightmare- he talked at length about dirty water pitchers and “filthy” trays at fast food restaurants. He talked about the trays not getting washed between each usage (seriously?) and went as far as to say that we should wipe our trays with our own hand sanitizer when we get them. Is this what our world has come to? Just because you swabbed the tray and grew bacteria from the culture doesn’t mean any of those bugs were actually harmful to the human body. Sure, the nasty petri dish stunt gets a great “yuck” reaction from the audience, but is it really relevant? Furthermore, what makes us think that the cups, plates, or cardboard the food is served on is any more devoid of germs?
Look, the entire world is one big, germy mass. Bacteria and viruses outnumber and outweigh our cells in our own bodies, so one would think that the rest of the world is equally germy. Continually sanitizing everything you come into contact with weakens your immune system, and perhaps more importantly, is futile. The bugs were here long before we were, they’re smarter than we ever imagined, and vastly outnumber us, so unless you see a booger on your tray I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.
I think that the fast food is much more detrimental to your health than the tray it’s served on ever dreamed of being.
If you or somebody you know is interested in working with a functional medicine doctor please call my office at (919) 238-4094 and see if we are the right fit for you. Infinity Holistic Healthcare is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, part of the Raleigh-Durham “triangle” area.
