People who regularly engage in gardening, gardening or similar activities are less likely to develop cancer and are also likely to have better mental health., as revealed by a research team. Research published by the journal Lancet Planetary HealthIt was led by a team of scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder (USA) in collaboration with ISGlobal, a center sponsored by the ‘La Caixa’ Foundation.
“These findings provide concrete evidence that community gardening can play an important role in agriculture. prevention of cancer, chronic diseases and mental health disorders“The study’s lead author, ISGlobal researcher and professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder,” says Jill Litt.
Litt has spent most of her career finding affordable, scalable and sustainable ways to reduce the risk of disease, especially among low-income communities. “Wherever you go, people say this there is something about gardening that makes you feel better‘, the corroborating researcher explained. difficulty finding solid scientific data about the benefits.
Some small observational studies have found that people who are gardeners tends to eat more fruits and vegetables and maintaining a healthier weight, but it wasn’t clear whether the healthiest people were just gardening, or whether it was this activity that affected their health. According to Litt, only three studies have implemented a randomized controlled trial, but none have focused specifically on community gardening.
That’s why researchers were hired. 291 adults Denver, Colorado, a district with a median age of 41, with more than half of low-income households not gardening.
More fiber intake and less stress and anxiety
Half of the volunteers were assigned to the community gardening group, while the other half were the control group, who had to wait a year to start gardening. Both groups did regular surveys about your nutritional intake and mental healthbody measurements were taken and she wore activity monitors.
“So the researchers found that participants in the horticultural group consumed an average of 1.4 grams more fiber per day than those in the control group, which is a 7% increase. The authors note: fiber has a profound effect on inflammatory and immune responsesand it affects everything from how we metabolize food to the health of our gut microbiome and our susceptibility to diabetes and some cancers,” said Jill Litt.
Also, this group increased their physical activity levels by about 42 minutes per week. Study participants also saw their stress and anxiety levels drop. “Even if you come to the garden with the intention of growing your own food in a quiet place, you start looking at your neighbor’s plot and sharing techniques and recipes, and over time relationships develop,” Litt said, emphasizing these benefits. community gardening.
“It’s not just about fruits and vegetables. It’s also about being in a natural outdoors with other people,” Litt concludes.
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Contact address of the environment department: crizclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
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