[Disgust] can be positive or negative, and there are various takes on what the implications are... but in terms of benefits, it has a clear one in maintaining health," Moons says. In a 2004 study out of the UK, for example, men and women looked at images of people and rated their disgust levels in response to the images. They tended to be more grossed out by those with a potential link to disease -- say, a sweaty-looking, sick man -- than those with no such links, suggesting humans tend to steer clear of potential health threats because of disgust.
Other research has looked at how disgust can influence things like people's consumption patterns, Moons says. "People want to purge when they're experiencing disgust... so they are unwilling to buy other things, and only buy new things at very low prices," he explains. "There's this desire to get rid of things and not acquire new things" -- which might, potentially, keep overconsumption and materialism in check.