There are many reasons why someone would opt to plant, harvest, and grow their own food. Not the least of which is exercise, being more active, and enjoy being outdoors. But in this article, we would like to speak about another, and very specific reason why people are turning to nature and to the basics of diet to protect and enhance their bodies. When you are eating fresh food that came to your table by way of your own garden there are certain health benefits. Many of those benefits have to do with serious illnesses.
Why is there so much controversy?
If you have looked up this topic you know, there is plenty of debate about this topic. The debate is not about if it works, it is about how much it works and if it gives you enough of an edge to promote it.
Let’s say for a moment that cancer runs in your family and you have a child who stands to inherit this dreadful disease, You know that homegrown vegetables and fruits are nutritious and give their bodies the number of vitamins they need to be strong and healthy, and they provide them with an advantage against the development of many cancers. You also know the food tastes great, and it more than pays for itself. Would you consider that a win? I know I would.
Second-Hand Risks
There are often contaminants found in the foods we eat are not placed on the foods directly, in order to preserve the food to be consumed. For example, if corn is grown in very large amounts on an extremely large farm that also has cattle, you can expect some of the chemicals used to treat the cows to keep them healthy will be spilled on the ground. Further, their bodily fluids are spilled on the ground. Small amounts of a certain chemical, not intended for human conception will end up in the corn. Growing your own food in a controlled environment allows you to limit the exposure of the chemicals that will make it to your table.
We Don’t Know It All, But We Know Some
It is still a mystery of why and how growing our food from seeds stops cancer in its tracks. We do not know how it works or why it sometimes doesn’t work. But we know that sometimes it works. We know that Vitamin C and Vitamin E are often used with fertilizer and it tends to make the crops healthier for us. We also know that a woman who eats over 5 ½ servings of homegrown vegetables per day lowers her risk of breast cancer.
There are some veggies that are super cancer fighters. Below we will list just a few seed packet collections that are considered cancer fighters.
The following vegetables are cruciferous and most are considered sulforaphane as well. Of all of these veggies, broccoli is the single vegetable that has a major amount of sulforaphane. All of these veggies target cancer stem cell and cancer tumor growth. Specifically, they battle the following types of cancer:
- Breast cancer
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Skin cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Bladder cancer
Other Ways Growing Food From Seed Helps Us
Growing our own food encourages us to eat more fruit and vegetables. When we taste the difference in the food we grow versus the food that we buy, we will always choose freshly grown.
- When we grow our own food, we decide how much and what kind of fertilizer is used. Home gardens encourage the use of all-natural composts.
- Gardening keeps us physically active. We plant, weed, and harvest the plants. Then we can, dry, or prepare the food to freeze,
- Our bodies need Vitamin D from the sun. Of course, you will want to put on protection from UV Rays.
- Freshly grown veggies often harvest more than once. The seeds are inexpensive and the harvest is abundant. This is one way to stretch your food dollars.
- It is good for the planet. Your garden reduces the amount of fossil fuels that your crops would have required.
As you can see, there are plenty of good reasons to plant seeds and grow your own food. There really are no logical reasons not to grow fruits and veggies. They are good for the planet, good for your health, and they taste great. So, challenge yourself to give it a try. You will never go back.