By Dr. Mercola
Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein, a pediatric neurologist in New York and
an instructor at New York Medical College, had a frightening
experience that is becoming all too common among parents today.
After her son turned 1 year old, he began experiencing wheezing,
rashes and signs of delayed cognitive development.
After visiting multiple doctors she found an allergist who
uncovered her son's severe allergy to soy. Returning her son to
health meant removing soy foods from their diet, so she eliminated
processed foods and set out to reconnect with nature.1
The journey led her to write the book "The Dirt Cure: Growing
Healthy Kids With Food Straight from Soil." In it, she explores the
intricate links between food and children's health as well as why so
many children are facing allergies.
Her research brought her back to
healthy soil, and the dirt cure involves three strategies she
believes may improve the health of today's kids (and their parents):
- Eating nutrient-dense food from healthy soil
- Being exposed to certain microbes
- Spending time outdoors in nature
The Healthiest Food Comes From Healthy Soil
There's no question your health and that of your children is
directly related to the quality of the food you eat. The quality of
the food, in turn, is dependent on the health of the soil in which
it is grown. Shetreat-Klein told The New York Times:2
"The organisms in soil have an impact on the health of
our food. Part of what makes fruits and vegetables good for us
is the phytonutrients in them — the things that make cranberries
red or coffee bitter.
Phytonutrients are part of the plant's immune systems.
Organisms in the soil that we might think of as pests actually
stimulate plants to make more phytonutrients."
Many American diets are based on foods grown in
mineral-depleted, unhealthy soils. This is certainly the case
with genetically engineered (GE) processed foods and meat and dairy
products from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
One of the more insidious aspects of the industrial food system
is that, as soil becomes sicker and less able to perform its
functions, farmers become increasingly dependent on the chemical
technology industry — they become trapped.
The use of
glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide) begins a
downward spiral, making it necessary for farmers to use more and
more herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers that kill
soil microbes — especially if they're using GE seeds.
Weeds and pests become resistant to glyphosate, so farmers must
use more weed and insect killers. Crops become nutrient-deprived, so
they're forced to increase their use of synthetic fertilizers.
Weeds and bugs become superweeds and superbugs, and all the while
the food becomes less and less nutritious. It's a vicious cycle.
In her quest for healthier food, Shetreat-Klein began growing her
own, frequenting farmer's markets and even raising her own chickens,
an impressive feat considering she lives in the Bronx, New York, but
one she said wasn't as difficult as she'd thought it would be.
Kids Need to Play in (Healthy) Soil
The food many U.S. children eat is seriously lacking in nutrition
and is ultra pasteurized, which means any beneficial microbes are
killed off in processing.
This is a shame, as it's known that children who consume natural
foods in their natural state — like
raw milk — have a lower risk of respiratory infections, asthma
and allergies. These beneficial microbes aren't only stripped from
their food but also from their very environments.
Where children once spent long hours outdoors, they now spend
long hours inside sitting in front of screens (often on floors
scrubbed clean with anti-bacterial detergents).
The rising rates of asthma, allergies and other autoimmune
conditions among children may be the culmination of a dirt-free
childhood. The fact is, we're all microbial beings and our children
need exposure to microorganisms for reasons we are just beginning to
understand.
As Shetreat-Klein explained, it's not only a matter of exposure
to microbes but exposure to a diverse variety of microbes
that may be most important of all. She told The New York Times:3
"We used to think that children who grew up on farms were
healthier than children in urban environments because they were
exposed to more microbes. But studies have found that the number
of bacteria in urban environments and on farms is similar.
The difference is the diversity of the bacteria.
Microbial diversity seems to have a very powerful impact.
Children's immune systems are very social: They like to meet and
greet a lot of things.
It seems the more they meet and greet, the more likely
they are to be in balance, and the less likely they are to let
any one microorganism grow out of control, as occurs with
infection."
Indeed, European researchers have discovered that children raised
on organic farms have far lower incidence of allergy and asthma
compared to those raised on conventional, industrialized farms or in
the suburbs. They refer to this as "the farm effect."
