This story came out last week but didn’t get much attention. A study by Wake Forest University shows evidence that showering may be bad for you. The problem lies in inhaling the manganese that is in the water supply. Manganese is far more likely to enter your brain through breathing than through the other ways one encounters the metal: through eating and drinking. Showering for ten minutes a day for ten years leads to potentially damaging levels of manganese in your brain.
“Inhaling manganese, rather than eating or drinking it, is far more efficient at delivering manganese to the brain,â€? said Dr. John Spangler, one of the study’s researchers. “The nerve cells involved in smell are a direct pathway for toxins to enter the brain. Once inside these small nerves, manganese can travel throughout the brain.â€?
From my searches, there appears to be a wealth of medical research on the effects of managanese exposure, such as this scary article by Dr. Aschner for the National Institute of Health. Dr. Aschner is also a researcher at Wake Forest.
I’ve always been concerned about the strange metals in the water supply, but I never considered that my shower would be the biggest threat. Maybe its time to consider taking baths?
Every single thing you do will kill you.
Yeah, I know what you’re saying. But I also know that putting toxic metals in my body is … well, toxic. And until I saw that article, it didn’t occur to me that a shower head aerosolizes the toxic-metal-containing water. Yuk.
I’d just like to keep my wits about me, since they’re in such short supply. 🙂
….hold my breath for a really long time. 🙂
I think there are filters you can buy for your shower head just like the kind you get for your sink. Not sure if that might help.
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the blizzog @ jamiegaines.com
Just don’t take a shower (and stand downwind of me).