Friday, May 7, 2010

Hand Washing for Champions

You may be thinking that hand washing has nothing to do with nutrition and fitness, so why did it earn a spot on this blog. Well, it is certainly an important part of both topics! Food safety is always a nutritional concern and avoiding viruses and bacteria at the gym is just as important. You should always practice good hand washing skills before and after handling food, after using the bathroom, and before and after using gym equipment just to name a few. This post was inspired after seeing way too many people using poor hand washing techniques at the gym. Gyms are crawling with all kinds of disgusting germs that you don’t want! Always wash your hands thoroughly before heading out the door! Anything less than the description below means that you are wasting your time at the sink because it is ineffective! The following steps are required of employees in food establishments for a reason! You should follow them also!

1. Make sure you have paper towels handy before starting to wash your hands.

2. Turn the water on to a warm temperature.

3. Put soap in your hands and then scrub for 20 seconds. You can count to 20 or sing happy birthday to yourself twice. You should be scrubbing between your fingers, the backs and palms of your hands, your wrists, and your nails. Friction is important!

4. Rinse your hands.

5. Grab a paper towel and thoroughly dry your hands. Now, using the paper towel, turn off the water. Do not touch the faucet again because you will just pick up all of the germs you left there when you turned it on, and when everyone else before you turned it on.

Happy Hand Washing!!

6 comments:

  1. I have to remember to scrub longer than I do. I wish all public restrooms would have a trash can right by the door b/c after I wash and dry I use my paper towel to open the door and it is nice when there is a trash can to throw it in once I have the door open. The thought of opening the door with my bare hands is scary when you consider how many people don't wash and then use that same handle to open the door. OCD???

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  2. It's interesting that we abandon the paper towels at home. I try not to think about all of the germs hanging out on our hand towels (and dishwashing sponge).

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  3. Good points! How does this work with hand sanitizer? As long as you get a good coating, are you good to go? Although, I do hear that hand sanitizer isn't the best because it kills too many germs and then we weaken our immune system...or something like that...
    Mom-E

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  4. Erin'sMom: Thanks for bringing up that great point about using a paper towel to open the door. You can certain pick up a lot of junk there too!
    Busy-Dad-E: true....I guess if everyone washes their hands well before drying, and the towel is washed frequently, it probably isn't too bad. I just wouldn't want to use a towel in public where you don't know how well people wash!
    Mom-E: Really good question about hand sanitizer. As long as you cover your hands (in between fingers, back, and front, etc) you should be good. I really don't know that it kills anymore germs than antibacterial soap, if used properly. Don't quote me on that because I'm not entirely sure!!! However, hand sanitizer is a great thing to use. The only exception that I know of is that hand sanitizer doesn't kill C. Diff., which is a bacteria that sometimes develops with a lot of antibiotic use.

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  5. “People with A blood type have a different set of characteristics from people who are Type O — they are susceptible to different diseases, should eat different foods and exercise differently,” says Peter on their website www.dadamo.com.The blood group diet chart suggests that ‘Type O' people should eat high proteins; ‘Type A' should avoid heavy proteins and dig on carbohydrates; ‘Type B' people should drink more milk and avoid fruits such as corns, lentils and peanuts.People with the rare Type AB blood group can go for a combination of the diet recommended for Type A and Type B.“In the three months that I have been on a diet, I have lost almost five kg. So far, everything is good,” says Akankasha Darswal, who is a Type A.“The only difficulty was eating more carbohydrates. I was a bit sceptical, because we all believe that we should avoid carbohydrates to lose weight, but the results are there to see,” she adds.However, Tandon says that one should not overdo this diet. Also, it is important to consult a professional and factor in your age into the programme.”

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  6. I am finally reading these posts and loving them. This one.. hits home for me. I see so many people NOT wash hands and think just rinsing under water is fine. Then they want to touch my keyboard or grab a cookie.. etc. Gross! I always use a paper towel to turn off water and open door. If paper towel not available I will use tp... I am def grossed out by germs!! And if no trash can i just let it fall to the floor in the bathroom. After a while they get a hint and put the trashcan there!

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