Water bottle hygiene

Melissa Breyer reports on some of her personal research on how to keep reusable water bottles from making you sick.

As she notes, humans have lived without constant hydration from our Rift Valley origins until about 1970, and now that we have the habit and need to get rid of single-use premade pollution, it’s the reusable kind of water bottle. Trouble is, you kiss this thing over and over — is that safe?

She doesn’t say so, but actually too much hygiene is bad for you. No need to go overboard. The immune system needs exercise it gets by pouncing on some invaders. However, that depends on what invaders, and how many. As in everything, the Golden Middle is the go.

If, like most people, you rely on a refillable bottle, you should read this well-written, well-researched little essay.