Nature and Gardening

The study, which was published in 2023, found that daily dietary fiber intake for the gardening group was 1.4 grams higher than the control group. This may not sound like a lot, but dietary fiber, found in plant foods such as legumes, fruits and vegetables, is linked, for instance, to a lower risk of cancer. And the health benefits go beyond the nourishing food that gardens provide.

Katie McGillivray, a horticultural therapist with Ottawa-based Root in Nature, confirms that these are among the benefits of the practice. “Gardening naturally encourages physical activity, from gentle movements like walking, watering and weeding, to more vigorous tasks like digging, raking or hoeing,” she says.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a weekly goal of 150 minutes of moderate-intense activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intense activity. Only 22.5 percent of adults, in 2022, met guidelines for both muscle-strengthening and aerobic physical activity. McGillivray and the CDC agree that chores involved with gardening burn calories and improve dexterity, muscle mass and bone density.