According to Dr. Daphne Miller, author of "Farmacology: What
Innovative Family Farming Can Teach Us About Health and Healing,"
"In one study, researchers cultured farm children's mattresses and
found a potpourri of bacteria — most of which are typically found in
soil."4
Spending Time Outdoors Is a Natural Part of the Cycle
You needn't live on a farm to reap the benefits of healthy soil.
Parks, nature preserves and backyards can all provide children and
adults with much-needed access to green space and soil microbes.
According to Shetreat-Klein:5
"In one teaspoon of soil there are more organisms than
there are humans on our planet. Soil houses about 25 percent of
the world's biodiversity.
What we also know from studies is that when children
spend time in green environments — in natural playgrounds, for
example, or in parks and forests — they perform better on
standardized tests, they're more creative, they're happier and
their cortisol levels are lower, so they're calmer and less
stressed.
And I think that might be somewhat related to the kind of
organisms they're exposed to when they're playing outdoors."
For instance, Mycobacterium vaccaeis a type of bacteria commonly
found in soil. Remarkably, this microbe has been found to "mirror
the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide."6
It helps to stimulate serotonin production, helping to make you feel
happier and more relaxed.
In one animal study, mice that ingested Mycobacterium vaccae had
a demonstrated reduction in anxiety and improved learning. The
researchers noted that natural exposure to microbes by
spending time outdoors may be important for emotional health and
behavior:
7
Further, in a study of 2,600 children between the ages of 7 and
10, those with greater exposure to green spaces, particularly while
at school, had improved working memory and decreased
inattentiveness.8
In that case, a large part of the benefit (anywhere from 20
percent to 65 percent) was attributed to a reduction in exposure to
air pollution as a result of the green spaces, but there's also past
research that suggests "microbial input" from spending time in
nature plays a role in brain development.9
Vermont Bill Introduce Certification for Regenerative Farming
Agriculture the way it's typically done today greatly accelerates
the soil aging process. Soils that would have remained viable for
millions of years in nature are rendered dead and lifeless by
monoculture in a few short years.
Tragically, these soils will take hundreds to thousands of years
to recover fully in nature — and not until all agricultural assaults
are ceased. Chemical farming results in waterlogged soil that's
easily compacted by heavy machinery, rendered impermeable and
susceptible to erosion.
One-third of the world's arable land has already been lost to
soil erosion. Regeneration is possible, but as it stands most U.S.
"farms" are only contributing to soil degeneration; they're not
interested in changing their methods to support regeneration.
This is why a new bill announced in Vermont — Senate Bill 159 —
is so important. The bill would introduce a state-level
certification program that would allow farmers to have their land
and farming methods certified as regenerative. Something referred to
as "carbon farming," regenerative farming methods include planned
rotational grazing, which eliminates the need for chemical
fertilizers and tilling and instead supports carbon sequestration in
the soil.10
Carbon sequestration refers to taking the carbon from the
atmosphere and putting it back into the soil, in a stable form of
organic matter. Many scientists say that regenerative agricultural
practices can turn back the carbon clock, reducing atmospheric CO2
while also boosting soil productivity and increasing its resilience
to floods, pests, and drought.
Organic farming is good. A recent study even found organic
farming systems are more profitable and environmentally friendly
while delivering equally or more nutritious foods that contain less
(or no) pesticide residues compared to conventional farming.11
The regenerative certification, however, goes beyond
organic certification, as it informs consumers not only what's not
in the food (pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, etc.) but also how
the food is raised and how its production actually helps improve the
land.
If SB 159 is passed, it will result in a visible seal added to
foods. In order to be certified regenerative, the farm must meet one
of the following criteria over a three-year period and in each
successive year:
- Increase in topsoil
- Carbon sequestration
- Increase in soil organic matter
Jesse McDougall, a regenerative farmer in Shaftsbury, Vermont who
first wrote the bill, told EcoWatch:12
"Regenerative farming can rebuild the soil, sequester
carbon, produce nutrient-dense food and eliminate the need for
toxic chemicals … If we want the next generation of farmers to
do this work, it is our responsibility to provide them with the
tools that make it possible. We wrote this bill to begin
building those tools."
The Use of Cover Crops Is Catching On
A key part of soil regeneration involves the use of cover crops
to provide, as regenerative farmer Gabe Brown would say, an
"armor" over the soil. This armor can virtually eliminate the
need for irrigation when done right. Brown grows cover crops on
every acre of crop land each year. The cover crops may be grown
before a cash crop, along with a cash crop, or after.
