It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small 😎
❝I’m interested in the benefits of gardening. I read something about how important it is for humans to have a connection with soil, with dirt. That its benefits go way beyond growing food to eat or getting exercise. I’d like to find out more.❞
You’re quite right! There are bacteria in soil (specifically: Mycobacterium vaccae) that work similarly to antidepressants.
When something is described as having an effect similar to antidepressants, it’s usually hyperbole. In this case, it’s medicine, and literally works directly on the serotonergic system (as do many, but not all, antidepressants).
While many antidepressants are selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (i.e., they slow the rate at which your brain loses serotonin), Mycobacterium vaccae increases the rate at which you produce serotonin. So, you feel happier, more relaxed, while also feeling more energized.
^this one’s a mouse study, but we’re including it because it covers exactly how it works in the brain, which is something that the ethics board wouldn’t let them do on humans.
As to how to enjoy its benefits? Gardening! You don’t have to go to the length of eating dirt or anything; so long as you’re not gardening while wearing a biohazard containment suit, you will get “infected” by the friendly bacteria in the soil.
Want to level up your benefits? Grow your own food, and you’ll get it that way, too (yes, even if you wash and cook it)
