gardening Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Get Your Hands Dirty! Proven Benefits of Gardening

AHA Publisher — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 07:00:47 +0000

Dr. Don Colbert – Is there really value in getting your hands dirty in the summer? Beyond harvesting food, are there benefits to gardening? Amazingly, there are many proven benefits of gardening (1)! There’s something about the age-old task of going outside, enjoying the sunshine, feeling the dirt, and growing your own food that’s good for the body, mind, and soul. Here are just some of the proven benefits of gardening. 8 Proven Health Benefits of Gardening 1. SUNSHINE AND VITAMIN D When you spend just 10-15 minutes in the sun, with just your hands or arms exposed, the vitamin Dlevels in your body increase. This, in turn, supports your immune function, calcium levels, bone health, and more. 2. A BETTER MOOD Who couldn’t use a better mood most days? Stick your hands in the dirt and grow something! A study from the Netherlands found that gardening fights stress even better than many other hobbies. In this study, participants first completed a stressful task. Then, they were told to either read inside or go outside and garden. The results? The gardening group reported better moods, and lab tests supported that they had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol afterward. Yet another study found why gardening is so effective. When we inhale M. vaccae, a healthy bacteria that live in soil, our bodies respond by increasing serotonin and reducing anxious feelings. All it takes is getting down and dirty in the soil, or even just walking through the garden or woods. Amazingly, inhaling the soil and gardening is even linked to fewer childhood allergies (2). 3. FEEL THE BURN It may not seem like an aerobic effort, but gardening at a moderate intensity can burn more than 300 calories per hour! Plus, it requires a lot of muscle work to bend, kneel, dig, and hoe. What’s more, you can improve trunk strength with twisting, and flexibility with bending. The best part? You may enjoy it so much you won’t even recognize it as exercise. 4. BRAIN POWER Another health benefit of gardening is a boost in brainpower. One 2006 study reported that gardening may lower the risk of neurodegeneration by as much as 36%! This study followed more than 2800 people who were 60 years old or more. It lasted 16 years. It found that those who participated in physical activity, and especially gardening, were less likely to decline (3). 5. BETTER SLEEP Another wonderful health benefit of gardening is better sleep. Healthy sleep further supports our immune system, moods, and health. How does gardening help? First, light physical activity like daily gardening is associated with better sleep at night (4). What’s more, especially if you get out early in the morning, natural early sunlight improves our circadian rhythms and melatonin levels later in the day, making it easier to fall asleep and enjoy a high level of sleep quality. 6. STRONG HANDS AND FEET As we age, the strength in our hands and feet often diminishes. In fact, as we use our feet less, the muscles can weaken to the point that we require extra padding and support in our shoes. But, strong hands and feet are health benefits of gardening. By digging with your hands, and occasionally walking the garden barefoot, you can activate these muscles while enjoying the soil and land. Digging, hoeing, shoveling, and more are great for upper body strength. Walking, kneeling, and twisting will strengthen your lower muscles. 7. HEALTHY BLOOD PRESSURE Along with a better mood, an amazing proven benefit of gardening includes healthy blood pressure. In fact, just 30 minutes of daily moderate-level physical activity, and especially those combined with outdoor activity like gardening, can support healthy blood pressure. Gardening is just what the doctor ordered. 8. SOCIALIZING OPPORTUNITIES Gardening is a wonderful way to socialize. You can garden in a community garden. Or, take gardening classes at the local home improvement shop. Socializing with a common hobby or interest is a great way to support overall health and mental health. Bottom Line Gardening is a fantastic way to stay healthy. In fact, the proven health benefits of gardening extend from your brain to your feet. Get your hands dirty and stay healthy! To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Colbert click here.

