A: Drink water w/lemon

When you’re eating out, never drink ice water with a lemon slice. Why? Most lemon slices contain traces of human waste on the peel or in the flesh of the fruit. Just think about squeezing that in your water! Philip Tierno, a professor of microbiology at New YorkUniversity, conducted two experiments with lemons from area restaurants. In study number one, the team tested the flesh and peel of 76 restaurant lemons that had been served to customers in beverages but had not been touched by the customers. An astounding 70 percent of the restaurant lemons tested contained bacteria. In study number two, Tierno conducted additional tests on lemons from 10 different restaurants. They found that half of the lemons tested showed traces of human waste. How do the bacteria get on the lemons? Tierno and his team suspect it comes from exposure to raw meats or poultry, as well as from the restaurant employees themselves, who don’t wash their hands — or don’t wash them well enough — after using the restroom. Here’s the good news: Even though it is fecal matter on the lemons, this type of bacteria is actually common in restaurants and is found on a variety of surfaces. Since very few of us get sick after eating out, it means our immune systems are regularly exposed to such bacteria and are doing their job of preventing infection.