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Gardening: Like Going to the Gym but Better

Monday, Apr 29, 2019  |  admin  |  At Home

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Our good friends at Southern Living magazine recently published an article titled, “A New Study Says Gardening Is Just as Good As Going to the Gym.” As attention-grabbing as that is, we think it’s possible that gardening could be even better than a gym workout. How? As much as we love our gym workouts, there are several unique health benefits that gardening offers.

Boosts your vitamin D

When you’re outside in the sun, your exposed skin naturally produces Vitamin D. To absorb calcium properly, your body must have that vital nutrient. What happens if you’re not absorbing enough calcium? Your body grabs it from somewhere else — typically the stores in your skeleton, which can result in weakened bones. As we age, we want to avoid that as much as possible. Getting enough Vitamin D and calcium absorption will help you resist fractures, osteoporosis, and other detrimental bone health issues.

Receive a hormone high

Studies have shown that inhaling the bacteria “M. vaccae” can both reduce anxiety while increasing levels of the happy hormone, serotonin. Where can you find this “M. vaccae”? Believe it or not, it’s in dirt. It’s a healthy bacteria that love to live in the soil. Now you have all the more reason to dig your hands into the earth happily knowing that “dirt don’t hurt.”

Heal faster

If you’re in the process of healing, either physically, emotionally, or both, the simple act of being outside in a natural environment (like a pretty garden) can help you recover. An article from Scientific American mentions two groups of patients recovering from surgery: one who could look out their hospital windows at leafy, green trees, while the other had only a brick wall. Not surprisingly, the group with the natural, tree-lined view healed much more quickly, required less pain medication, and had fewer complications during their healing process.

Influences healthy eating

When you grow your own herbs, fruits, and vegetables, you gain more than just delicious produce. The whole process creates a desire to indulge in and eat the bounty you worked so hard to cultivate. You already know that there is nothing like the taste of a warm, juicy, homegrown tomato picked at the peak of ripeness. Having ready access to that kind of fresh, delicious food will inspire you to enjoy more of it …and share it too (especially when it comes to a bountiful zucchini harvest.)

So whether you want to do some healthy gardening or prefer to do a heart-pumping gym workout, we’ve got you covered either way. Simply head to The Grove where you’ll find both our Victory Garden and our Fitness Center. The Grove campus is just one of the many amenities we enjoy at Harbor Club. We’d be happy to show it to you and so much more. Contact us today for a personalized tour.