The post Get Your Hands Dirty! Proven Benefits of Gardening appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Everything You Need to Know About “Gardening by the Moon”

AHA Publisher — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 07:00:34 +0000

Damon Hines via NaturalHealth365 – Easter. April showers. The last threat of a late frost … If you’re a gardener, now is the time to spring into action. Weather and life, however, have the tendency to sabotage the work of even the most seasoned gardener. One way to encourage greater yields and better results is to “garden by the moon.” The idea of gardening by the moon, or lunar gardening, might sound like the type of New Age quackery discussed on hippie Facebook groups, but the idea is found in the folklore of ancient societies. From the Celts in Britain to the Maoris in New Zealand, tuning into nature’s rhythms is an old tradition in many rural areas. In fact, moon gardening is just one aspect of biodynamic agriculture, a theory that suggests the surrounding terrain, the influences of the waning and waxing moons, and even the positions of the stars are integral to soil health and crop vitality. Waxing Moon Is a Growth Period, and the Waning Moon Is Rest Time At the Growing Stronger Collaborative Conference about gardening, Jane Hawley Stevens of Four Elements Herbals presented some basic principles and guidelines for gardening by the moon. The bottom line: just as the moon affects tides, it has an effect on the groundwater and the gravitational pull in the soil. Moon gardening is about using the waxing and waning moon to help decide when to attend to certain tasks. 1st Quarter: The moisture in the soil is pulled towards the surface and can cause seeds to swell and sprout. At this stage, Stevens suggests planting leafy things like kale, lettuce, and broccoli. The increased light and higher groundwater make it the perfect time to plant above-ground plants. 2nd Quarter: During this quarter it’s best to plant crops that produce their seed within its fruit – tomatoes, and peppers, for example. 3rd Quarter: During this stage of the lunar cycle, moisture is beginning to move away from the surface and back into the earth, making it the best time to plant root vegetables and perennials. 4th Quarter: This is the driest part of the cycle. Stevens suggests doing tasks like weeding during this quarter because the dryness will make it difficult for weeds to recover and grow back. If you’re drying herbs, this is a good time to harvest as the plants will have little moisture. You Don’t Need to Be an Astronomer to Garden by the Moon Like sourdough starters and Zoom cocktails, the gardening trend bloomed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, homebound or not, green thumbs are once again turning to horticulture. In fact, the demand for seeds is so high that companies can’t keep up. According to the Washington Post, Missouri-based Baker Creek Seeds is selling six times more seeds compared to an average busy season. Whether you’re gardening to enjoy the outdoors, relieve stress, or have security in your food supply, it’s time to up your garden game with a little moon magic. Remember: You don’t need to be an astronomer to garden by the moon. You just have to know which phase of the moon you’re in. Sources for this article include: Organicconsumers.org To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

The post Everything You Need to Know About “Gardening by the Moon” appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Critical Life Lessons from the World’s Healthiest and Longest Living Communities + Tips on How to Exercise, Eat, and Manage Your Mind to Boost Your Immune System and Live a Long and Healthy Life with Dan Buettner

AHA Publisher — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 07:00:33 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – Life expectancy and living well seems to be on everyone’s minds these days, especially with the current pandemic, but did you know that around 85% of our longevity is based on our lifestyle choices and environment? In this week’s blog and podcast, I spoke with NYT Bestselling author, explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist and producer Dan Buettner about the world’s healthiest and longest living communities (known as the blue zones), the power of purpose, how healthy eating is affordable and how you too can live to be a 100! As I have said many times before, our mental and physical health are intricately connected. By putting ourselves in an environment that encourages us to live well, we can improve our overall quality of life and longevity. This does not mean that we spend every moment of our day trying to deliberately change our behavior. The blue zones are not about behavior modification; they are about living each day to the fullest. Health ensues when we live our lives well—longevity is based on our environment and how it encourages us to live better, making the healthiest decisions the easiest decisions. Take food, for instance. Say you want to eat better, but around 90% of the 220 food decisions you make a day are unconscious. It is almost impossible to pay attention to all these choices for 14 hours, but if you make changes to your environment, then eating well becomes a lot easier! Rather than trying to remember to do everything, it is better to find people and places that have the healthy eating qualities you want to develop. The blue zones are all about creating environments that make the healthiest choices the easiest choices. You can do this by focusing on several common denominators of longevity, which Dan describes in detail in his book The Blue Zones: Exercise: As I spoke about in a recent blog and podcast (episode #139), movement essential when it comes to our mental and physical health. In the blue zones, people move on average every 20 minutes; they are constantly walking, gardening, getting out, and doing things by hand. They live and work in walkable communities, making movement and exercise an unconscious part of their every day. This way of life is a lot easier than forcing yourself to go to gym every day, so think of ways you can incorporate movement into your day, whether that means dancing from room to room in your house, walking to the local grocery store or taking public transportation. Eating a peasant diet: People in the blue zones have a predominately plant-based diet, with lots of fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, tubers, beans, and whole grains. This diet is actually affordable; healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive! Yes, it does take more time to cook these foods at home, but doing so can add 8 years to your life expectancy, which adds 2 extra days every day to your life, so you really don’t have time not to cook real, whole foods! Purpose: As Dan notes, purpose is a blockbuster drug. In the blue zones, purpose has two main aspects: passion and This sense of purpose doesn’t stop when people age; there is no such thing as retirement, and both the wisdom of older generations and the vitality of the young are celebrated. There is an overarching expectation that your purpose is helping the community, adding to the knowledge base, keeping people of all ages engaged and helping the survivability of younger generations. Community: Loneliness damages our mental and physical health, as I discussed in detail in a recent blog. In fact, according to research, loneliness can reduce our life expectancy by around 8 years! In the blue zones, there is no time to be lonely: community infuses every aspect of people’s lives, from family gatherings, to intimate friendship circles and spiritual celebrations. They are always bumping into people they know! Downshifting: In the modern world, we are always on the go. We have “hurry sickness”, which constantly keeps us stuck in a flight/fight stress response, resulting in an inflammatory response in the brain and body that impacts our overall health and longevity. In the blue zones, on the other hand, sacred daily rituals are incredibly important, forcing people to slow down and embrace the unhurried side of life, such as ancestor veneration for a few minutes a day, naps, prayers, and social time/happy hour with family and friends. In the blue zones, they don’t let stress run their life, so find ways you can downshift every day and watch your stress decrease and your health improve. It is important to remember that there is no one thing that will make you live longer. Longevity is based on how you live your life every single day. It is about a mutually supportive environment that helps you do the right things for long enough. This is both a gift and responsibility: we all need to think of ways we can make the healthiest choice the easiest choice for us and the people in our community! To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Leaf click here.

