Brittle bones and osteoporosis is something every woman dreads! Though post-menopausal women are more prone to it, it can occur at any age as per National Osteoporosis Foundation. Often weight-bearing exercises are recommended to build bone density. But it's not necessary to slog in the gym or lift heavy weights to strengthen your bones. An enjoyable activity like gardening will do the needful.
Gardening may seem like a less laborious activity that does not require too much of your energy. But the fact is that there's a lot of weight-bearing motion involved in gardening; pulling the weeds, digging holes, watering the plants, pushing a mower and so on!
University of Arkansas study has found that gardening is one of the best bone-building activities. In fact, it was found to be more effective than almost all other activities studied.
Furthermore since gardening is an outdoor activity, the body is exposed to sunlight, which provides the bone-building vitamin D. Gardening at least twice or thrice a week is found to be most effective. Gardening is truly therapeutic and being a recreational activity has a feel-good factor too and as such is great for your mental health also.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the complete disclosure policy to know more.
Gardening may seem like a less laborious activity that does not require too much of your energy. But the fact is that there's a lot of weight-bearing motion involved in gardening; pulling the weeds, digging holes, watering the plants, pushing a mower and so on!
University of Arkansas study has found that gardening is one of the best bone-building activities. In fact, it was found to be more effective than almost all other activities studied.
Furthermore since gardening is an outdoor activity, the body is exposed to sunlight, which provides the bone-building vitamin D. Gardening at least twice or thrice a week is found to be most effective. Gardening is truly therapeutic and being a recreational activity has a feel-good factor too and as such is great for your mental health also.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the complete disclosure policy to know more.
But remember that exercise / physical activity is only a part of bone strengthening or osteoporosis prevention program. To be most effective, it should be in conjunction with a proper diet with appropriate calcium intake, reduced salt intake, proper hydration, reduced caffeine consumption, active lifestyle and total avoidance of smoking and tobacco based products and alcohol.
So do you like gardening? Did you ever think of that an enjoyable hobby such as tending to plants could actually improve your bone health and provide a better quality of life? What other advantages of gardening have you come across? Do share your views and thoughts in the comments.
You may also be interested in reading : Drinking too much milk may not give you strong bones
That's a very important information! Thank you for sharing! I have brittle bones and you really inspired me to make a garden in my backyard!
ReplyDelete