SWEAT CONTAINS A NATURAL ANTIBIOTIC Sweat contains a natural antibiotic that may keep our natural skin-dwelling bugs in check, the BBC reports. Like a whiff of bad body odor, the protein Dermcidin clears the floor of disease causing micro-organisms. It sends bacteria E. coli, Staphylococus aureus and yeast Candidia albicans running for cover -- and strikes them dead. Birgit Schittek of Eberhard-Karls-University in Tubingen, Germany came across Dermcidin while looking for proteins involved in skin cancer. Sweat glands constantly secrete the antibiotic, they found. Excessive washing could remove the natural germicide. "Bacteria like warm, moist conditions," says Tomas Ganz who studies such "antimicrobial peptides" at the University of California in Los Angeles. "By limiting what lives on the skin, the protein may be 'our first line of defense. "Sweaty people are not necessarily bereft of bugs, however, it depends how much Dermcidin they exude. Antimicrobial peptides pepper all surfaces of the body that meet the outside, such as intestines, mouth and lungs, Ganz explains. Natural antibiotics in sweat may be particularly important when we damage the skin stopping resident bacteria getting inside to cause infection. Sweat's acidity and our rapidly sloughing skin may also keep surface-dwellers under control. "So while washing may be good for keeping friends -- medicated deodorants and skin-washes which kill bugs could upset the skin's bacterial balance," Holland says. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.