Most of us grew up scared of dirt. As kids, we were told to always wash our hands with soap and water after touching soil. And as adults, we’re always armed with hand sanitizers or rubbing alcohol in our purses (I’m guilty of this!). But a growing body of scientific research suggests that our dirt-free lifestyle may be a little over-sanitised, and that soil contact may actually be beneficial to our health.

In particular, scientists find that touching earth could boost our immune system, strengthen our gut health, and even help improve our complexion! Surprised? Turns out, the secret is getting our bodies reintroduced to friendly bacteria.

Let’s dig into how this works.

These microorganisms have a symbiotic relationship with our body, meaning we’re friendly with each other. Many of them even provide benefits to us. In our gut, for instance, a nice diversity of microbes help our metabolism and protect us from pathogens (harmful microbes). And on our skin, a friendly microbial community wards off pathogens while shielding us from certain skin conditions.

Unfortunately, our beneficial microbiota often gets altered when we try to sanitise ourselves. Antibiotics and cleansers often cannot tell good microbes from bad microbes – they just deplete microorganisms indiscriminately.

Scientists are now trying to develop treatments that don’t harm our beneficial microbes. And while that’s underway, researchers suggest: how about reacquainting our bodies with good bacteria from nature?

Outdoor exposure has science-backed benefits for our health (which we’ll talk about below), but I was particularly curious how it improves our skin. How could dirt help us develop a lovely complexion?

There are a couple of ways this works. One is that according to research, touching soil promotes diversity in our skin microbiota, which is essential for healthy skin. Several studies have shown that a thriving, diverse microbiota keeps the skin resistant to flare-ups of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. It also strengthens the skin’s barrier to microbial infections.

But how does soil contribute to a healthy gut microbiota? There’s a long list of studies showing the amazing relationship between soil microbiome and intestinal microbiome. In a nutshell, the interplay between these two depends on our food, lifestyle, and nature exposure. The more we eat natural produce and immerse ourselves in nature, the healthier our gut microbiota becomes.

It’s not just our skin that gets perks from dirt exposure. Our immune system and mental health reap benefits, too! Here are a few.

Scientific studies support the notion that if you expose yourself to certain ‘doses’ of microbes, it exercises your immune system, preparing it against real harmful microorganisms.

One scientific review from 2022 revealed that children who grew up in farms are more likely to be immune from allergies and asthma. “All farm-related exposures induce an anti-inflammatory response of the innate immunity,” the authors stated after reviewing a collection of studies worldwide. They highlighted the important role of being exposed to microbes from the outdoors.

After two weeks, the researchers examined the volunteers’ skin swabs, stool, and blood, and compared it with those from people who didn’t touch soil. Guess what they found?

Results showed that the diversity of gut microbiome improved in soil-exposed volunteers, but not in people who didn’t have soil contact. The authors also noted that this microbiome improvement couldn’t even be achieved by orally administered probiotics in a previous study. In other words, touching soil really is a more powerful booster of gut health!

Many other studies indicate that getting exposed to dirt can improve how our bodies react to stress. One German-American study showed that people who grew up in rural areas – surrounded by farm animals, pets, and earth – are more stress-resilient. Their immune activation is well-regulated, so they don’t have exaggerated bodily responses to stressors.

According to this and similar studies, immunoregulation may be linked to how likely – or unlikely – we are to develop depression or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Urbanisation may be decreasing our body’s ability to respond well to stressors. The answer, therefore, is increased exposure to nature.

All these soil-touching benefits sound great, but we can’t just dismiss that there are also risks to earth exposure. Bad bacteria such as the tetanus-causing Clostridium tetani could be lurking in the dirt. (Tetanus, however, is rare in modern times due to vaccines.)

How can we minimise disease exposure when we touch earth? Here are some tips we’ve gleaned from studies, medical experts, and long-time gardeners:

• • • • Keep skin intact. Make sure you don’t have cuts or open wounds when handling soil. In the Finland study we cited above, they did not allow volunteers to touch the earth if they had skin lesions.
      • Examine soil health. It should have a rich dark colour without whitish or yellowish spots. Steer clear of soil that looks slimy. Also note the biodiversity it supports: healthy soil grows healthy plants and even invites earthworms!
      • Pace your exposure. Get exposed to the earth in gradual doses, especially if you’ve been living in an urban area. Start with small contact such as by handling potting soil for indoor plants. Then as weeks pass, work your way up to greater natural exposures. Our favourites are nature walks, tree-hugging, and grounding – the practice of walking barefoot on the earth.
      • Get your immune foundation. It helps to already be vaccinated against tetanus and other preventable diseases. Even better, prime your body to outdoor exposure by eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly.

Don’t know about you, but learning all this gets me excited to be in nature! And that’s saying something, because I’m someone who’s so wary of germs. I do realise that an over-sterilised lifestyle could hurt the balance of microbes in our bodies, and that’s really the main takeaway from this: natural balance.

This is one more reason to use gentle, natural cleansers when needed – like our plant-based hand soap! You may also love our other personal care products from Glowing Orchid, which are all thoughtfully made with natural ingredients and highly rated by customers.

Here’s to your healthy microbiota!

xx

Judit

Further reading:

• “How Mud Boosts Your Immune System” on BBC
• “Your Skin’s Microbiome Wants to be Left Alone – Thanks” on Coveteur
• “What’s the Difference Between Microbiome and Microbiota?” on Atlas Biomed Blog