According to Huff Post Healthy Living the lemon slices that we garnish our drinks with might not be as ‘healthy’ as we think.
The following question was posed to the Ask Healthy Living experts: How germy are those lemon wedges we plop into our water glasses at restaurants?
The answer was less than appealing.
“For one Journal of Environmental Health study, researchers swabbed the rinds and flesh of 76 lemons from 21 restaurants collected during 43 visits and found that a whopping 70 percent of them produced microbial growth. The samples were collected as soon as the beverage (either soda or water) was served, before drinking or touching, and while the researchers couldn’t pinpoint the exact origins of the microorganisms, they speculated that they may have come from the restaurant employee or raw meat or poultry contamination, among other sources.
“Although lemons have known antimicrobial properties, the results of our study indicate that a wide variety of microorganisms may survive on the flesh and the rind of a sliced lemon,” the authors wrote in their report. “Restaurant patrons should be aware that lemon slices added to beverages may include potentially pathogenic microbes.”
Human fecal matter
In another similar study about half the lemon wedges taken from restaurants had traces of human fecal matter. Ie: no matter how many times you wash the lemons if the bartender doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom and handles your lemon slice – then this contamination can easily take place.
And there’s more – the studies also found traces of bacteria from the human respiratory tract – imagine a bartender coughing or sneezing on or around the lemon slices.
Read the full article with the rest of the findings and whether they pose a direct threat to us on the Huff Post Well Living site.
Are you a germaphobe? Or do you just roll with it?
Article source: Huff Post Well Living