Todor A. Dimitrov
Abstract
In Part I we
understood that the modern human being with all his races appeared nearly 40000
years ago after multiple interbreeding between 3 human subspecies: Homo
Sapiens, Homo Neanderthalensis, and Denisovans, last one of which does not have
a scientific classification name yet. The main point, for which scientists
classify all these three species as humans, is that they interbreed successfully,
and their offspring has survived in the recent human races. It means their
chromosomes are compatible which automatically leads to conclusion that they
belong to one species.
Further will be
cited laws from Babylon empire, written by the famous king of Babylon Hammurabi
(1792 – 1750 BCE), from Hittite empire, and from the Hebrew Bible called
Tanakh, exposed in the Five books of Moses called Torah. Sources about the
ancient purity is very hard to be discovered because obviously ancient cultures
have not considered discussions on purity to be important or appropriate to be
written and that is why purity has been an object of the oral law, as it has been
in the Hebrew tradition. Most of rules for purity in the Hebrew tradition have
been written in the first compilation of oral law called Mishna by Rabbi
Yehudah haNasi in 200 CE, followed by the Babylonian Talmud that is finished in
the 5-th century. From all sources of laws and rules in the history, the Hebrew
script is the richest source. Along with that, here will be reviewed
descriptions for purity in the modern living standards implemented by the real
modern science and medicine. This review is structured according to 5 kinds of
purity: purity of body; purity of food; purity of emotions and mind (psychological);
purity of relations in the family and community; spiritual purity. We must accept
that the purity of body is deeply connected to the purity of food. That is why
in Part II are exposed purity of body and purity of food.
Review
In the second
part of our research, we will become familiar with the purity of body and food,
walking the way of human history from thousands of years ago.
The parts and
zones of our body, that can develop bacteriosis and we should always keep
cleaned, are: hands, lips and mouth, face, nostrils, scalp and its hair,
armpits, genitals and feet.
Human Body
With our hands
we work with tools, we touch all kinds of objects, sometimes chemicals and
sometimes the soil, and we bring food to our mouth.
Can we touch
food before we wash our hands? Never. The food must be free of any dangerous
microbes and chemicals. By default, our hands are always dirty unless we wash
them as long, as we wash our teeth – more than 1 to 3 minutes. We cannot touch
our lips, our face or any part of our head and body, unless we wash our hands. The
microbes found on our hands are divided in two groups – resident and transient
microbiota. Resident microbiota are microorganisms that reside under the
superficial surface of the skin, and also can be found on the surface of the
skin [1]. Transient microbiota are microorganisms that colonize the superficial
layers of skin and could be removed by routine hygiene [1]. Our hands are a
critical vector for transmitting microorganisms between people, pets, inanimate
objects, and our environments [2]. The last study from year 2015 has the
precise data about this microbiome, classified by order and family [2, table
2]. The skin on our hands is colonized by bacteria, fungi, viruses, and mites
[3]. There are symbiotic microorganisms that protect us from more pathogenic
microbiota, educating the T-cells in our skin to produce antibodies against
similarly marked pathogenic cousins.
The resident
microbiota is represented by Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus
hominis, Propionibacteria, Corynebacteria [1], the fungi from the
species of Pityrosporum spp. (Malassezia) [1][2] and Aspergillus spp.
[2].
Bacteria on
hands has been represented from four phyla across all studies: Firmicutes,
Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes [2]. According to Table 2
from the second cited research here, the most common bacteria found on human
hands, cited from eleven studies, are bacteria from the next families: Actinomycetaceae,
Coryne-bacteriaceae, Micrococcaceae, Propionibacteriacea, Bacillaceae,
Staphylococcaceae, Streptococcaceae, Clostridiaceae, Neisseriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae,
Moraxellaceae, Pasteurellaceae, Fusobacteriaceae, Chloroplasts, Cyanobacteria.
More than 50%
of transient bacteria is represented by phylum Proteobacteria [3, figure 3]
that consists of families Enterobacteriaceae (Escherihia spp., Salmonella
spp., Helicobacter spp., Yersinia spp., Legionella spp., Klebsiella
pneumoniae), Pseudomonadaceae (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and others.
