Dirt exposure 'boosts happiness'

Fusion_power · April 1, 2007

British scientists have discovered that playing in dirt boosts happiness.

Quoting:

Exposure to dirt may be a way to lift mood as well as boost the immune system, UK scientists say. Dirt has also been found to cure cancer, relieve headaches, resolve marital conflict, take ticks off of dogs, and make otherwise sane people do strange things like planting tomatoes upside down in buckets.

Its all true. Just read the article.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6509781.stm

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April Foooooools!!!!!

Ruth_10 · April 1, 2007

April Fools or not--it's true! Dirt rocks!

gardenscout · April 2, 2007

I don't get the joke. You mean all those things are not true?

I love dirt. And soil too.

bydsign · April 2, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardenscout

I don't get the joke. You mean all those things are not true?

I love dirt. And soil too.

Hey! I didn't know the Brits even celebrated April Fool's Day!?

DavidinCT · April 2, 2007

Next on the market: ProMix with mycorrhizal fungi and mycobacterium vaccae. Mycorise® for your plants and mycobacterium vaccae for you!

amideutch · April 2, 2007

I think I should change my signature to, "Doin it in the Dirt"

Ami

**carolyn137** · April 2, 2007

At another place where I post it seems that many of the folks use nothing but Earth Boxes. I didn't know exactly why, as in soil too poor, didn't want to fool around in the dirt, etc. And the darn things are very expensive, to this dirt raised farm girl.

So I started a thread asking why all the EB's and I loved the answers.

Some had actually done comparisons and posted pictures, most said their soil was lousy, some were influenced by others who used them, some said physical problems led them to the EB's and on and on it went until Flip, who also posts here said......I LIKE dirt.

That made me a happy happy lady.

garnetmoth · April 3, 2007

you may have meant this as a goof, but just search Mycobacterium vaccae- sounds like super stuff.

DavidinCT · April 3, 2007

Oh yes...dirt is good for you. Or might be good for you. Been a debate over if kids not playing in the dirt as much as they did years ago has caused an increase in asthma. The theory had been around for a while but received increased coverage after the New England Journal of Medicine published :"Eat Dirt -- The Hygiene Hypothesis and Allergic Diseases"

Here is a yea:

http://www.respiratoryreviews.com/ja...3_hygiene.html

montanamato · April 3, 2007

My children have all spent a lot of time on dirt barn floors and in the garden. My pediatrician is impressed that none of them have ever needed antibiotics...

Jeanne

cancolgirl · April 4, 2007

Very healthy indeed. 'Cuz what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And this comes from someone who, well used to eat dirt as well, not just play in it - as a child of course. And the same goes for beer and wine, it keeps me healthy all year long, forget the apple that just makes me hungry.

spyfferoni · April 4, 2007

I have caught my daughter slurping up water from a puddle on the sidewalk, eating dirt, you name it. She is a healthy girl. I've read that children that come from homes where the parents are neat freaks are sick more and have more allergies and asthma, so I don't freak out anymore. I loved playing in the dirt and mud when I was a kid, I think its sad when parents don't let their kids get dirty. I can give my kids a couple of spoons and other stuff to play in the dirt and it will entertain them for hours, especially the younger two.

Tyff

jenn_sc · April 5, 2007

I think there's some truth in building up resistance to things you're exposed to early in life. Playing in the dirt probably IS a good thing for kids.

When I was growing up, my parents didn't like animals kept inside homes. I was never allowed to bring in a dog or cat. If I petted an animal, my mom immediately made me go wash my hands...even if it was a clean house dog.

When I got my first tiny apartment at 19, I immediately got two cats (of course I turned out to be a big-time animal lover

A year or two afterwards, I started to develop terrible allergies to them. Eventually it got so bad I'd have asthma attacks and had to go the ER a couple of times...which eventually meant I had to give them up to new homes

Now I read that early exposure to animals can prevent this sort of thing.

I had even developed milder allergies to my dog. I had to take allergy meds for years, and since he passed away in December I've noticed my allergies have improved noticeably.

I never did have ANY allergies at all until I left home, around 19 or 20 years old.

THANKS A LOT MOM!!! (kidding

)

Back on topic, though....dirt IS good!!!

