Gardening and Your Health

Spending time outdoors isn’t always a priority in today’s busy lifestyle. We don’t take the time to enjoy life and take care of ourselves with exercise and healthy diet.  Stress from work and finances, combined with an unhealthy diet on the run can lead to high blood pressure, obesity and many other health problems.

What experts have discovered is that gardening has a positive impact on our lives.  It is a great form of outdoor exercise, improves our mental health, and it provides us with the ingredients for a fresh and healthy diet.

Start at the beginning, with planning your garden.  You can involve your spouse or the whole family – it’s a great way to spend time together.  Choose your favorite vegetables, fruits and herbs and get creative!  Gardening can provide a wonderful sense of accomplishment and valuable creative outlet.

Another benefit to your mood and overall well-being is the effect of being outdoors in your garden.  Studies have shown that being the garden can reduce depression.  Some gardeners look at their time spent working in the garden as a kind of meditation. It’s a chance to escape from everyday life, get outdoors and focus on the miracle of nature and the satisfaction of hard work.  Getting out in the sun will provide you with vitamin D, which is essential to the absorption of bone-strengthening calcium.

Another mood lifter that gardening provides is the result of the physical exertion involved.  Moderate physical activity produces endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain killers.  Endorphins increase your sense of well-being and give you a “natural high”.  Studies have shown that gardening can lower blood pressure, too.

Speaking of physical activity, gardening can be an excellent form of exercise.  Gardening uses a wide range of motions and works out a number of muscle groups.  As with any form of exercise, it’s important to warm up and stretch your muscles before beginning a gardening routine.  If you haven’t been exercising regularly, you’ll want to perform stretches regularly over a period of time to adjust your body to the work it will be doing in the garden.

According to CBS News, a 180 lb. person will burn 202 calories in 30 minutes of general gardening, 162 calories planting seedlings, and 182 calories weeding. You can alternate the more rigorous gardening activities with the easier ones as you get used to working out in your garden.

Once you’ve planned your garden and are enjoying the physical and mental benefits of tending your garden, get ready to enjoy a powerful health boost from your vegetables, fruits and herbs you are growing. Vegetables are rich in nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, iron, and potassium.  They also help fight disease and build our immune systems.  Vegetables are also low in calories and high in fiber, which makes them a great food choice if you are trying to lose weight and stay fit.

Ready for a healthy new you?  Don’t join a gym or go on a crash diet – get out and garden and you’ll be amazed at how great you’ll feel.