Every kiss starts with 80 million germs
Couples exchange millions of germs every single second they kiss. Because about 700 types of bacteria live in the mouth of each one of us.
A kiss is not just a kiss. It is also an opportunity to exchange millions of microbes. This is shown by the results of the latest Dutch study.
When two people’s lips touch each other, within 10 seconds it is possible to exchange 80 million microbes, which during the entire kiss are transferred from the mouth of one to the that of the other. And two people who kiss multiple times every day exchange multiple germs.
According to one of the authors of the study, intimate kissing, which includes full tongue contact and saliva exchange, is a courtship behavior that is unique to humans and is performed by 90% of our acquaintances nationalities.
An advisor to the Amsterdam Microbe Museum “Micropia” also notes that, as far as the scientific community is aware, the exact effects on the oral microflora in the form of microscopic living microorganisms have never been studied.
That’s why Dutch scientists tried to find out to what extent couples share their oral microflora. And it turns out that this exchange of bacteria is why partners start to look more alike as the length of time they’ve been together increases.
During the study, scientists provided 21 couples with a drink containing a probiotic, which they had to drink before kissing. The samples taken then show the transfer of these 80 million microbes.
The scientists also found that the microbes on the tongue were more similar in couples compared to people who did not know each other.
However, according to scientists, the microbes in the mouth are an extremely insignificant part, only 700 species of the total number of bacteria that are found in the tissues of the whole body.
They are more than 100 trillion that support immune and digestive function and it turns out that there are more bacteria in the human body than cells, which are twice as many.
What then actually is the human body?