Jennifer

DavidinCT · April 6, 2007

Might be something else working here aside from microbes. Getting down in the dirt means closer contact to telluric currents which criss-cross the earth. This could be why some gardens make you happier than others and why some days in the garden are better than others

How electromagnetic fields affect living organisms was researched by Yale professor H.S. Burr:

Electrical Correlates of Pure and Hybrid Strains of Sweet Corn. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1943 June

April 1, 2007	#1
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	Dirt exposure 'boosts happiness' British scientists have discovered that playing in dirt boosts happiness. Quoting: Exposure to dirt may be a way to lift mood as well as boost the immune system, UK scientists say. Dirt has also been found to cure cancer, relieve headaches, resolve marital conflict, take ticks off of dogs, and make otherwise sane people do strange things like planting tomatoes upside down in buckets. Its all true. Just read the article. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6509781.stm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Just send me $5.95 and I'll mail you an extra special sample of my very own dirt! . . . . April Foooooools!!!!!

April 1, 2007	#2
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	April Fools or not--it's true! Dirt rocks! __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

April 2, 2007	#6
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	I think I should change my signature to, "Doin it in the Dirt" Ami __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!'

April 2, 2007	#7
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	At another place where I post it seems that many of the folks use nothing but Earth Boxes. I didn't know exactly why, as in soil too poor, didn't want to fool around in the dirt, etc. And the darn things are very expensive, to this dirt raised farm girl. So I started a thread asking why all the EB's and I loved the answers. Some had actually done comparisons and posted pictures, most said their soil was lousy, some were influenced by others who used them, some said physical problems led them to the EB's and on and on it went until Flip, who also posts here said......I LIKE dirt. That made me a happy happy lady. __________________ Carolyn

April 4, 2007	#11
cancolgirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 68	Very healthy indeed. 'Cuz what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And this comes from someone who, well used to eat dirt as well, not just play in it - as a child of course. And the same goes for beer and wine, it keeps me healthy all year long, forget the apple that just makes me hungry. __________________ "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." Unknown Author

April 2, 2007	#3
gardenscout Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: N. Rhode Island Posts: 37	I don't get the joke. You mean all those things are not true? I love dirt. And soil too.

April 2, 2007	#5
DavidinCT Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Connecticut Zone 6B Posts: 88	Next on the market: ProMix with mycorrhizal fungi and mycobacterium vaccae. Mycorise® for your plants and mycobacterium vaccae for you!

April 3, 2007	#8
garnetmoth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: cincinnati, oh Posts: 492	you may have meant this as a goof, but just search Mycobacterium vaccae- sounds like super stuff.

April 3, 2007	#10
montanamato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montana Posts: 1,038	My children have all spent a lot of time on dirt barn floors and in the garden. My pediatrician is impressed that none of them have ever needed antibiotics... Jeanne

April 4, 2007	#12
spyfferoni Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 675	I have caught my daughter slurping up water from a puddle on the sidewalk, eating dirt, you name it. She is a healthy girl. I've read that children that come from homes where the parents are neat freaks are sick more and have more allergies and asthma, so I don't freak out anymore. I loved playing in the dirt and mud when I was a kid, I think its sad when parents don't let their kids get dirty. I can give my kids a couple of spoons and other stuff to play in the dirt and it will entertain them for hours, especially the younger two. Tyff

April 5, 2007	#13
jenn_sc SPLATT™ Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Florence, SC Posts: 502	I think there's some truth in building up resistance to things you're exposed to early in life. Playing in the dirt probably IS a good thing for kids. When I was growing up, my parents didn't like animals kept inside homes. I was never allowed to bring in a dog or cat. If I petted an animal, my mom immediately made me go wash my hands...even if it was a clean house dog. When I got my first tiny apartment at 19, I immediately got two cats (of course I turned out to be a big-time animal lover A year or two afterwards, I started to develop terrible allergies to them. Eventually it got so bad I'd have asthma attacks and had to go the ER a couple of times...which eventually meant I had to give them up to new homes Now I read that early exposure to animals can prevent this sort of thing. I had even developed milder allergies to my dog. I had to take allergy meds for years, and since he passed away in December I've noticed my allergies have improved noticeably. I never did have ANY allergies at all until I left home, around 19 or 20 years old. THANKS A LOT MOM!!! (kidding) Back on topic, though....dirt IS good!!! Jennifer

April 6, 2007	#14
DavidinCT Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Connecticut Zone 6B Posts: 88	Might be something else working here aside from microbes. Getting down in the dirt means closer contact to telluric currents which criss-cross the earth. This could be why some gardens make you happier than others and why some days in the garden are better than others How electromagnetic fields affect living organisms was researched by Yale professor H.S. Burr: Electrical Correlates of Pure and Hybrid Strains of Sweet Corn. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1943 June