EAT DIRT AND CHILL OUT

The current issue of Discover magazine has a very interesting article on the effect of a common soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, which appears to have the ability to reduce the effects of depression when ingested.  

Some medical researchers have believed for some time that the increase in the incidence of asthma and allergy cases over the past century are related to our efforts to create cleaner and cleaner environments, preventing the our exposure to harmless bacteria that will stimulate our immune systems to ignore common, but harmless, allergens such as pollen or dandruff from our cat or dog.

Tests in mice show that m. vaccae, when injected into mice cause a set of serotonin releasing neurons in the brain to produce serotonin.  Prozac, a SSRI antidepressant, acts in the gap between neurons in the brain, the synapse, to prevent or slow the process of the neurons reabsorbing serotonin, reducing the feelings and efffects of depression.  The acronym “SSRI” stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

We can ingest M. Vaccae by working in the garden, walking in the woods of eating vegetables from our gardens according to the article.  It is also possible that, according to a immunologist at University College London, that depression itself may be in part a inflammatory disorder related to the our under stimulated immune system.

http://discovermagazine.com/