Many years ago, as I was about to go into the Peace Corps in West Africa, a college friend surmised that it would be a perfect place for me: I didn't like to eat with utensils, I rotated the same 2 sets of clothes all the time, and I liked to go barefoot in the dirt.
It turns out that going barefoot in West African soil isn't always such a great thing to do as the larvae of hookworms can enter the body through bare feet. However, a recent study shows there are multiple benefits to playing in the dirt, if for no other reason than it provides natural exposure to a beneficial bacterium. The bacteria is called Myobacterium vaccae. According to research by Dr. Christopher Lowry at the University of Colorado, ingestion of this bacteria (by breathing in soil particles in which the bacteria reside) may be useful in the prevention and/or treatment of a variety of ailments and diseases, including treating allergies and treating major depression by increasing levels of serotonin.
New research also suggests it may improve children's ability to learn. According to Dorothy Matthews of The Sage Colleges in Troy, New York, serotonin also plays a role in learning. Matthews and her colleague Susan Jenks tested the exposure of mycobacteria in soil on the ability of mice to learn. They found that the mice who were exposed to soil with the bacteria were better able to learn compared to those not exposed. However, the effects were temporary, meaning that when the exposure went away, so did the effects.
I recently taught a General Biology class to college students and brought this new research in when we were discussing bacteria. It's amazing to think that we have evolved these natural support systems with other organisms, such as bacteria, that play such beneficial roles in our mental and physical health. One of the students commented, "so there's some truth to that 5-second rule," and I responded, "or even 10!" The class laughed, but it's true. My four-year-old loves to eat carrots straight from the ground. While we rinse them, I feel good knowing that some of those beneficial bacteria may make their way into his system as well. I have long felt that getting dirty was healthy, and now there is some research to support it. Yet another reason we all need to be outside with our children, getting a healthy dose of happy soil!
No comments:
Post a Comment