I can personally vouch for this, it's what got me started.

http://discovermagazine.com/20...

I know I always perk up after working in the garden, but I thought that was the exercise, fresh air, sunlight and endorphins.

Not entirely! It's also from inhaling the soil.

"Eat dirt, be happy!"

There are worse philosophies of life.

My grandma to me, 'You have to eat a pound of dirt before you die.'

Me to my sons, 'Rub some dirt on it.'

There was a nutritional study done on Chinese villagers some decades ago, whose diet did not seem to include enough vitamins for human health.

Sure enough, when they subjected undergraduates back in Connecticut to an imitation of that same rural diet, they got nutritional deficiencies.

It turned out that, in China, they were not washing off the veggies as thoroughly as the Yale researchers did. The small amount of soil bacteria in the small amount of soil that clung to leaves and stems provided enough vitamins for health.

"Eat dirt, be healthy!"

There was also a study that showed soil-based organisms could help improve Autism.

Funny, Rick. I read that same study. See, you CAN be TOO clean!

I started out playing in (and my mom said eating) red Oklahoma dirt. Still playing in dirt. And building things from clay is a favorite pastime since childhood.

I'm happiest when my hands have been in dirt or clay.

And not just dirt, but pets. I've read studies that show that children who have pets tend to develop fewer allergies. Heh, I should be bullet proof.

I have a "Play in the dirt" sign in my yard. I abide by it as much as i can....now after reading the article , i can say it's for health reasons !

Medicinal soil.

I must say that I have always thought there was something about digging in the dirt being part therapy and part just plain old fun! I have many friends that agree! Now I know why that might be. Great topic thread! Thanks for sharing that 2007 Discover article, Greg!

When my hands are in the dirt I forget about the bad or sad times for a while - just me, my plants, my dirt and sometimes my granddaughter

Frenchy21 said:When my hands are in the dirt I forget about the bad or sad times for a while - just me, my plants, my dirt and sometimes my granddaughter

The best days, I have to wash good soil off my hands after good times in the yard. The bad days, I have to wash cleaning stuff off my hands from in the house. And some days are little of both.

RickCorey said:There was a nutritional study done on Chinese villagers some decades ago, whose diet did not seem to include enough vitamins for human health.

Sure enough, when they subjected undergraduates back in Connecticut to an imitation of that same rural diet, they got nutritional deficiencies.

It turned out that, in China, they were not washing off the veggies as thoroughly as the Yale researchers did. The small amount of soil bacteria in the small amount of soil that clung to leaves and stems provided enough vitamins for health.

"Eat dirt, be healthy!"

When I was a child in the 50s, we got down and dirty every day. In the schoolyard, at home, in the woods. To this day, I am convinced my exposure to all sorts of dirt is the reason I'm healthy.

I caught the flu once when I was 10. From my brother who wasn't so much an outdoors kid as I was. He was sick in bed for a week. I was up and about after 2 days.

I have never been sick from anything since. OK, I had my appendix removed at 18. But aside from that, nothing touches me. And I'm 67 now.

I think I could float through The Plague. And I credit dirt...