In Guidelines
on Hand Hygiene in Health Care [1] are exposed concrete data from studies of
samples from gloves of healthcare workers. Bacteria that have been represented
after the work with patients: Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella
spp., Acinetobacter spp.
The human skin
microbiome is represented by bacteria, fungi, viruses and mites. Let we
generalize the possible resident and transient species that inhabit the human
hands and feet, and
their impact on our health:
-
Staphylococcus
epidermidis – facultative anaerobic, the
most common inhabitant, commonly maintains relationship with the host and not
evolved to cause disease [4], does not produce aggressive virulence, nowadays seen as an important
opportunistic pathogen, the most frequent cause of nosocomial infections at a
rate as high as its more virulent cousin Staphylococcus aureus;
-
Staphylococcus
hominis – both aerobic and anaerobic, produce
acid from trehalose (kind of sugar consisting of two molecules of glucose),
isolated from the blood of immunocompromised patients, antibiotic resistance,
can cause sepsis and urinary tract infection;
-
Actinobacteria
– transitional forms of bacteria and fungi, mainly found in soil,
aquatic area and caves, and can be found in very hot or very cold environments,
saprophytic organisms that decompose the organic matter, found in lungs
together with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, growing mycelium with filaments
called hyphae, divided into 6 classes which are divided into 16 orders:
Actinopolysporales, Actinomycetales, Bifidobacteriales, Catenulisporales,
Coryne-bacteriales, Frankiales, Glycomycetales, Jiangellales, Kineosporiales,
Micrococ-cales, Micromonosporales, Propionibacteriales, Pseudonocardiales,
Streptomyce-tales, Streptosporangiales, Incerta cedis [19].
-
Propionibacterium
– anaerobic, synthesize propionic (carboxylic) acid with unpleasant
smell, living in and around sebaceous and sweat glands, implicating in acne
condition, active pathogen in bone and joint infections like arthritis with
long incubation period [5], detected in connection to intervertebral disc
degeneration [5], reported in cases of infective endocarditis [5], usually
found in a row milk, using lactate as a carbon substrate, reaching high levels
in cheese with low salt concentration and low pH (5.2) [6];
-
Corynebacterium
– most of them aerobic, participate in the microbiome of animals and
humans, can cause diphtheria to humans (Corynebacterium diphtheriae) by
a very potent exotoxin but most of them live in symbiosis with their hosts
unless the host’s condition turns to weak, isolated from patients with otitis,
urinary tract infections, feet infections, breast abscess [7], skin infections
are connected to C. kutschery derived from infected rodents (mice and rats)
[8], lymphadenitis that has been reported mostly in Australia is connected to C.
pseudotuberculosis (ovis) [9];
-
Pityrosporum
spp. (Malassezia) – fungi, participate in the skin
microbiome of animals and humans, lipophilic, they grow in areas with sebaceous
glands on the scalp and face, mostly on the upper part of body, seborrheic
dermatitis caused by M. furfur [10], dandruff caused by Malassezia globose
[11], acne [12] and pityriasis (tinea) versicolor with hyper- or
hypopigmentation [11];
-
Aspergillus
spp. – a genus of fungi consisted of few
hundred species of mold, some species can cause fungal infections but can be
used like many others commercially and medically, they produce several very
potent mycotoxins with large epidemiological, agricultural and economic impact,
some of them are thermophilic and can grow with temperatures above 40 deg. C, A.
niger (causes the decay of fresh fruit), A. fumigatus and A.
