Humans Carry More Bacterial Cells than Human Ones

You read correctly. Germs are much smaller than human cells, so they take up less space.

All the bacteria living inside you would fill a half-gallon jug; there are 10 times more bacterial cells in your body than human cells...Despite their vast numbers, bacteria don't take up that much space because bacteria are far smaller than human cells.

But that's a good thing. We need our personal ecosystem to live, grow and remain healthy. Health food nuts like my wife already know this, and people like me don't pay much attention, but for the record we ain't as ever-loving clean as we imagine. Go read about it in Scientific American. (H/T 3Quarks)

Those of us who work with food and have close contact with the public need to remain on guard against the bad germs. We have to do all the right stuff to stay clean, protecting ourselves and those we serve from seasonal diseases and infections. But for everyday living, a lot of well-intentioned people are way over the top worrying about germs.

Read my Probiotic Grace before meals from a couple of years ago.