Take Charge of Your Health By Taking Charge of Your Food

Many people have asked about how I grow food. Here is a short video of me in my garden to help get you excited about growing more of your own food.

Multiple studies have shown the way to improve health and minimize chronic health problems, including mental problems, is by eating more vegetables. The studies that added vitamins or supplements and did not change the eating pattern have much less benefit than the studies that relied on food. For that reason, I advocate that everyone eat more greens, more sulfur and more color.

The Best Ways to Get More Vegetables and Fruits into Your Diet

1. Eat food that is not covered with pesticides and herbicides. Talk to your farmers and grocers about how the food is grown. Is the food or farm certified organic? Some farmers have elected not to go through certification as an organic farm, but still are not using chemicals to grow their food.

2.Participate in community-sponsored agriculture. A local farmer sells a share in their farm. Your funds are used to help buy seeds, plants and get the production going. In return, you receive a share of the crop. Each week, you’ll get vegetables at the height of their freshness, and as the summer progresses, your bounty will increase. Be sure your farmer is growing organic foods, as not all are! To find farmers, I use Local Harvest. If you are in the U.S. here is a link to help you find local resources by region. Use an internet search engine and type in “community-sponsored agriculture” and your location by county and state. Likely you will find several options from which to choose.

3. Visit your local farmer’s market. Here is a link I use to help find farmer’s markets in Iowa.

4. Grow your own foods. Square Foot Gardening is an excellent resource, teaching you how to grow more food in less space with less work. You can use containers in your backyard or hanging from your deck.

5. Add berry bushes and fruit trees. You will get more food per square foot of space with less work. I’ve used RaintreeNursery.com to order bare rootstock for aronia, arctic kiwi vines and fruit trees. Check with your local nursery to find out what grows in your area.

By Dr. Terry Wahls