flavus are the most common species, the
genus is plenty of numbers in the pillows, in wet and warm places, and grows
mainly on carbon sources, causes otitis, lung infection, ulcer, skin lesion,
allergy;
-
Escherichia
spp. – facultatively anaerobic bacteria
species, some of them are commensal members of the guts microbiota, main
pathogen is E. coli that causes urinary tract infections especially in
women, gastrointestinal infections like diarrhea, blood infection and CNS
(brain) infection (sepsis, meningitis) [13], E. coli is classified into
10 pathogenic types, 80% of E. coli species
are involved in neonatal meningitis by K1 antigen [18];
-
Salmonella
spp. – facultative anaerobic bacteria, gastrointestinal
pathogen, intracellular, divided into two main groups – thyfoidal and
nonthyfoidal, thyfoidal species invade the intestine and secrete endotoxin
which leads to septic shock, the inflammatory response of the human body causes
diarrhea and may lead to ulceration, symptoms begin from 6 to 48 hours after
ingestion – nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain/cramps and diarrhea, fever with 38
– 39 deg. C [14];
-
Helicobacter
spp. – microaerobic/aerobic bacteria,
gastrointestinal pathogen, associated with chronic superficial gastritis,
infected almost half of the human population, causing stomach ulcer, gastric
carcinoma and lymphoma, chronic infection is asymptomatic, the acute infection
causes vomiting and upper gastrointestinal pain, does not invade tissue but
secretes cytotoxin urease and cagA-encoded protein which leads to injury of the
gastric epithelium (ulcer) [15];
-
Legionella
spp. – aerobic bacteria, known since July, 1976
from epidemic disease, causing 34 lethal cases from 221 sickened people, reside
on surface and in water, widespread in nature, usually transmitted to humans by
aerosols, multiply intracellularly in lungs, activated once the immune system
restricts bacteria growth, cause disease in people with compromised immune
defense – acute pneumonia with permanent fever and dry cough [16];
-
Staphylococcus
aureus – facultative anaerobic, colonizes
nasal passage and axillae (armpit), coagulase positive (for a lab test), salt
tolerant and hemolytic (causes destruction of red blood cells), releases
enterotoxins into food, causes septic shock by releasing superantigens into the
blood stream, can cause coagulation of blood plasma, major cause of nosocomial
and community infections – boils, furuncles, styes, impetigo and other
superficial skin infections in humans, pneumonia, deep abscesses,
osteomyelitis, endocarditis, phlebitis, meningitis and others, phagocytosis is
impeded by a polysaccharide microcapsule [17];
-
Klebsiella
spp. – the genus consists of aerobic and facultative anaerobic, these
species live in soil, water, occasionally in food and form intestinal flora in
humans and animals, produce urease which plays a major role in forming urinary
stones, their urease activity produces ammonia which may damage the urinary
tract epithelium, widespread nosocomial pathogen, cause pneumonia, respiratory
tract infections, rhinoscleroma, urinary tract infections, acute
gastroenteritis, fatality rate – up to 90% in untreated patients [18].
-
Cryptococcus
gattii – pathogenic fungus, basidiomycetous
yeast, emerged in humans and animals, cause deadly infections in lungs and
brain (cryptococcus meningitis), had been previously restricted to tropical and
subtropical regions but moves northward, colonizes tree barks and soil [20]
-
Candida
– genus of yeasts, mostly represented by Candida albicans, causes the
fungal infection candidiasis in bloodstream and internal organs (kidney, heart
and brain), normally found in the gut flora in healthy mammals, colonizes also
mouth and genitals; antibiotics, sugar, fermented foods and poor nutrition
promote fungal infections because of Candida overgrowth; ferments the sugar
(without lactose) to acid, connected to Crohn’s disease and colitis.
We can find a requirement
for washing the hands and feet in the Five books of Moses. The cited act of
purity is deeply connected to the holiness regarding the requirement for
holiness cited in Part I to be holy before God:
“You shall also
make a laver of copper and its base of copper for washing, and you shall put it
between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall bring there water. And
Aharon and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet” (Exodus, 30:18-19).
“And they shall
wash their hands and their feet, and they will not die, and it shall be a
statute for ever to them for their generations” (Exodus, 30:21).
These verses
describe a commandment of purity for the offspring of Levi for preparatory
ceremony before the sacrifice or before entering the tent of meeting. If we continue
to read, we will see another requirement – to wash the parts of animals in
preparation for the sacrifice.
For those who
cannot understand the meaning of animal sacrifice in ancient times, I will
explain it with only a few words. The life of an animal has been taken in act
of sacrifice as atonement for people’s crimes because otherwise people should
be punished. People commit crime even when they neglect the crime of a person who
lives among them, and such cases are described in the Bible further. If you
don’t want innocent life to be taken because of your crime or sin, just try to
live accordingly to the laws. Other cases in which the sacrifice has been
practiced, are connected to the impurity of illness, or to the impurity during
the female cycle.
Through whole
the text in Torah we can see that God’s requirements implement the spiritual
and physical purity together, which means they are connected to each
other.
