Dr. Mercola January 18 2007 2,726 views
The British Medical Journal conducted a survey of over 11,000 people to determine the most important medical milestone since 1840. The overwhelming winner of the survey? Simple sanitation, with nearly 16 percent of the votes.
Improved sanitation, such as sewage disposal and clean water supply systems, has reduced many diseases, including cholera, and helped spread the importance of disease prevention through more “passive” means.
Sanitation beat out other top choices, including the discovery of DNA, antibiotics, anesthesia, the contraceptive pill, imaging techniques and computers. Ironically, some of the oldest medical tenets are also the best; this milestone is still in full-force today, with most medical experts recommending simple hand washing as an excellent way to reduce your risk of infections. Sadly, however, inadequate sanitation is still a major challenge for many developing countries.
British Medical Journal January 18, 2007
BBC News January 18, 2007
Between handwashing, along with other sanitation techniques, and eating whole foods that are good for you. You can markedly reduce your risk of illness. Simple methods are usually the best.
mmc88121
Occum's Razor wins again (the simplest answer, or explanation, tends to be the correct one)!
Sanitation saved many hundreds thousands in war zone surguries in the past 150 years to the present, when infection was and/or remains pandemic; ditto in many third world swamps, slums, or other squalor conditions globally today.
Cleanliness is indeed second only to Godliness; you avoid meeting your Maker a little longer.