More Reasons to Exercise and Plant a Garden
Three new studies show more benefits to exercise and home-grown food.
The Endocrine Society has compared active and sedentary children in stressful situations. The sedentary children had elevated levels of cortisol, a stress indicator, when put into the same stressful experiences as active children. Even though the interactions are not well understood, the researchers feel “These results suggest exercise promotes mental health by regulating the stress hormone response to stressors.”
The British Journal of Sports Medicine published results of multiple studies that correlated exercise with self-control. The correlation held not only for pre-adolescent children, but for adolescents and young adults. “This is particularly important for children and teens, because well developed higher brain functions are important for academic achievement and other aspect of daily life, say the authors.”
Schools that encourage children to grow “kitchen gardens” at home are getting an A+, according to a press release from Elsevier. Kids who watch their seeds develop at home are more likely to try new foods—healthier foods. The study reported a noticeable improvement in the nutritional level of school lunches from kids who participated.
These studies are healthful and encouraging. The more we can encourage people to get off the sofa and out into the world, to learn more about the value of fresh fruits and vegetables and exercise, the better we will all be – physically, mentally, and to some extent, even morally.
Comments
Speaking of exercise and self control,could the argument be made against evolution that if we evolved over millions of years while we fought off predators and struggled to survive, then wouldn’t we have the predisposition to exercise instead of choosing to relax so we would be in shape to fight any predator and survive harsh conditions if need be? Also, wouldn’t our taste buds make us want healthy food for nutrients rather than making us want sugary and sweet tasting foods? Both are more like a test of self control rather than survivable traits.
Evolutionists are clever at turning any evidence into support for their belief. They would say that sugar, salt and fat were hard to get and therefore more attractive to our taste buds. Now that they are easy to get, our survival depends on self-control. I actually had a doctor tell me that today, prefaced with the phrase, “evolutionarily speaking….”