Community gardening can help with diet, stress, and anxiety
BOSTON -- Gardening may not just be a way to spruce up the backyard, it could also improve your health.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder took nearly 300 non-gardening adults in Denver and assigned half of them to a community gardening group.
The gardening group received a free plot, some seeds, and an introductory gardening course.
Months later, the gardening group was eating more fiber, got more exercise, and reported lower stress and anxiety than the non-gardeners.
They say while solo gardening can promote healthy eating and improve physical activity, community gardening, in particular, encourages people to bond over techniques and recipes, which can provide additional mental health benefits.
