Make you Fink on Friday

Cow poo – fresh ‘feel good stuff’

Mycobacterium vaccae

Cow poo

Yes, cow poo. Mycobacterium vaccae was first discovered or recoginised in cow poo hence it’s name vaccae.

It’s a bacteria, it’s a mind altering bacteria. It’s a ‘feel good’ substance. If you live in a concrete jungle and feel stressed, there’s a good chance that you are missing out on the cow poo smell.

Have you ever wondered why you feel good in the country? Why the agricultural aromas (cow poo) smell wonderful? When in all reality they should smell repulsive.

It’s because of Mycobacterium vaccae it’s everywhere in nature and is an antidepressant with the ability to enhance intelligence. Now I understand why so many bankers in their ivory towers are just plain stupid.

Mycobacterium vaccae is present in all natural soil, in compost and we breathe it in the air. The bacteria stimulates neuron growth and reduces anxiety, which increases the production of serotonin (a type of neuro-transmitter) and in turn increases the ability to learn.

Now you can see why gardeners are happy to garden, hikers are happy to hike, while the rest of the world live in their concrete jungles stressed and anxious.

Could it also be that country kids are less stressed at school than city kids?

Maybe we need the germs

Could it also be that getting kids into the country regularly to smell cow poo is important. Let our kids get their little hands dirty to improve their academic and social performance. Perhaps we should stop listening to all these soap manufacturers that tell us that their product removes 99% of the bacteria. Because to me it seems as though we need some of that bacteria. Our super squeaky clean lives might just be a major part of our downfall both as a society and in academia.

The effects are not permanent. Freshly doped up on cow poo makes learning new things easier. If the stimulant is removed, you still learn faster than those who have not had the cow poo pleasure, but not as fast as when you had had a good dose of cow poo. So there is a definite sign that you need cow poo regularly.

Cow poo, it’s the odour  of life.

That’s my thoughts on the matter, hop across to TreeHugger and read some more there, follow the links, you may just be surprised.