But it's the cover crops that provide the carbon that becomes
that all-important "armor" on the soil surface. Cover crops also act
as insulation, so the soil doesn't get as hot or cold as it would if
bare. This allows microbes to thrive longer. Also, the soil biology
heats up the soil, which can extend your overall growing season in
colder areas, and it helps prevent soil erosion. Brown especially
recommends using cover crop "cocktails," or a multispecies
combination, noting:
" … [W]hat I'm trying to do in my operation is mimic
native range with the diversity of plant life and the diversity
of wildlife, insects, etc. Well, that's what we're really doing
with the cover crop cocktail, these multispecies mixes. Today, I
plant up to 70 different species in a mix. What we're trying to
do is mimic the diversity in nature.
Think of it this way. If you plant a monoculture crop,
that soil life is only being fed one root exudate. But if I
plant a multispecies with 20 different species in it, that soil
life is being fed the root exudates from 20 different plants. In
other words, I'm accelerating biological time. We're able to
regenerate soils much, much faster than scientists used to think
were possible."
In 2012, a Census of Agriculture report found just over 10
million acres of farmland (out of 390 million total) were being
planted with cover crops, but its use is growing. In an annual
survey of farmers taken in 2014, farmers reported planting double
the mean acreage in cover crops reported in 2010.13
Cover Crops Make Financial and Environmental Sense
Farmers who adopt the technique have reported better soil
texture, less erosion, and increased crop yields. Farmer Doug Anson,
who along with his family now plant cover crops on 13,000 of their
20,000 acres of Indiana farmland, told The New York Times:14
"In the part of a field where we had planted cover crops,
we were getting 20 to 25 bushels of corn more per acre than in
places where no cover crops had been planted … That showed me it
made financial sense to do this."
The U.S. government has even set up a small subsidy system to
help farmers offset the costs of cover crops and other regenerative
practices, but one major hurdle to cover crops becoming mainstream
involves absentee land owners.
Many farmers grow crops on land they do not own but rather lease;
they therefore have little incentive to want to improve soil quality
on land they do not own. Landowners could, however, offer incentives
to farmers to use regenerative practices that would, in turn,
increase the value of their land.15
How to Embrace Your Own 'Dirt Cure'
It's clear that paying attention to our soils is crucial to our
health and future. Fortunately, change is occurring both on large
and small scales. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),
which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has
become very committed to understanding and teaching about natural
soil health and regenerative agriculture
Not only will regenerating our soils lead to improved food
production, it also addresses a majority of resource concerns, such
as water. When you add carbon back into the soil, either by adding
mulch or cover crops, the carbon feeds
mycorrhizal fungi that eventually produce glomalin, which may be
even better than humic acid at retaining water, so that you limit
your irrigation needs and make your garden or fields more resilient
during droughts.
Considering data suggesting we may lose all commercial top soil,
globally, in the next 60 years if we keep going at the current rate,
such changes cannot move fast enough. The
NRCS website is an excellent resource for anyone interested in
learning more about soil health, including farmers wanting to change
their system.
At present, about 10 percent of U.S. farmers have started
incorporating practices to address soil health. Only about 2 percent
have transitioned to full-on regenerative land management, such as
that taught by Gabe Brown, however. On an individual level, you can
get involved by growing some of your own food using some of these
regenerative principles on a small scale.
Gardening can help boost your mental well-being and may help
promote a healthier microbiome to boot, if you allow yourself (and
your kids) to get a bit dirty. Once you get started, I think you'll
find that little compares to the joy of interacting with nature,
watching your garden grow and flourish, knowing that you're going to
get nutrient-dense foods that are not only nourishing you and your
family but also helpful for the environment.
Shetreat-Klein also shared the following tips with The New York
Times to begin your own "dirt cure:"16
"Take a trip to the forest with your family … Community
gardens are also wonderful. So are farmers' markets. They expose
children to fresh foods, which taste completely different. And
it also exposes them to potentially healthy microbes through the
traces of soil that might be left over on the fruits and
vegetables when you buy them at a farmers' market."
© Copyright 1997-2016 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.