Gardening is a joy but if we don’t take care of ourselves, it can become a painful chore, or worse yet, impossible to do.
It is important to wash your hands EVERY time you come in from gardening. Even if you stoop to pull just one weed or pick one tomato for your salad, wash your hands before you do anything else. And wash that tomato too, before you eat it. Our grandparents could say that eating a little dirt never hurt anybody, but today, even if you garden organically, your soil can contain heavy metals from runoff or from rain falling through polluted skies.
Speaking of bad things in the soil, keep your tetanus shots up to date. You need a booster shot every 10 years, no matter how old you get. The tetanus germ can enter your body through any little cut or nick in the skin; you don’t have to step on a rusty nail to get it.
And, speaking of stepping on things, when you lay your hoe or garden rake on the ground, make sure the blades or tines are pointing downward. It may look like a TV comedy routine when someone steps on a rake and it springs up to boink them on the forehead but it isn’t very funny when it really happens.
Over the winter, many people are much more sedentary than they are during the gardening months. It is important to keep moving during the off months as well as to do weight-bearing exercises to keep your lower back, shoulders and arms strong. Gardening will be much more pleasant in the spring if you are in shape before you begin.
Before beginning any strenuous gardening activity at any time of year, it is wise to gently stretch your body all over, as many muscles as you can think of to stretch. Talking a walk before starting to work will help loosen you up too, and so prevent injury.
To keep your bones strong, you need calcium and vitamin D. If you don’t get enough calcium from vitamin D fortified dairy products, take a calcium supplement which includes vitamin D. Vitamin D can also be manufactured by the human body from sunlight. In Wisconsin it is hard to get enough sunlight during the winter months, and during the summer we often cover ourselves with sunscreen which virtually eliminates any of our own production of vitamin D. Your body needs 400 IU of vitamin D and 1000 – 1500 mg. of calcium per day.
Magnesium is beneficial in helping muscles stay flexible and toned. Dietary sources of magnesium are whole grains, potatoes, dark green vegetables, bananas, figs and nuts.
Vitamin C, found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, berries and green leafy vegetables, supports healthy tendons, protecting them from injury.
Vitamin E prevents muscle damage during exercise. It is found in soybeans, broccoli, leafy greens, whole wheat, wheat germ, whole grain cereals and eggs.
Potassium will help prevent muscle cramps and can be found in bananas, apricots, green leafy vegetables, sunflower seeds and potatoes.
Taking care of ourselves will allow us to pursue our favorite activity for many years to come!
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