Gardeners Live Longer

[NJCher]

This is the entire article but I included the link anyway.

Gardening can grow lifespan

BY CINDY MCNATT • ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER • July 27, 2009.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090727/FEATURES04/907270306

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Gardening can help you live up to 14 years longer, according to National Geographic writer Dan Buettner, author of the New York Times best-selling book, "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest" ($14.95). Blue Zones are the longevity hotspots of the world.

Buettner took teams of research scientists into places such as Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa, Japan and a particular community of Seventh-Day Adventists in Los Angeles to indentify habits that make these people the longest-lived in the world.

Veggie-rich diets, eating less and purposeful activities were a common thread. None of the centenarians did strenuous gym exercises, took supplements or pills. Buettner said in an interview, "Many Americans exercise too hard. The life expectancy of our species for 99.9% of human history was about 30 years. The fact that medicine has pushed life expectancy to age 78 doesn't mean our bodies were designed for three-quarters of a century of pounding.

"The world's longest-lived people tend to do regular, low-intensity physical activity like walking with friends and gardening." The longest-lived people also thrive in circumstances that cause them to get up every day to chop the firewood, weed the garden or walk to the village for their needs.

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My mom told me about my great uncle Art, who died at 90-something in his garden. That's how I want to go. :)


Cher

[Blue Gardener]

1. If I die in my garden

Go ahead and plant me there.