Finland replaced rubber playgrounds with mud and dirt, and kids get healthier within a year
A groundbreaking experiment in Finland replaced gravel and asphalt in nursery playgrounds with patches of forest floor, complete with mosses, leaf litter, and wild undergrowth. The results were staggering: within just 28 days, children who played in these rewilded yards developed more diverse skin and gut microbiomes along with higher levels of regulatory T-cells. This suggests that the biodiversity hypothesis—the idea that our sterile urban environments are linked to rising allergy and autoimmune rates—is a tangible reality we can change by simply reintroducing nature's microbial network to our daily lives. [ link to pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (secure) ]
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