Why You May Want To Stop Putting Lemon Slices In Your Drink

When you think of lemon slices floating in a pitcher of iced tea, or limes in a mojito, orange slices hanging on the rims of your glass you probably think YUM! But what we're about to tell you might change your mind....

Because ... how clean are these fruit slices, exactly?

One study saw researchers swab lemon slices that were on their drinks at 21 different restaurants. They found that almost 70 percent of the samples produced some sort of microbial growth, including 25 different microbial species. "The microbes found on the lemon samples in our investigation all have the potential to cause infectious diseases at various body sites, although the likelihood was not determined in this study" wrote the researchers. 

The slightly good news is that a particularly stiff drink could have enough alcohol in it to kill any bacteria on the outside of the lemon — but it'd have to be straight alcohol. And even still, no amount of straight alcohol will kill viruses, only bacteria.

Really concerned about germs, but love the taste of the fruit in your drink? Simply ask for the citrus slices on a small plate, squeeze the juice into your drink yourself, and then skip dropping the whole wedge into your drink. 

Better living everyone. 

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