This year we have a big garden space so I decided it was time to really start taking control over what I let enter my family's bodies.
I value holistic wellness and one of the most important categories of wellness is nutrition.
There are a lot of varying opinions on this but one thing that everyone can agree on is – Growing your own food ensures you’re consuming the best food.
You don’t need to worry about things like “Is this actually organic,” “What chemicals coat these veggies,” or “What happened to these fruits on their way from their field to me?“
With Spring right around the corner, I thought it was a good time to talk about how growing your own food can have a positive impact on your wellness and why you should consider starting your own growing journey.
1. Produce has the most amount of nutrients when it’s not pre-maturely picked and when it goes right from the ground to your table
In order for produce to last from its place of origin to the grocery store and then to your home it can’t be picked at its ideal time; it has to be picked early. But when it’s picked early and not given the time it needs to ripen the nutrient content isn’t as good as it could be.
The same is true for the amount of time it spends picked and not consumed. The longer it sits the more nutrients it loses.
When you grow your food at home you can pick as you need. So, you can pick what you need for a meal and have it go right from the vine to your table. This ensures you are consuming the freshest and most nutritious foods. Your body can use all of the nutrients it can get!
2. You don’t know what’s happened to your food on its journey to you
Something that started to make me feel icky was thinking about how long and tedious the journey from my produce’s place of origin to the grocery store was. I had no idea what it had been through on its way over.
Once the food is picked and packed it has to make a journey over to the grocery stores. During the journey, we have no idea what it comes in contact with (rodents, other animals, chemicals, diseases, etc.).
Sure, we obviously wash the food that comes into our home but I can’t help but shiver when I visualize everything that could potentially impact the quality of the food on its way over that now is getting into my body and wreaking havoc on my internal system.
3. When you grow your own food you control the “chemicals” that are used
We have an organic garden, which means we aren’t using nasty chemicals to make them grow quicker or bigger or to help keep animals away. We are choosing to use other methods.
While yes, I will still be washing my food after I pick it, I can rest assured that I won’t have any of the awful poisons that come with most non-organic food.
The chemicals that are used on produce and other foods can cause many issues with your internal body. I’ve known many people who thought they had a food allergy but later found out they weren’t actually allergic to the food, it was instead a reaction to the nasty chemicals that are allowed to be used.
Growing your own stops you from leaving your health and wellness up to chance. You control what you grow and how you grow it and your food’s journey to your stomach is a quick one.
Even if you don’t have a yard or a big space it’s easy to still grow some of your own food. Lots of people are growing vertical gardens or small space gardens. Even growing a few of your own things and mixing that with either organic produce or farmer’s market produce can have a huge impact.
What you put in your body can have long-lasting effects and whether those effects benefit you or hinder you will be determined by the quality of the food you buy.
In this climate when groceries are so high, growing your own food can actually be the cheaper option.
XO,
Meagan