That you could:
- Eat the best quality, nutrient-dense, clean food on the planet
- Get mega doses of Vitamin D
- Get free antioxidants
- Create movement that mimics our hunter-gatherer ancestors
- Receive the benefits of the best probiotics around
- Get plenty of fresh air
- Reduce stress and improve mindfulness
AND, that you could do it with just one activity and almost zero net cost?
I'm sure you would be thinking, what the hell is he talking about?
Gardening, yes, gardening. Now that I have spent the spring and summer expanding and working in the garden, I'm shocked and surprised at how many benefits there are to this activity.
We know that once produce is picked, it immediately starts to lose nutrients. We also know that even organic vegetables can have issues. Mega-farms mass-produce much of today's organics. The very best food you can eat is grown by you and picked right when you are ready to eat it.
Gardening gets you outside in the sunshine to get that free Vitamin D plus all other sunshine benefits
Antioxidants, you say? Yes, you get a double dose of antioxidants from gardening. The vegetables themselves will be loaded with antioxidants, AND you also get an even more significant amount from something called grounding or earthing. Make sure to garden in your bare feet. Your body is loaded with something called Free Radicals, and they can destroy your health. Making contact between your bare skin and the earth counteracts those free radicals, which is the job of antioxidants.
I have been involved with exercise my entire life. My second business was a gym. I wrestled for years and coached wrestling even longer. I've studied primal movement patterns, and I am convinced that gardening is one of the overall best single activities we could engage in for our health. It closely mimics the movement patterns of our hunter-gatherer ancestors without being boring, monotonous, and repetitive.
The best probiotics come from the dirt. More than 800 studies exist in the scientific literature that reference soil based organisms. Their common denominator is that they link SBOs to successfully treating various health conditions, including:
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Ulcerative colitis
- Flatulence
- Nausea
- Indigestion
- Malabsorption
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
- Bacterial, fungal and viral infections
Of course, while you're walking around barefoot collecting vitamin d, antioxidants, and soil-based probiotics, you are also breathing clean, fresh air.
I find that while gardening, I am more mindful than during any other activity. I'm not dwelling on the past. I'm not worried about the future. I'm in tune with nature and mindful of what I am doing at the moment. Being in the moment and present is one of the most potent stress relievers we have access to, and it's free!
I could go on and on. Did I mention the fantastic food you'll be creating? Yes, creating. I'm blown away by the fact that I take a tiny little seed and plant it in the ground, and it produces incredible amounts of food. If you have never experienced the difference in taste, texture, and quality of garden-grown produce to the mass-produced, picked three weeks ago and traveled around the globe produce you get at the grocery store, you are in for a treat.
Even if you have minimal space, you could still garden. I've been experimenting with a garden system called GrowBox by Garden Patch, and it is incredible. I have taken the same sees and the same dirt and planted in the ground and a growbox, and the growbox outperforms every time. It can be used in a space as small as a tiny patio apartment. With a simple self-watering system, it could even take care of itself for weeks at a time.
There you have it, powerful reasons and no excuses, it's time to start gardening!
Be SAFE, Be HEALTHY and start GARDENING,
