Pasteur Knew It

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist known for his creation of the first vaccine, the pasteurization process, and thought of as the father of the “germ theory of disease.”  I heard a tale of Pasteur late in his career that happened during a presentation to his colleagues.  Allegedly, the chemist was attempting to explain that germs were not actually the ultimate cause of disease, but that germs are opportunistic and can only cause illness when they have a vulnerable host.  The story goes that Pasteur, to prove his point, broke a couple vials of Staph. Bacteria and spread the contents all over himself assuring the others that he would not get sick because his immune system was working properly. 

I found this story relevant because I’ve seen so many people lately with allergies, colds, sinus infections, and even bronchitis that they’ve “caught”.  Understand that germs are everywhere all the time and unless you come in contact with that rare bug that your system has never come in contact before, your immune system is equipped to recognize and eliminate the threat.  This is always true except on the occasion when your immune system is not working properly.  The question then should be what factors cause our immune system to become weak and vulnerable?  As for myself, since I’ve been looking at things this way, I’ve only missed a total of 1 ½ days of work due to illness in nearly 18 years.

Just ask yourself the following questions.  Have I been getting enough rest?  Is my diet o.k. or have I been eating too much sugar and fried foods?  Has my stress level been high or has my exercise level been too low?  Whenever I ask these questions, I usually get my answer and when I address the shortcoming, my immune system bounces back.  Just like Dr. Pasteur, you need to remember that infection from bacteria and virus are the result rather than the cause and always address the cause.