The post Critical Life Lessons from the World’s Healthiest and Longest Living Communities + Tips on How to Exercise, Eat, and Manage Your Mind to Boost Your Immune System and Live a Long and Healthy Life with Dan Buettner appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

8 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Gardening

AHA Publisher — Tue, 19 May 2020 07:00:14 +0000

Dr. Don Colbert – Even while sheltering in place, you can enjoy the amazing science-backed health benefits of gardening. And, we’re not talking about the food itself (so if you don’t succeed at growing much, don’t worry!). The act of gardening itself offers many health benefits (1). There’s something about the age-old task of going outside, enjoying the sunshine, feeling the dirt, and growing your own food that’s good for the body, mind, and soul. Here are just some of the health benefits of gardening. 8 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Gardening 1. Sunshine and Vitamin D When you spend just 10-15 minutes in the sun, with just your hands or arms exposed, you up the vitamin D levels in your body. This, in turn, improves your immune function, calcium levels, Vitamin D increases your calcium levels, and more. In fact, one recent study has reinforced how vitamin D from sun exposure during activities like gardening, and from supplements, may reduce the risk of both seasonal influenza and COVID-19(1). If your vitamin D levels are normal, regular outdoor sun exposure can keep your levels healthy. If low, practice both gardening for vitamin D and supplementation. 2. A Better Mood Who couldn’t use a better mood these days? Stick your hands in the dirt and grow something! A study from the Netherlands found that gardening fights stress even better than many other hobbies. In this study, participants first completed a stressful task. Then, they were told to either read inside or go outside and garden. The results? The gardening group reported better moods, and lab tests supported that they had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, afterward. Yet another study found out why gardening is so effective. When we inhale M. vaccae, a healthy bacteria that live in soil, our bodies respond by increasing serotonin and reducing anxiety. All it takes in getting down and dirty in the soil, or even just walking in the garden or woods. Amazingly, inhaling the soil and gardening is even linked to fewer childhood allergies (2). 3. Feel the Burn It may not seem like an aerobic effort, but gardening at a moderate intensity can burn more than 300 calories per hour! Plus, it requires a lot of muscle work to bend, kneel, dig, and hoe. What’s more, you can improve trunk strength with twisting, and flexibility with bending. The best part? You may enjoy it so much you won’t even recognize it as exercise. 4. Brain Power Another health benefit of gardening is a boost in brainpower. One 2006 study reported that gardening may lower the risk of dementia by as much as 36%! This study followed more than 2800 people who were 60 years old or more. It lasted 16 years. It found that those who participated in physical activity, and especially gardening, were less likely to get dementia (3). 5. Better Sleep Another wonderful health benefit of gardening is better sleep. And better sleep provides benefits to our immune system, moods, and health. How does gardening help? First, light physical activity like daily gardening is associated with better sleep at night (4). What’s more, especially if you get out early in the morning, natural early sunlight improves our circadian rhythms and melatonin levels later in the day, making it easier to fall asleep and enjoy a high level of sleep quality. 6. Strong Hands and Feet As we age, the strength in our hands and feet often diminishes. In fact, as we use our feet less, the muscles can weaken to the point that we require extra padding and support in our shoes. But, strong hands and feet are health benefits of gardening. By digging with your hands, and occasionally walking the garden barefoot, you can activate these muscles while enjoying the soil and land. Digging, hoeing, shoveling, and more are great for upper body strength. Walking, kneeling, and twisting will strengthen your lower muscles. 7. Lower Blood Pressure Along with a better mood and less anxiety, the amazing health benefits of gardening include better blood pressure. In fact, just 30 minutes of daily moderate-level physical activity, and especially those combined with outdoor activity like gardening, can prevent and control high blood pressure. Gardening is just what the doctor ordered. 8. Socializing Opportunities We may not be able to truly socialize at this time during COVID-19. However, usually, gardening is a wonderful way to socialize. You can garden in a community garden. Or, take gardening classes at the local home improvement shop. During social distancing, you join gardening forums or online classes to learn and connect with others. Bottom Line Gardening is a great way to stay healthy. In fact, the health benefits of gardening extend from your brain to your feet. As we shelter in place while putting our own individual health at the forefront, it’s never been a better time to plant a garden. Get in the dirt and stay healthy! To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Colbert click here.

