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“The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician. Therefore the physician should start from nature with an open mind” – Paracelsus

I am often asked how I recovered from Lyme disease, M.E. and stay so shiny and happy. I attribute a huge part of that to my commitment to spending time in wild spaces. Nature is so deeply beneficial to our health on so many levels.

Many blog posts will be written about this as it is something I am very passionate about but for now I just want to share how great nature is for our immune system alone. A pertinent post I guess, considering our current climate.

I want to share how dirt is great for us. That diversity is important. That we are animals and we cannot survive without nature. We are nature. And that is both beautiful and incredibly exciting to know. 

“What?” I hear you say. “I should go play outside more and that is the best thing I can do for my health? I don’t even need to do serious fitness training?! I can just sit?!!!!”

Yes siree! And it’s all free.

Please enjoy this post filled with perfect excuses to go and sit in the sun in your favourite natural space, guilt free, with my gratitudes and compliments xx

1. Immune boosting plant chemicals

Choosing to spend our time in nature around trees can significantly enhance the well being effect of being out in nature.

In order to stay healthy, trees produce phytoncides. These are essential oils that help the tree to fight disease.

Studies have shown (1) that by simply being around healthy trees and breathing in the air, these essential oils enter our system and boost our immune system.

In response to these chemicals, our bodies produce more Natural Killer cells. These white blood cells kill virus or tumor infected cells in our body and can actually help to prevent certain cancers. 

Healthy forests create healthy people.

I always knew there was a reason I loved spending time in and around trees!

2 . Stress reduction

Again this is particularly boosted if spending time in forests and woodland.

However, studies have shown that spending 2 hours in any kind of natural environment in a week has a significant positive effect on our mental well being (2).

As human animals, our nervous systems evolved in nature and so when we can hear bird song and see trees, it impacts us on a deep psychological level allowing our bodies to relax. 

It is also an opportunity for our minds to relax. If you are a HSP (3) like myself you will know how important it is to have time away from high amounts of stimuli in order to simply function.

Nature is fantastic for this. But even if you are not a HSP, constant exposure to stimuli can produce cognitive fatigue and lead to an inability to focus and increase states of anxiety and stress.

Being out in a natural landscapes means that there is nothing specific to focus on. Our minds and attention can wander which allows our brains to recharge.

And the effect on our immune system?

Stress is a major inhibitor on our immune system. By reducing stress, we improve our immune system.

Hey presto!

3. Physical Fitness

You don’t have to be active in the outdoors in order to reap the wellbeing benefits that time outside brings. This is the reason I was able to find ways to heal in the outdoors even with M.E.

However, exercising in natural landscapes is fantastic for the body.

Moving along uneven ground, climbing, scrambling, weaving, ducking, throwing, balancing all use completely different types of muscles and sensory modalities.

Scientists are currently debating how many senses we actually have (4). There is a variation between 9 and 52 but all agree there are definitely more than 5. Being outside allows us the opportunity to exercise our whole body and all of our senses.

A healthy strong body is better able to deal with the stress of illness.

Additionally, moving our bodies helps our internal waste disposal system (our lymphatic system) to shift waste out of our body.

When our lymphatic system gets clogged we are more likely to feel lethargic and fatigued. This can impact our immune system and leave us more at risk of disease.

So playing outside is a win-win!

 and confidence inhttps://onewildlife.co.uk/contact/4. Vitamins

We all know that taking the right balance of vitamins is incredibly important in maintaining our health and supporting our immune system.

A lot of vitamins can be gained whilst out and about in nature.

A vitamin that as Brits we tend to lack is Vitamin D, especially in winter. In fact 1 in 5 Brits are deficient in this vitamin (5). 

Vitamin D is essential for a healthy immune system. In fact during the Covid outbreak a study showed a positive relationship between Vit D levels and recovery from frm the virus (6).

But there are other fun ways to get our vitamins out in nature.

Foraging!! 

Wild edibles are the ancestors of our modern day foods.

Modern day foods have been bred for edibility and taste but in the process have lost some of their nutrition.

The iceberg lettuce for instance, bred for its juicy crunch has barely any beneficial vitamins left!

Wild edibles, however, are rich in vitamins and minerals to keep the body happy and the immune system healthy.

Which leads me to….

5. Gut flora

There is so much evidence now to show the link between a healthy immune system and a diverse gut flora.

But how do we get a diverse gut flora?

Our gut flora develops from a young age. The book “Let them eat dirt” talks about how important it is to let kids play outside and explore with their mouths (within sensible reason of course. No feeding babies buttercups or bird poops now).

The same is true for adults.

When we are outside, we expose our immune system and gut biota to lots of different things without even realising.

A teaspoon of soil contains a billion different funghi, bacteria and viruses. And exposure to this is good for us!!

Soil bacteria have been shown to be an essential part of our biome. We are in fact just as much bacteria as human!

When we interact with the soil our immune system gets to meet lots of new things so that it can build its own resistance to what it doesn’t like.

We also have to eat a wide range of different foods to maintain a diverse gut flora. This can often be hard to do in local shops as we tend to only be able to buy the same things.

However, there is a vast array of wild foods to diversify our diet and boost our gut health. 

There are of course also wild plants that are dangerous to our health or are endangered and should not be eaten.

Knowing what to eat is important. If this is something you would like to learn more about, please sign up to the newsletter to be kept up to date on hints and tips. You will also be notified on upcoming workshops and courses on foraging as well as courses on well being in nature which includes foraging, staying safe in the outdoors and nature connection.

Nature is so good for our health! What better excuse to go and spend some time outside? Enjoy!