Gardening is more than just a way to beautify outdoor spaces. Take a look at the diverse range of health benefits that are associated with horticulture:
Did you know that our gut composition is affected by not only our diet but also our experiences?
According to research, gardening as a form of exercise is known to improve our gut microbiome due to the increase in physical activity and direct contact with soil, which increases microflora (Parajuli et al., 2020). This has a positive effect on our immune system overall (Ottman et al., 2019).
Want to improve muscle mass but don’t like to go to gym? Gardening is the answer for you:
Gardening can help decrease BMI (Kunpeuk et al., 2019), and at the same time restore dexterity, strength, muscle mass (Park et al., 2016), aerobic endurance, and functional movement in addition to its caloric benefits (Thompson, 2018). Interestingly, gardening has also been linked to an increase in bone density and a subsequent prevention of osteoporosis in many patients (University of Arkansas, 2000).
Citations:
Kunpeuk, W., Spence, W., Phulkerd, S., Suphanchaimat, R., & Pitayarangsarit, S. (2019). The impact of gardening on nutrition and Physical Health Outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Promotion International, 35(2), 397–408. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daz027
Ottman, N., Ruokolainen, L., Suomalainen, A., Sinkko, H., Karisola, P., Lehtimäki, J., Lehto, M., Hanski, I., Alenius, H., & Fyhrquist, N. (2019). Soil exposure modifies the gut microbiota and supports immune tolerance in a mouse model. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 143(3), 1198–1206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2018.06.024
Parajuli, A., Hui, N., Puhakka, R., Oikarinen, S., Grönroos, M., Selonen, V. A. O., Siter, N., Kramna, L., Roslund, M. I., Vari, H. K., Nurminen, N., Honkanen, H., Hintikka, J., Sarkkinen, H., Romantschuk, M., Kauppi, M., Valve, R., Cinek, O., Laitinen, O. H., … Sinkkonen, A. (2020). Yard vegetation is associated with gut microbiota composition. Science of The Total Environment, 713, 136707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136707
Park, S.-A., Lee, A.-Y., Son, K.-C., Lee, W.-L., & Kim, D.-S. (2016). Gardening intervention for physical and psychological health benefits in elderly women at Community Centers. HortTechnology, 26(4), 474–483. https://doi.org/10.21273/horttech.26.4.474
University of Arkansas. (2000, April 10). Got weeds? university of Arkansas researchers say yard work builds strong bones. University of Arkansas News. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://news.uark.edu/articles/10028/got-weeds-university-of-arkansas-researchers-say-yard-work-builds-strong-bones.