Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Life

Time in nature fights depression, diabetes, ADHD, cancer and more

“All that man needs for health and healing has been provided by God in nature, the challenge of science is to find it.” – Paracelsus

“Nature doesn’t just have one or two active ingredients. It’s more like a multivitamin that provides us with all sorts of the nutrients we need,” says behavior researcher Ming Kuo, the director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois in a recently published news bulletin.

“I pulled every bit of the research in this area together that I could find, and was surprised to realize I could trace as many as 21 possible pathways between nature and good health—and even more surprised to realize that all but two of the pathways shared a single common denominator” Kuo states.

For Kuo, the dramatically beneficial effects on human health found in the studies is linked to the immune system, which seems to be enhanced just by spending time in nature.

“When we are in nature in that relaxed state, and our body knows that it’s safe, it invests resources toward the immune system.” she says.

“That’s how nature can protect us from all these different kinds of diseases—cardiovascular, respiratory, mental health, musculoskeletal, etc.–simultaneously.” Kuo explains.

While the lack of stress is partly responsible for the immune system enhancing effects of being in nature, there are also other positive health boosting mechanisms happening on other levels that make it superior to other forms of relaxation.

“Enjoyable indoor activities don’t provide the phytoncides, mycobacterium vaccae, negative air ions, vitamin D-producing sunlight, and other active ingredients found outdoors.” Kuo states, “So we’d expect a smaller boost than you’d get from being in nature.”

Not surprisingly, the very diseases and disorders that nature protects against are the ones that are reaching crisis level in modern society. Even things like smart phones have been recently linked to depression. So for those that are feeling overwhelmed or even under the weather due to the complexity of modern living, its good to know that nature is still the best medicine, simple and free to all.

To read more of Ming Kuo’s work on the subject, take a look at her latest article in the journal Frontiers of Psychology entitled “How might contact with nature promote human health? Promising mechanisms and a possible central pathway.”

Written By

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

Hyundai on Wednesday revealed plans to invest more than $50 billion in South Korea by 2026.