People today face a variety of health problems.  Life is stressful and busy.  We don’t always take the time to eat a nutritious diet, exercise and find ways to reduce stress.  Believe it or not, taking the time to work in your garden for short periods of time throughout the week can help you stay healthier.  And when you improve your diet by adding the delicious fresh produce you have grown, you’ll be feeling even better.

Gardening is a great way to reduce stress and relax.  Studies have shown that being outdoors reduces stress.  Horticultural therapy is actually a practice developed to heal physical and mental ailments through gardening.  This type of stress relief combined with moderate physical activity can lower blood pressure, reducing your chance of stroke.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control recommends regular moderate-level aerobic activity and weight bearing exercise to maintain health.  Gardening is a great way to meet your healthy exercise requirements.  Warm up with a brisk walk before you start, then grab your tools and get to work.  Keep moving and get your heart rate up while you work.  Digging, lifting or pushing a wheelbarrow are great weight bearing activities.  According to the CDC, exercise can help prevent obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and osteoporosis.  They report that physically active people have a lower risk of colon cancer.  Women who are physically active have a lower risk of breast cancer.

Gardening can lower your risk of obesity and help you control your weight.  Depending on your activity level, you can burn up to 400 calories per hour in the garden.  If you’re looking to burn more calories, get out in your garden every day and work consistently.  Work up to frequent sessions and increase your intensity over time to keep shedding the pounds.

Another way to prevent excess weight is by eating the fruits of your labor.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are low calorie, cholesterol free and high in fiber.  Fill in your meals with a variety of garden produce and you will cut calories and feel full at the same time. The USDA reports that fiber can also help reduce cholesterol and may lower the risk of heart disease.  Fiber may also help in the management of diabetes and protect against diverticulosis.

All of that garden produce will provide you with even more health benefits.  Fruits and vegetables containing potassium can help maintain healthy blood pressure.  You’ll find potassium in greens, lima beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and some dark leafy greens.  Folate, found in spinach and asparagus, can help prevent certain birth defects.

Gardening can have an incredibly positive effect on your life and health.  What other activity can provide such great outdoor exercise as well as the nutritional benefits found in your garden harvest.  Start a garden and you can improve the health of your whole family and reduce the risk of disease in yourself and your loved ones.