Cosmopolitan —It’s been well-reported that a number of unsavory things can happen to our bodies if we don’t shower for a couple of days, yet there’s increasing evidence to suggest that showering too often can actually do more harm than good.
Some researchers believe that over-showering can damage the human microbiome, defined by the Genetic Science Center at the University of Utah as a collection of bacteria, viruses, and other microbes that live in and on our bodies. According to the university, “disrupting our microbial ecosystems can cause disease,” and as a recent study published by Science Advances suggests, washing too often may damage these microorganisms which are vital for our health.
The study of the people of Yanomami village in the Amazon, who had “no documented previous contact with Western people,” were found to have a “microbiome with the highest diversity of bacteria and genetic functions ever reported in a human group.” These people also harbored bacteria which carried antibiotic resistance, despite no known contact with antibiotics.
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