Having access to green spaces allows the little ones to strengthen their immune defenses.
- The intestinal microbiota contains about 2 kg of microorganisms.
- It is involved in digestion but also in metabolic, immune and digestive functions.
- Dysfunctions of the immune system are implicated in nearly 80 diseases.
A month of nature is enough to boost the immune system of the youngest. According to a study published in Science Advances, children playing in green rather than concrete spaces see the diversity of their microbiota improve. This observation was made by researchers at the University of Helsinki, in Finland.
Beneficial effects on the microbiota of the skin and intestines
The research team observed 75 children aged 3 to 5 years and distributed in ten daycares. In four of them, the researchers transformed the courtyard: they placed grass from forests, shrubs, mosses and flowers. The other recreation areas were concreted and/or gravelled. The children spent an average of 1h30 per day outdoors and were encouraged to play with the plants and the earth. All the little ones, regardless of their daycare, had the same diet during the 28 days of the experiment.
At the end of this, the scientists found that the microbial diversity on the skin of children playing in nature was a third higher compared to children who remained in conventional lessons. The diversity of their gut microbiota was also higher. “We also found that the gut microbiota of children who benefited from greenery was similar to the gut microbiota of children visiting the forest daily.“, explains one of the authors of this study, Marja Roslund. Blood samples have shown benefits on the presence of certain proteins and cells linked to the immune system, such as anti-inflammatory cytokines and regulatory T cells.
For more green spaces
In recent years, the rates of autoimmune diseases have increased in Western countries: asthma, eczema or type 1 diabetes. According to some scientists, this phenomenon is the consequence of hygiene: we are exposed to fewer microbes compared to to previous generations, and this would make our immune system more fragile.
“Dozens of comparative studies have already shown that children who live in rural areas and are in contact with nature have a lower probability of catching a disease resulting from immune system disorders.“, specify the researchers in a communicated. According to them, it is necessary to increase the number of green spaces in the city and to modify our daily life to be more in contact with nature. “It would be better if the children could play in the puddles, insists Aki Sinkkonen, director of research. (…) We could take our kids out into nature five times a week to impact the germs.” This would also make it possible to fight against a sedentary lifestyle, another enemy of our health.
.
