Does growing your own improve your health?

[Farmer_Gyles]

The veggie patch at the bottom of my garden is my outdoor gym .... sadly, the allotment waiting lists here are minimum 3 years, so I won't get the "social life" benefits for a while ...

[ladylottie]

Yes, I agree with what has previously been said. There's nothing to beat being out in the fresh air, listening to the birds as you dig over and weed your plot. It just has to be good for mind, body and spirit - no wonder gardening projects are started up to help people with mental health problems.

Just love going to my lottie to enjoy the peace and quiet there too - it gives me chance to think over things as I work - the solution to an issue usually pops in my head as I tend to the lottie. Wonderful!

And knowing that everything I've grown myself is free from nasty chemicals is another bonus. I hope to be able to keep my lottie going for many many years to come

[Sheneval]

Just love going to my lottie to enjoy the peace and quiet there too - it gives me chance to think over things as I work - the solution to an issue usually pops in my head as I tend to the lottie. Wonderful!

I used to get the same experience when I was hill walking

[roitelet]

I agree with VVG. We know what goes into our food and the exercise improves health

[Paulieb]

Agree with all previous comments, but would also like to add......being able to enjoy food that has bags of flavour goes some way to making me happier, which has an often unrecognised health benefit, add in the knowledge that you have produced the food yourself gives you a tremendous sense of achievement.

This alone has boosted my positive outlook on life.

Also when you hear the scare mongers saying the world will run out of food by XXXX, you know that you'll be able to keep producing your own food.

[Hans Mum]

Agree with all of above....for me its a combination of knowing where your food is coming from, eating seasonal produce, cost (I couldnt afford to buy all the soft fruits I produce) & eating stuff that you cant get in the supermarkets. I suffered a bout of stress last summer & can honestly say that the allotment was a lifeline I could go along & just chill without any phones or email or other technology...just me & my plot. I could chat to people if I was in the right frame of mind or just get on with mooching round the plot. As others have said it should be on prescription

[ancee]

Well, no chance of an allotment for me, but my garden will be one soon enough! So no chatting to anyone I'm afraid - but hey, that's what you lot are all here for! - Every cloud etc

[bearded bloke]

Does growing your own improve your health? .... It certainly doesn't harm it

[Prince of Durham]

Definitely. Not only does it give you exercise and good food, but also it cleans your soul. It gives you the vital connection with earth and with something near to wild, that is lacking in our modern lives. The fact that so many people still strive to do it themselves continues the link between modernity and our ancient ancestors who first saw plants as something other than food, but as a means of improving life.. In my opinion that is.

[Newton]

Growing your own can become an addiction. In fact, a series of addictions which can be bad for you. The need to sow seeds is addictive. Just like the obsessive addiction of collecting seeds. The inability to pass by any shop selling seeds is a debilitating habit. We end up showing signs of secrecy and other nasty traits as we cache our little packets of joy.

So is GYO good for you on balance.........you bet it is.........

[greenishfing]

Generally I agree that growing fruit and vegetables at my allotment makes me fitter, however I can't really say the same for my accident-prone husband who seems to be getting well acquainted with the staff at our local A & E. Also the dream of a peacefull idyllic allotment with birdsong etc is completely ruined when the neighbours bring their screaming, shouting, fighting offspring with them. In fact this year I think a ghetto blaster in the shed might be in order to drown them out with "golden oldies".

[Alison]

I voted for other as I feel that there are a combination of benefits for me. Obviously the physical effort of gardening is beneficial, the fact I can eat fresher fruit and veggies which haven't been sprayed or traveled half way round the world. It is also good to eat a wide range of veggies and I eat things that aren't available in the shops as well as many different varieties of each item. The mental benefits for me are probably the biggest though as I know that if I'm stressed a few hours up the plot, nice and quiet, pottering about and tending my crops will do wonders and OH says I'm a much nicer person to be with. People have already commented on the wonderful feeling of pleasure putting things on the table and this has done my confidence a lot of good. I don't however agree that it's right for everybody, I love growing but some people like other things, OH has not got the patience (although is very supportive) and gets his health benefits in different ways so there is no one size fits all.

[Lisamcflisa]

I voted yes because you know what's going in your food, but I also agree with the exercise part...
I would say as a family our health has been affected, for me it's definitely the exercise and enthusiasm for something thats affected me. The being outside and a better sense of wellbeing as a whole are another benefit.
As a family we all try a lot more different vegetables now, Because I grow them and the kids see them growing they are a lot more enthusiastic when it comes to trying new stuff, they're all really chuffed to tell their friends who come round that they are eating home grown things

[Ger-annie-um]

I would contribute by saying that in 2012 my physical health improved immensely......all that physical work, bailing out, trying to beat the blight, keeping on top of weeding in water logged ground, chopping up rotted produce etc etc. My mental health may have suffered somewhat, primarily for the same reasons but then again using my noddle trying to outwit mother nature probably increased my mental abilities. Does growing your own improve your health? Yep - on balance I would say so......................I sure didn't vegetate in 2012 and I certainly wasn't a couch potato.

[chris]

Well, I beg to differ.

Whenever I spend too much time down the allotment/in the garden I get a right bashing when I get back home!