July 10, 2017

Why is Gardening So Good for Us?

For those of us who spend time gardening, we don't need anyone to tell us that digging in the dirt feels good. We know from our own experience that gardening seems to lower our stress levels, can help us get a full-body workout, and allows us to grow our own healthy food.


Science is now starting to verify what we've known all along:

But what exactly is it about gardening that helps us in so many ways? It may not just be the fact that we're outdoors, getting vitamin D and exercise, and reaping the benefits of the better nutrition we get from growing our own food.

It may be the microbes in the soil itself. 

Each teaspoon of healthy, organic garden soil contains billions of micro-organisms. Many of them exist in symbiosis with plants, meaning that the microbes help the plants absorb water and nutrients from the environment, and the plants in turn provide a healthy home for the microbes. But those soil microbes aren't just beneficial to the plants we grow, they may also help us as well.

Scarlet Runner Beans growing in the garden
It's obvious that when we garden, we get dirty. Dirt cakes under our fingernails, in our clothing, we breathe it in, and we even swallow it. Yep, even the neatest of us swallows a little dirt when we're pulling weeds or planting those carrots. With each little bit of dirt we ingest, we also swallow some of those soil micro-organisms. A few of those little critters make it to our guts. This isn't a bad thing if we're relatively healthy and the dirt is from an organic garden (like the DuPont Community Garden).

If you've been paying attention to the news for the past few years, you've probably seen the reports about our gut microbes and how they contribute to our mood. Well, one neuroscientist at the University of Bristol, Christopher Lowry, is showing that at least one common soil micro-organism can alleviate depression and anxiety. This common soil organism is called Mycobacterium vaccae or "M. vaccae" for short. Dr. Lowry has demonstrated that when given to mice, M. vaccae increases the mice's production of serotonin. Serotonin is a "feel-good" neurotransmitter (a brain "chemical") that helps increase feelings of happiness, improves sleep quality, and decreases anxiety. Human trials haven't been conducted yet, but many researchers think we'll find similar results with M. vaccae in our species. 

An oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London has demonstrated that giving chemotherapy patients this same soil microbe helped them achieve a better quality of life during their treatments. Her patients were happier, had more energy, and experienced less "brain fog" after being treated with M. vaccae. These early findings are tantalizing evidence that M. vaccae might have similar effects on us, but scientists need to do additional studies.

What does this mean for the average organic gardener? 

It means that if we're relatively healthy and using proper organic techniques, a little bit of dirt might be good for us. Definitely wash your produce and clean up after digging in the garden (wash hands, shower, and launder your clothing), but remember that researchers are beginning to show us that a little dirt isn't all bad. According to health experts like Drs. Mercola, Axe, and Perlmutter, with every weeding session you might just be helping both your mental and physical health.*



For more information about how gardening can be good for you:   


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