Caring for your body is like tending a garden!
“We might think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.”
Jenny Uglow
In the spring, articles begin popping up in magazines and newspapers on the benefits of gardening and this time of year in the northeast, we are starting to enjoy the herbs and vegetables that are produced. The garden doesn’t have to be huge and in the case of mine, I’d call it a patio garden of herbs and small vegetables. Let’s run through a few of the benefits of gardening from AARP magazine:
Exposure to Vitamin D: Vitamin D is required to increase our calcium levels which strengthen our bones and boost our immune system. Being out in the sunlight while tending our gardens is the best way to get this vital nutrient, but after 10 minutes of exposure, apply your sunscreen and don’t forget the sunglasses to protect your eyes!
Decreasing dementia risk: According to a 2006 study on gardening, dementia risk is lowered by 36% with the activity of gardening.
Improving mood: A study in the Netherlands as cited by CNN suggests that gardening is one of the better hobbies to fight stress as shown by lowered levels of cortisol. I wonder if it’s the pulling of weeds, or in the event of community gardens, it may be the socializing!
An enjoyable aerobic exercise: I wouldn’t have thought of gardening as aerobic, but depending on how much you are changing your position, pulling weeds, digging up the ground, you are probably using new muscles in your body!
Gordon Clark is a UVM Extension Master Gardener and he has these additional health benefits:
Fresh air: Fresh air helps clean out the lungs, improving circulation and providing greater energy and vitality, according to studies. The increased oxygen uptake helps boost brain levels of serotonin which boosts our mood, combatting anxiety and depression.
Sunlight: The ultraviolet rays of the sun are known to kill and suppress germs and bacteria. The skin that is exposed to sunlight metabolizes vitamin D and in addition to the above benefits of this nutrient, it has also been shown to lower blood pressure and provokes the brain to produce serotonin. I know my mood is much sunnier on a bright day!
Soil: Dirt is full of microbes, bacteria and mold and studies show that children who are exposed to playing in the dirt are building a stronger immune system with resistance to asthma and allergies. Gordon Clark poses this question: Do the microbes that make up healthy soil also promote the health of humans who work in it? Well, certain microbes have been shown to act as anti-depressants as well in that they stimulate the production of serotonin!
While gardening gives us the opportunity to grow healthy food, it is the number one way we can boost our immune system and stay healthy. Growing a garden has so many comparisons to how we take care of our own bodies; here’s a list to think about!
Sunshine: Our gardens need sunshine to grow and so do our bodies—think vitamin D, happy moods…
Water: If I go for even a day without watering my plants, they are all drooped over and crying for me to grab the watering can! Do you ever feel that way…that afternoon slump where you want to grab a cup of coffee, but what you really may need is to drink some water? A good rule of thumb for how much to drink in a day is half your body weight in ounces; not just a couple days a week, but every day! Every cell in our bodies is made up of water and when we’re depleted, our energy is low, digestion can be slowed, our skin is dry, our joints can feel stiffer.
Fertilizer: What are we doing to nurture our bodies? Are we eating healthy food that gives us energy or eating food that drains us? What are we reading or listening to? Who are we spending our time with? Are we getting in daily exercise? Make sure that what we are filling our minds and bodies with is building us up, not making us feel depleted.
Digging deeper: Yesterday, I attended the funeral of one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. As the priest described her, he talked about how she always saw the best in everyone and we should all be that way. Sometimes you have to go beyond the surface and get to the depth to see and sow the goodness in people and relationships. I know there are certain relationships that I don’t tend to as well, ones where I could be more nurturing.
Weeding: I think it’s a lot more fun to plant and then enjoy the harvest, but there is an important part of gardening and that’s weeding. What do we need to remove form our lives that is choking out the good? Too much sugar and processed foods? Too much screen time on our phones or TV? Too much sitting and not enough movement? Negative thoughts?
Let’s remove those weeds that are slowing us down and let’s start nourishing the garden of good health today!