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Early exposure to garden soil may help youngsters develop future immunity and promotes happiness. Kate Wintemute is a very happy gardener!
good reason for these observations. Appar- ently there is something called happy bacte- ria in the soil
H
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4 • Spring 2012 • Asthma
• Crohn’s and other bowel diseases • Rheumatoid arthritis • OCD
• Depression
www.localgardener.net Happy bacteria We’ve all heard the saying, “You have
to eat a peck of dirt before you die”, and it seems to be truer than we might have imagined. Researchers have discovered that a particular bacterium found in soil, Myco- bacterium vaccae, has the ability to trigger the release of seratonin. Seratonin is the neurotransmitter believed
to be responsible for happiness and well be- ing.
Gardeners, when they are digging in the
ave you even noticed that garden- ers, as a group, seem to be pretty happy people? There may be a very
soil, breathe in this happy bacteria or may absorb it through small abrasions on their skin. And a little goes a long way. Research- ers who injected mice with the bacteria at the University of Bristol noticed that the positive effects lasted for up to three weeks. Mary Obrien, an oncologist at Royal Marsden Hospital, London, England, was the first to make the connection. She was in- oculating lung cancer patients with
M.vaccae to see if it had any effect. What resulted was a reduction in the cancer symptoms plus better emotional health, vitality and even better cognitive functioning. When Dr. Chris Lowry at Bristol Uni-
versity saw this, it triggered his hypotheses, based on his understanding that the body’s immune response to bacteria can cause the production of serotonin. He conducted a series of experiments on mice and showed that indeed M. vaccae lowered stress, in- creased their activity and vitality and helped their concentration.
Stress is a villain It appears that stress can also affect gut
bacteria and the immune system by activat- ing an enzyme that steals tryptophan, one of the building blocks of serotonin and mela- tonin. Stress can cause the tryptophan to be converted to a chemical that excites gluta- mate, which triggers depression, anxiety and memory loss. Do I have to add that garden- ing relieves stress? Stress also increased levels of “bad” bacte-
ria such as Clostridium difficile which causes bacteria, especially after antibiotic use. On the plus side, ‘good bacteria” such as those found in live yoghurt help strengthen the immune system and can destroy hostile mi- croorganisms. Lactobacillis acidophilus and Bifido bacterium found in probiotics may be able to combat the effects of C. difficile. There are also studies being conducted as to how diet can impact on depression, OCD, and anxiety. This doesn’t mean you should start eating
mud pies, but do get out into the garden and breathe deeply!
Other benefits of Mycobacterium vaccae
Links have been drawn and studies are being conducted on a number of conditions that might be alleviated by a better understanding of Mycobacteria vaccae, including
• Atopic dermatitis • Eczema • Leprosy
• Tuberculosis Happy bacteria in the garden
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