These statues
of purity do not finish here but continue in the book Vaykra (Leviticus) where
we find short ancient guidance of healthcare for severe autoimmune diagnoses
and infections.
Here I will
cite a few examples about the purity from the Law of Hitties [23](the proper
word deciphered from the ancient original text is “Haati” for singular; in Tora is
written “Hitti” for singular):
“25a. [If] a
person is/becomes impure (i.e., brings impurity?) in a vessel or a vat,
formally they used to pay 6 shekels of silver: s/he who is impure pays 3
shekels of silver and they used to take 3 shekels for the [king]s’ house. But
now the king has [waived] the palace’s share. S/he who is impure only pays 3
shekels of silver. S/he shall look to his/her house for it
44b. If anyone
performs a purification ritual on a person, he shall dispose of the remnants
(from the ritual) in the incineration dumps. But if he disposes of them in
someone’s house, it is sorcery and a case for the king … (44b late version) and
he shall make it ritually pure again. And if in the house anything goes wrong,
he shall make it ritually pure again, as before. And shall make compensation
for whatever else is lost”.
Food
First criteria,
according to which we choose our food, is the level of toxicity. This includes the presence of microbiota. The
food should not contain any microbiota. We need to know the healthy look of the
food with the purpose of immediate separation of the healthy from poisonous or
infected food. Every difference in the
color, or in the hardness of the food, is evidence of infection or decay. That is why
after our visual check we put fruits and vegetables in a vessel full of clean
water for 15 minutes and after that we wash them under pouring water.
This kind of
purity is exposed in Torah in details. There is forbidden to eat blood or
carrion. Obviously, we already know why. The blood can transport all kind of
microbiota, microscopic worms (mites), and feeding substances from the animal
digestive system. The carrion is in a process of decay under the attack of
decomposing bacteria switched to their most aggressive level of existence. There
is exposed also a list of animals that Hebrews should not eat or even touch. We
must be totally ignorant if we cannot see the reason for that. The first reason
is hidden in the genetic code of the animal for what it looks like, what its behavior
is and what his food is. The second reason is the level of digestion of meat in
our digestive system. More exactly, despite of our digestive process with the presence of a proteolytic
enzyme called protease (peptidase), parts from the animal DNA penetrate our
cells and replicate with our DNA through the endoplasmic reticulum. The enzyme protease
assimilates proteins to the basic amino acids but cannot assimilate RNA and DNA
nucleotides and structures. They are not proteins. They are nucleic acids
consisted of sugar, phosphate and nitrogenous base. Pancreatic nucleases break down DNA and RNA but obviously they are not enough. The enzyme endonuclease is attracted only by
DNA/RNA hybrids that form when gene transcription goes awry [21]. This enzyme
usually is a transcription helper. The only hope for complete DNA degradation comes
if we have read one of the latest research projects. A group of scientists in
2013 published an investigation about the thermal degradation of DNA. The
reached outcome is that DNA can be degraded at temperatures between 100 and 110
deg C in water only if we use a pressure system that prevents evaporation of the
water otherwise you need to put the DNA in environment (the meat medium) at 170
to 200 deg C [22].
If we choose to
receive proteins (that we need a lot) from animal flesh, it should be carefully
disinfected in relevant suitable solution for 1 hour, cleansed from blood, and
prepared ultimately at high temperature. The smallest reliable temperature of cooking
environment for disinfection is 100 deg C and the shortest time for reliable
disinfection is 10 minutes after the inner medium of the meat reaches this
temperature, but this time is still not enough to prepare it for food. To
prepare beef sometimes we need couple of hours depending on your oven
technology.
Conclusion
The body cleanness
does not just prevent us from more illnesses and unwanted DNA replications but
provides our mind and soul with calm comfort. Without it our life becomes
stressful, confused and at last will be very complicated and incomplete.
We need to
understand very soon that we are what we eat. We also need to know we need
amino acids from proteins but not the DNA of some disgusting creature which
produces them. We have our DNA that is precious. There is not constant
spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical purity without food selection,
there is not health without it. As we know, the health gives more quality of
life for we are more capable to survive, to achieve goals and to complete
our designation – the purpose of our lives.
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