Gardening is good for you, and it's not just because it keeps you physically active. According to new research, growing plants can actually boost your immune system, and you don't even need to have a garden to see these benefits.
Our bodies are teeming with trillions of microorganisms, which influence everything from our metabolism to our mental health. Among their many roles, these microbes are vital for supporting our immune system and reducing inflammation. Microbes on the skin can also help prevent "bad" bacteria from taking over or breaking in through our skin barrier.
It has been demonstrated in the past that contact with microbially rich materials in nature can increase the diversity of the human microbiome. But how can city dwellers enhance their microbiomes?
In a new study, published in the journal Environment International, researchers at the University of Helsinki in Finland have found that one month of urban indoor gardening was enough to boost the diversity of skin bacteria in participants and was associated with higher levels of anti-inflammatory molecules in the blood.
"The findings are significant, as urbanization has led to a considerable increase in immune-mediated diseases, such as allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases, generating high healthcare costs. We live too 'cleanly' in cities," the study's first author, Mika Saarenpää, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, said in a statement.
"We know that urbanization leads to reduction of microbial exposure, changes in the human microbiota and an increase in the risk of immune-mediated diseases. This is the first time we can demonstrate that meaningful and natural human activity can increase the diversity of the microbiota of healthy adults and, at the same time, contribute to the regulation of the immune system."
In the study, 28 participants were split into two groups: one receiving a microbe-rich soil and the other receiving a microbe-poor soil. Both groups were asked to grow edible plants indoors in flower boxes for one month, and within the study period, noticeable differences were seen between the two groups.
Of course, with such a small sample size it is difficult to form concrete conclusions from these results. But the study adds to a growing body of evidence that exposure to "good" microbes in our environment can help support various immune functions.
"My research emphasises the dependence of our health on the diversity of nature and that of soil in particular," Saarenpää said. "We are one species among others, and our health depends on the range of other species."
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