Green Living is Healthy Living
3 August 2007
You can improve your health by living greener. It’s true. When you think about it we are all part and parcel of the earth’s amazing living systems and they support us as well as the rest of life on earth. So it should be no surprise that looking after the health of the planet can do us good as well. Here are a few examples to get you thinking. . .
Road transport creates about a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions but it isn’t just the environment that suffers from overuse of cars. The more we drive the less ‘natural’ exercise we get such as walking and an inactive lifestyle is well known for contributing to bad health. Also car exhaust has been linked with child asthma - there was a doubling of cases in children under 5 during the 1990s and 81% of people with asthma say pollution brings on asthma symptoms. Why drive to the gym when you can cycle or walk to work for free?
We are what we eat, and what we eat comes from the Earth. Intensive farming methods don’t only pollute water courses and threaten wildlife. Research suggests that some soils are now so depleted due to intensive farming that the food grown in them contains lower levels of essential nutrients. Equally organic food has been shown to contain higher levels of vitamin C, magnesium, iron and phosphorus in a scientific review. Even though cancer-causing chemicals such as lindane and DDT have been banned, government tests in 2000 showed that food still contains residues, so it’s worth growing your own or buying organic where you can.
Insulate your home properly and you’ll be able to enjoy winter warmth and fight off colds and flu with a clear conscience.
There’s proof that being in attractive, natural environments makes us calmer and happier. Research shows that being in green surroundings can have an immediate effect on reducing stress levels. Why not give your health a boost and feel better by exercising surrounded by natural beauty? Doing practical conservation work on a nature reserve, wildlife gardening, growing your own food on an allotment, or just going for a walk all fit this bill.
The list goes on, but the general pattern is that doing things in a simpler, greener way is not only better for the earth, but better for people - so what are you waiting for?
Further reading:
www.sustainweb.org
www.soilassociation.org.uk
www.transport2000.org
www.thrive.org.uk