Health Science Outdoors

If you’re interested in a little science lesson…

Small amounts of environmental stressors such as cold exposure, heat exposure, or exercise activate hormesis which is the body’s natural reaction to physical stress stimuli to activate increased production of healthy new mitochondria. Mitochondria are the power plants of our cells. The more healthy mitochondria, the healthier the person, including having a healthy immune system to respond effectively to virus exposure. Obviously, prolonged exposure to extreme environmental stress is dangerous, but regular small doses are actually healthy and necessary to trigger the body’s natural “housecleaning” processes. It’s contact with a virus that gets people sick, not small amounts of environmental stressors like wind.

People get sick more in the cold months because of 2 main reasons.

1 – More time spent indoors, especially when around other people where the risk of coming in contact with a virus is increased.

2 – Lack of vitamin D. In the summer getting adequate vitamin D through the skin via daily sun exposure is easier therefore more people have stronger immune systems in the summer. But not everyone is this healthy hence why there are still viruses spreading in the summer but at a much slower pace. Whereas in the winter, it’s virtually impossible to naturally obtain enough vitamin D, even from food, so the immune systems of the general population are less functional in the winter allowing viruses to run amuck. Supplements can help, but only high quality bio-available vitamin D will make any difference. Not that you’ll be invincible to illness, the immune system is more complicated than just vitamin D, but it is a main component to increasing the natural defenses.

I would also add there’s a number…

3 – People naturally gravitate to eating more fruits and vegetables in the summer, proper nutrition is essential for healthy immune function. I know dyring the holidays, I too am guilty of consuming too many desserts which are not beneficial to the immune system, the opposite in fact, … though they sure taste good, lol. Oh, and of course, vitamin C is essential to immune health which goes back to the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in the summer. Our bodies are designed to store some of the excess vitamins and minerals we consume for times of lack, but not vitamin C. Humans are incapable of storing vitamin C so we must consume adequate vitamin C from fruits and/or vegetables every single day. People are better about doing so in the summer than they are in the winter.

So get outside, grow food, and boost your health any chance you get!