The unexpected wellness secret right under your feet
It's supermodel-approved
My memories of Somerset House involve ice-skating, outdoor cinema-viewing, and seeing Amy Winehouse live (which I remember well, despite being very much prior to my mindful drinking era).
So I was interested to see that the landmark exhibition with which they are launching their 25th anniversary year is all about… soil.
The soil in our ground connects all life on earth, and is the magic formula behind our health, and that of our planet. Its ecosystem of billions of bacteria do for our plants what the microbes in our gut do for us: keep them healthy.
Unfortunately, over the past few decades, intensive farming practices (using chemical fertilisers and pesticides) have been degrading our soil at an alarming rate. According to the Soil Association’s Saving Our Soils report, this has a devastating impact on everything from our drinking water to the nutritional quality of our food.
This is an urgent issue and, over the past few years, the quality of our soil has been gaining momentum in the public consciousness.
Six Inches of Soil, a documentary film about three British farmers transforming the way they produce food, was shown at COP28 last year. And the much starrier Kiss the Ground tells a similar story, but narrated by Woody Harrelson with talking heads such as Gisele Bündchen (if you think supermodel-to-soil activist is an unusual career pivot, check out Arizona Muse’s charity, Dirt).
How does damaging the soil damage our health? Well, in several ways, but the main two are the minerals and the microbes.
Our soil is naturally rich in minerals like iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, copper and zinc. Sadly, modern farming methods have depleted levels of these minerals to the extent that many people are now deficient, causing fatigue, lethargy, loss of bone density and other issues. This is something I keep hearing from experts I’ve interviewed over the past year, from Brendan Costelloe of The Soil Association (at a Tesco x Guardian panel event), to Aidan Goggins, a pharmacist, nutritionist and independent adviser to the supplement industry.
As for microbes, we’ve just got our heads around the billions of bacteria that reside in our bodies, largely our gut, but I still found it a bit overwhelming to learn that there are more living things in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on the planet.
Of course, that’s a teaspoon of healthy soil. But industrial pesticides kill them off, so our food is lacking the microbial diversity that our gut loves so much (one of the producers highlighted in the exhibition is microbz, a probiotic supplement that gets its beneficial bacteria directly from soil - scroll down to the bottom for a 20% discount if you’d like to give it a whirl).
Essentially, keeping our soil healthy is what keeps us, and our planet, in good health too. We can all do our bit to help with this: eating as locally and seasonally as possible, buying products that are approved by the Soil Association and, ideally, growing vegetables or herbs in our own garden, allotment or window box.
Then there’s the fact that getting in touch with the earth has been shown to have many other benefits, from reducing inflammation through grounding to increasing immune cell activity with forest bathing.
Feeling as if you want to get your hands dirty? I am. And last year we moved to a house with a proper garden for the first time in my adult life, so now’s my chance. Except that, of course, I have work and kids and a social life and actually very little time (and, if I’m honest, inclination) to realistically give the garden what it needs. Also, it’s cold out there.
But I have bought some gardening gloves, so that’s the first step.
I asked the Soil Association Horticultural Advisor Carolyn Coxe for some advice on what we can all do to support our soil, and she shared these tips:
1. Grow your own food in a nature-friendly way
You don’t need lots of land to try your hand at growing your own food! It can be in your back garden or allotment, or you can use a windowsill. Try to use organic compost and avoid pesticides and fertilisers, and then you’re looking after soil while also reconnecting to where your food comes from. Growing different vegetables and plants in your garden will help recycle nutrients back into the soil, which is great for its long term health. Studies show that growing has benefits for our mental and physical health, so what’s good for your soil is also good for you.
2. Feed your soil and get composting
Organic matter is the part of soil that comes from plants or animals, which helps it store nutrients and water. Nature-friendly farmers use more organic matter, like manure and compost, so organic farms tend to have higher levels of soil microorganisms. You can make your own compost from things like vegetable scraps, leaves and cuttings from the garden – the Plant and Share guides from our Food for Life programme offers tips on composting and growing.
3. Keep your soil covered and don’t be too tidy!
Leaving soil bare is not good for its health. Rain can wash away soil nutrients, and even the soil itself. Make sure you keep it covered with plants, edible crops or cover crops. Fallen leaves and dead plants will add to soil organic matter and provide a home for wildlife, so it’s worth letting leaves and wilted plants breakdown, rather than clearing them immediately.
4. Grow soil-saving plants
Another way of saving soil at home is to plant flowers and plants that benefit soil health. There are lots of different types – peas, lupins and clover are a few examples. These plants pull nitrogen from the air and help increase the fertility of your soils. Deep-rooting plants stop the soil hardening, promote healthy soil structure, and draw up nutrients deeper in the soil for other plants.
5. Support nature-friendly farming
Around 70% of the UK is farmland, so supporting farmers who look after their soils makes a huge difference to this precious resource. Soil health is at the heart of organic farming, so subscribing to an organic veg box is a great way to save our soils. Eat more seasonal food produced in the UK and, if you can find an organic veg box in your local area, that is even better for helping our soils and environment. Studies have also shown there are nutritional differences in organic food.
I recommend you check out the Somerset House exhibition if you can. It’s on until 13 April, and they also have kids’ workshops with storytelling and making seed bombs over half term this month.
Their aim? To “deliver a message of hope and urgency, encouraging a more sustainable, harmonious relationship with the Earth - if we choose to act now.”
For discounts on microbz and Abel & Cole, use the codes below.
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