One ten second tongue kiss can transfer 80 million bacteria from your partner’s mouth into yours!

That’s a good thing (provided you are kissing a healthy person) because the more diversity in your microbiota, the better it is for your health. Our entire digestive tract is filled with a variety of bacteria that play an important role in helping us digest food. The bacteria also determine the behavior of your immune system and help to keep it healthy.

Researchers in Amsterdam have studied how bacteria is shared among couples that regularly engage in tongue kissing with saliva exchange. The researchers looked at 21 couples between the ages of 17 and 45 and asked them a series of questions about their kissing behavior and also about the foods they recently ate. The scientists also sampled the front of their tongue before and after an intimate kiss. Saliva samples were also taken. The researchers wanted to see what types of bacteria are present in each person’s mouth and how much bacteria gets transferred between the couples.

Then one of the partners was asked to consume a probiotic rich yogurt drink. Their tongue and saliva were analysed 10 seconds later, and then the person was asked to kiss their partner for 10 seconds. Then that partner’s tongue and saliva were analysed, where the scientists particularly looked for the strains of bacteria present in the yogurt. That’s when they found that approximately 80 million bacteria were transferred into the partner’s mouth.

We know that consuming probiotic rich foods is good for our health. Yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and other fermented foods offer numerous benefits to your immune system and digestive system. This research has shown that if your partner consumes these foods you can gain enormous benefits.

So kissing your partner more frequently is great for your health. It is also a wonderful way to reduce stress and tension and enable your body to release feel-good hormones. Read more.

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