Beard Benefits: Studies Show How Facial Hair Helps Men's Health

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The recent resurgence of the beard has raised the age-old question: beard or no beard?

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection, it seems that having a beard could actually be safer.

The study swabbed about 400 men who work in hospitals. The sample included men with and without facial hair, and the results are surprising.

According to the BBC, the men who were clean shaven were about 10 times more likely to be carrying methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) than those who were bearded.

While researchers do state that the open pores of the clean shaven could be the breeding ground of thousands of harmful bacteria, there could be other underlying reasons for the results.

So what seems to be the advantage of having a beard and why are clean shaved men carrying such bacteria?

To answer that question, let's take a look at another study done by Dr. Adam Roberts of the University College, London.

According to Roberts, he was able to grow over 100 different bacteria from beard swabs collected during his study.

While culturing the bacteria in Petri dishes, Roberts noticed that one bacteria is similar to microbes found in the small intestines as well as another microbe that was acting quite strangely.

According to Independent UK, Roberts claims that this one microbe was actually killing the other bacteria found in the beard. Upon finding this microbe, Roberts decided to test it against other resistant forms of bacteria.

Roberts decided to see what would happen when the microbes would go up against a drug-resistant form of E. Coli which is known to cause urinary tract infections. The results showed that the microbes were able to destroy the strain of E. Coli very quickly.

When asked about the finding of this particular microbe, Roberts claims that the find could lead to a new antibiotic in the future and compares the find to that of Penicillin. This is because Penicillin was discovered in quite a similar way and has helped millions stave off infection for years.

With all these findings, it's no wonder why bearded men are less likely to be carrying harmful bacteria in a well-kept beard.

So which side are you on? Do you think a man is better looking with a beard or clean shaven? Let us know in the comments below.