Ordinary Hobby SLASHES Stroke Risk?! (You Can Start NOW)
I have a LOT of hobbies.
I enjoy going on hunting trips, fishing for my dinner, soaking in the cold springs near my home in Arizona, and running with my dog, Nash.
(And that’s the short list.)
Hobbies are a great way to make your life more fun and fulfilling. But they can also be a great addition to a healthy lifestyle.
In fact, one pleasant summer hobby can SLASH your risk of stroke, heart attack, diabetes, depression, and anxiety.
And there’s STILL time to get started!
You don’t have to have a green thumb to enjoy gardening—or to benefit from it.
A large study of 146,000 older adults compared the health of gardeners, exercisers, and sedentary people.
Compared to folks who were couch potatoes, the gardeners had SIGNIFICANTLY lower odds of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Other studies have connected gardening to a lower risk of depression, anxiety and to simply living a more satisfying life.
There are MANY reasons why gardening provides such impressive health benefits.
One is because of physical activity. Gardeners tend to meet their weekly exercise requirements through gardening alone.
But the BIGGEST benefits are a side effect of where gardening takes place… outdoors!
Spending time outdoors daily is the best way to load up on the sunshine vitamin: vitamin D.
Vitamin D promotes a healthy heart, good mood, and more—so it’s no wonder that gardening is associated with these same benefits.
Gardening also provides a benefit that few other activities provide: grounding to the earth.
Being in direct contact with the earth (barefoot) is associated with increased energy, reduced pain, better sleep, better blood flow, faster healing, less inflammation, and more.
And if you are growing a vegetable garden, you’ll ALSO reap the benefits of eating seasonal, whole foods.
It’s hardly surprising that the study I mentioned earlier ALSO found that folks who gardened were more likely to eat the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of fruit and vegetables.
Now is the perfect time to start if you’re looking for a new (HEALTHY) hobby.
P.S. The mainstream demonizes it, yet you LITERALLY can’t live without it. Avoiding it dampens your spirits almost as much as it does your overall health. And not getting enough could be behind HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of deaths every year. CLICK HERE to uncover what it is.
SOURCE:
“Gardening Is Associated With Better Cardiovascular Health Status Among Older Adults in the United States: Analysis of the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey,” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, VOLUME 123, ISSUE 5, P761-769.E3, May 2023, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2022.10.018
