Healing Through Nature - Get your garden on

Tomatoes and flowers growing in a garden

One of the best ways to reap benefits of natures healing is to plant a garden. Benefits of gardening include...

• Relieves stress

• Boost to brain health

• Regulates immune system

• Reduces anxiety and depression

• Boosts self esteem

• Moderate intensity exercise

• Healthy seasonal produce

How do you get all of these benefits?

Persons hands working with seedlings in the dirt

Well one way is through microbes or bacteria in the soil. "What" you say? Did you know soil has its own microbiome. Yes you read that right, each of these little microscopic guys can make you healthier and happier. Working with the soil and planting flowers, herbs, or veggies is a start. As a person works with the soil during planting the body is exposed to all of the beneficial bacteria in the soil. This is turn can make people who work with soil mentally and physically healthier. The more the soil is enriched with compost and through other organic gardening methods the more diverse and healthier the bacteria become.

Person hoeing garden

Gardening can be physically demanding. Digging, raking, hoeing, stooping, bending, lifting, planting, is all hard work. This hard work boosts muscle, burns calories, and increases oxygen levels to the brain. Who needs a gym when there is a garden to tend?

Box of colorful produce

Boost nutrition, fitness, and your own microbiome with home grown produce. A three to four leaf spinach plant has over 800 species of bacteria inside it so eating straight from the garden might be one route to better overall health.

The old saying you are what you eat really applies. Eating healthy vegetables with healthy bacteria or microbes can boost the body with nutrients needed to "workout" in the garden and to maintain a healthy body. An added bonus is the gut brain connection where a healthy gut microbiome adds to a healthy brain. In other words, if gut bacteria are healthy then the brain is healthy and happy thus boosting mood, decreasing stress, anxiety and depression. This looks like a triple win in my book. Get outside and get your garden on.