Healthy Eating Lifestyle Principles: April 2011

Its April ... Time to Garden!

Here are some interesting tips, quotes and information that we found on the web about gardening, including links to the websites.

Kids Gardening

Let 'em Get Dirty! Involving Your Kids in Gardening

Tips for Kids Gardening:
• Ask them to help you choose the containers you’ll use. Better yet, give them some containers of their own!
• Have them pick out a few easy-to-grow plants like beans, zinnias, sunflowers, sweet william, or pumpkins.
• Let them dig in the dirt with you when you’re ready to plant.

National Gardening Association encourages everyone to join in this yearly celebration to make “America a greener, healthier, more livable place".

"Gardening is a great way to maintain flexibility and tone muscles," says Melissa Roti, an assistant professor in the department of movement science, sport, and leisure studies at Westfield State College in Westfield, Massachusetts. Bending to pick flowers or reaching to prune a vine, for example, can help you stay limber. Digging, hoeing, and lifting build core body strength, which protects against back problems and helps prevent falls.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Reap the Benefits of Gardening - Martha Stewart Home and Garden

Top 10 Reasons to Garden:

Gardening provides exercise that seems to be lacking in the American lifestyle. This comes from picking up pots, hoeing, raking, and chores related to tending the garden.
Gardening creates an opportunity by which vitamin D can be absorbed. It only takes 15 minutes out in the sun without sunscreen to absorb a daily dose of this vitamin.
Gardening provides more control over an individual’s food supply especially for those who are concern with food security.
Gardening gives an individual a reason to be outside.
Gardening can create social situations where social interaction can occur. Long-term friendships can develop through a common love of gardening.
The process of gardening can improve one’s mood and reduce depression. This is believed to happen due to exercise and vitamin D exposure.
Gardening is a great hobby that every individual regardless of skill or living environment can do.

Gardening is a great way of reducing one’s carbon footprint by cutting back on food transportation cost and increasing foliage on the planet that can trap carbon or become a carbon sink.
Gardening is a great way to reduce stress. Getting back to nature and combining this with exercise can help reduce the stress at the end of the day.
Vegetable gardening can improve your whole family’s dietary habits by providing the first fast food, which is fresh vegetables and fruits. It has been found that if kids are involved in the gardening process they are more likely to try new foods and eat more vegetables.