Does Dirt Make You Happy?

[Chris]

No, not smut, dirt, the kind you garden in.

http://i.snag.gy/s98D3.jpg

Does Dirt Make You Happy? (http://modernfarmer.com/2014/08/dirt-make-us-happy-getting-hands-ground-better-prozac/) starts off explaining part of the reason getting dirty makes you happy is


“Soil, especially soil with abundant organic matter, contains saprophytic bacteria, meaning that they live off of dead and decaying organic matter, such as leaves,” says Lowry. “Humans coevolved with these bacteria over millennia and they have been shown to affect the immune system in a way that suppresses inflammation. This means that these bacteria may be helpful in preventing or treating diseases with excess inflammation.”

But gets more interesting when it discusses how


“A human is not an individual. We are ecosystems. At least 90% of the cells in a human body are microbes, most of them living in the gut,” says Graham Rook, professor at the Centre for Clinical Microbiology at the University College London. “ These organisms constitute the ‘microbiota,’ and the microbiota should be regarded as an organ, just like your liver or your brain.”

While the organisms that make up that microbiota are inherited — like we inherit genes — there is a proportion of the organisms that come from elsewhere, and that’s where things get interesting.

“An unknown proportion of the organisms that constitute the microbiota come from the environment,” says Rock. “It now seems that the most likely explanation for the health benefits of exposure to farms, dogs in the home, and green space is that the natural environment (including the animals in it) is a resource that provides organisms as we need them.”

Hmmm...

[Chris]

By the way, this is the third or fourth article I've posted from Modern Farmer (http://modernfarmer.com/). What To Do With All of the Poo? (http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/30620-What-To-Do-With-All-of-the-Poo) was from there too. Interesting online rag.

[Dr. Who]

People who are excessively paranoid about disinfecting everything are doing themselves and their children a disservice. Those are the people who generally catch every virus and get infected from the least little abrasion. Human antibodies learn. They have to be educated about germs in order to do something about them.

[Ethereal]

People who are excessively paranoid about disinfecting everything are doing themselves and their children a disservice. Those are the people who generally catch every virus and get infected from the least little abrasion. Human antibodies learn. They have to be educated about germs in order to do something about them.

This was well supported by the results of the first large scale scale study on polio. Wealthier children were found to be more susceptible to infection than poor ones, which was thought to be a result of the wealthier children's lack of exposure to an organic environment.

[Dr. Who]

This was well supported by the results of the first large scale scale study on polio. Wealthier children were found to be more susceptible to infection than poor ones, which was thought to be a result of the wealthier children's lack of exposure to an organic environment.
Absolutely. That's why kids with pets are actually healthier than those without pets. Old saying: You eat a peck (of dirt) before you die. I've had dogs for many years. I presume nothing in my house is really clean. LOL. On the other hand, I almost never get sick.

[Adelaide]

Working in a healthcare environment, we obviously have strict guidelines about disinfecting and hygiene. But it's noticable that the people who overuse hand sanitizer and the industrial antibacterials we have get sick with colds and flu far more often than those who do simple hand washing after touching certain things or using the washroom. I almost never get a cold or a flu, although I have other chronic health problems, but I do the bare minimum because I believe in a healthy amount of bacteria. It's one thing to follow protocols for safety and another to act like a complete germophobe.

[donttread]

No, not smut, dirt, the kind you garden in.

http://i.snag.gy/s98D3.jpg

Does Dirt Make You Happy? (http://modernfarmer.com/2014/08/dirt-make-us-happy-getting-hands-ground-better-prozac/) starts off explaining part of the reason getting dirty makes you happy is



But gets more interesting when it discusses how



Hmmm...

I find my gardening to be very relaxing

[donttread]

I guess I'm a "dirty biy" LOL I just went out and gardened in the rain so there is mud involved. I'm going to seed save from my heirloom plants this year

[Chris]

I guess I'm a "dirty biy" LOL I just went out and gardened in the rain so there is mud involved. I'm going to seed save from my heirloom plants this year

Kind of late in the season. Way too hot here.

[donttread]

Kind of late in the season. Way too hot here.

I saving them to plant next year

[Redrose]

I'm happy in my garden. There is something very rewarding about planting a garden and watching it grow and develop through the seasons. I get my nails done every three weeks so I wear gloves in the garden. There are two frogs that sit and watch me garden.

[Dr. Who]

I'm happy in my garden. There is something very rewarding about planting a garden and watching it grow and develop through the seasons. I get my nails done every three weeks so I wear gloves in the garden. There are two frogs that sit and watch me garden.
My mother and sister love gardening. Me, not so much. I try to plant things that don't require any care and use landscaping cloth to avoid having to weed.

[PolWatch]

Dirt is a wonderful thing! My husband says he can tell when I've had a really good day...I'm muddy, sunburned & covered with skeeter bites! All signs of a good day in the garden/yard!

[Dr. Who]

Dirt is a wonderful thing! My husband says he can tell when I've had a really good day...I'm muddy, sunburned & covered with skeeter bites! All signs of a good day in the garden/yard!
I think I'm a bit weird, I love nature, but I don't love planting and weeding. Then again my father didn't like such things and I really take after him in many ways.

[Private Pickle]

I'm happy in my garden. There is something very rewarding about planting a garden and watching it grow and develop through the seasons. I get my nails done every three weeks so I wear gloves in the garden. There are two frogs that sit and watch me garden.

I enjoy my garden a great deal.

[Private Pickle]

I enjoy my garden a great deal.

No weird frogs or anything...

[PolWatch]

I'm fortunate, my husband likes to work in the yard too. He likes to grow vegetables & I like the flowers...he grows food for the body & I grow food for the soul....

[Dr. Who]

No weird frogs or anything...
Weird frogs LOL. I was in St. Vincent with a bunch of people. The lizards there create a cacophony. They kept most people unused to the noise awake at night, but they reminded me of crickets. Knocked me out. I slept like a baby.

[PolWatch]

No weird frogs or anything...

I wonder about the frog that has moved into a birdhouse in my yard...I must have a population of upward mobile frogs....

[donttread]

All I got is a chipmonk and way too many slugs and snails

[CreepyOldDude]

Absolutely. That's why kids with pets are actually healthier than those without pets. Old saying: You eat a peck (of dirt) before you die. I've had dogs for many years. I presume nothing in my house is really clean. LOL. On the other hand, I almost never get sick.

Honest to God, when I was a kid, I'd eat dirt with a spoon. It just tasted good to me, for some reason.

[Dr. Who]

Honest to God, when I was a kid, I'd eat dirt with a spoon. It just tasted good to me, for some reason.
Undeveloped taste buds I imagine. Young children will eat all manner of strange things, then suddenly at 4, they won't eat anything.

[CreepyOldDude]

Undeveloped taste buds I imagine. Young children will eat all manner of strange things, then suddenly at 4, they won't eat anything.

It might well have been. I'm not sure how old I was. It was before I went to school, which was when I was six years old.

[Captain Obvious]

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