The post 8 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Gardening appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Walking, Gardening, Swimming, Dancing May Prevent Brain Shrinkage in Older Adults

AHA Publisher — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 07:00:32 +0000

American Academy of Neurology (AAN) via Newswise – Older people who regularly walk, garden, swim or dance may have bigger brains than their inactive peers, according to a preliminary study to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 72nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, April 25 to May 1, 2020. The effect of exercise was equal to four fewer years of brain aging. Newswise — MINNEAPOLIS – The study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to measure the brains of people with a range of activity levels, including those who were inactive to those who were very active. The scans showed less active people had smaller brain volume. “These results are exciting, as they suggest that people may potentially prevent brain shrinking and the effects of aging on the brain simply by becoming more active,” said study author Yian Gu, Ph.D., of Columbia University in New York and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “Recent studies have shown that as people age, physical activity may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Our study used brain scans to measure the brain volumes of a diverse group of people and found that those who engaged in the top third highest level of physical activity had a brain volume the equivalent of four years younger in brain aging than people who were at the bottom third activity level.” The study involved 1,557 people with an average age of 75. None had dementia, but 296 people had mild cognitive impairment and 28% had the APOE gene that is linked to a greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Participants were given physical exams, thinking and memory tests, and were asked about their daily tasks and other physical activities. Researchers then calculated how much time and energy each person spent on those tasks and activities. Researchers divided people into three groups: those who were inactive; those who were somewhat active meaning each week they either had roughly two-and-a-half hours of low-intensity physical activity, one-and-a-half hours of moderate physical activity or one hour of high-intensity physical activity; and those who were most active meaning each week they either had seven hours of low-intensity physical activity, four hours of moderate physical activity or two hours of high-intensity physical activity. Researchers then reviewed MRI brain scans of all participants and found that when compared to the people in the inactive group, those who were most active had larger total brain volume. After adjusting for age, sex, education, race/ethnicity and APOE gene status, the average brain size for those who were inactive was 871 cubic centimeters compared to 883 cubic centimeters for those who were most active, a difference of 12 cubic centimeters, or 1.4%, or the equivalent of nearly four years of brain aging. The results remained similar even after excluding people who had mild cognitive impairment. “Our results add to the evidence that more physical activity is linked to larger brain volume in older people,” said Gu. “It also builds on evidence that moving your body more often throughout one’s life may protect against loss of brain volume.” This article has been modified. To read the original article click here.

The post Walking, Gardening, Swimming, Dancing May Prevent Brain Shrinkage in Older Adults appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.