Growing your own food is good for you in a number of ways. Last year, due to a bumper crop of heirloom tomatoes, I was able to go outside, pick a tomato, and cut it up while it was still warm from the sun. Not only was it delicious, but it was incredibly satisfying eating a food that I had grown from a seed or tiny plant. Whether it’s a garden plot, the raspberry patch along the back fence, or pots of herbs on your patio, growing your own food can improve your health. Here’s how:
-It’s local. You know food from your own garden wasn’t picked before it was ripe or spent three days in a truck. When you grow your own, you know exactly where it came from, what went into growing it, and that it was picked at the right time. Furthermore, eating locally grown food, whether from your garden or a local farm stand, saves energy. It wasn’t transported, refrigerated for days, or packaged.
-You’re eating according to the seasons, and this is important in Chinese medicine. Your body changes energetically with each season, and the local foods change, too. During the summer, the produce in season is cooling and full of moisture, such as cucumbers, watermelon, and lettuce; just what you need during the hot and humid weather. However, as the weather turns cold, what’s ripe changes too. Root vegetables, squash, beans, and apples are in season, which keep longer and are more calorie-dense to get you through the winter.
-When you grow your own food, you know exactly what you’re getting. In Chinese medicine, a source of illness is eating food that has been wrecked. Thousands of years ago that meant food that has spoiled due to lack of refrigeration. Today that means eating food that has been doused with pesticides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers. Don’t want chemicals on your peppers? Grow them yourself. It certainly beats trying to figure out which vegetable is “cleaner” at the grocery store.
-You’re eating healthier when much of your food comes from the garden. The Mediterranean Diet and eating to reduce inflammation are diets that scientists have found can lower your risk for a number of diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis, and may even help your aging memory. Both diets are heavy on plants, beans, nuts, and olive oil, but low on animal products, sugar, and refined grains. Growing your own produce is a good way to get more plants in your diet.
-Gardening counts as exercise and is good for your soul. Tending your garden can be strenuous, especially when the weeds have a mind of their own. In addition, just being outside, tending plants, and watching nature do its thing is actually relaxing. It helps reduce stress, can relieve depression and decrease your blood pressure.
-When you grow your own food, it can be as easy or as hard as you want. You can work a large garden with a variety of vegetables, or tend a few pots of tomatoes and basil on your deck. Either way, the satisfaction level is the same, and the food tastes great!
