Can Green Living Improve Your Health?

You might think of green living as being something that affects the environment, our planet, and perhaps your bank balance, but have you ever considered how green living can improve your health?

Less Pollution Keeps the Mind Healthy

Pollution can have a massive impact on your cognitive abilities and general wellbeing. There is an immense variety of toxins and chemicals in the environment caused by the cars we drive, the industries we work in, and the way we live at home. Changing these things will help individuals to keep a healthy mind and be less likely to suffer from mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression.

In a landmark case in 2020, a coroner made legal history by ruling that air pollution was a factor in the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah who had been exposed to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter (PM) pollution in excess of World Health Organization guidelines, the principal source of which were traffic emissions.

We tend to think of purchasing electric cars as part of the drive to halt climate change, but the pollution element is equally important. And don’t forget, even as the driver or passenger in a car you are likely to be inhaling fumes from both your own vehicle and other vehicles on the road.

If you need a new car, or if you do a lot of mileage, you could consider helping to keep pollution levels down by buying or leasing an electric car. You won’t need to spend money on petrol or diesel which cause a lot of pollution. Electric car leasing is simple to set up and you can visit sites such as ElectriX to find lots of information about driving an electric vehicle.

Greener Transport Is a Great Way to Exercise

For shorter journeys, you may decide to ditch the car altogether and walk or cycle to your destination instead. These are both brilliant forms of exercise that increase your heart rate, help blood to flow around the body, and strengthen your muscles.

Walking and cycling will also help you to maintain a healthy weight which means that you aren’t putting your bones and major organs under too much stress.

Another alternative, especially when travelling longer distances such as a daily commute to work, is to use public transport but to get off a stop earlier and walk the rest. A brisk 10-minute walk a day, fast enough to get your heart pumping, can be counted as part of your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise (as recommended by the NHS.)

Additionally, getting out of the car and into the fresh air will help raise levels of vitamin D.

Greener Eating Gives You More Nutrients

Historically, the move to a more plant-based diet has been led by concerns about animal cruelty and/or the carbon impact of eating meat and dairy. Animal farming is generally harmful to the environment due to land usage, which also includes extensive land used for growing animal feed, and carbon emissions.

However, a plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet is now universally recommended by medical practitioners as the most healthy eating option.

Your chosen diet is a very important element in how green living can improve your health.

As a starting point, you may want to quit processed food which is often full of salt, sugar and chemicals to ‘enhance’ flavour and increase shelf-life. It is also a lot healthier for you to avoid these foods as they can cause health issues such as cancer and diabetes over time. Plus, the processing of these products is often carbon-intensive and lots of the packaging materials will end up in landfill.

Cutting down or cutting out on meat and participating in initiatives such as meat-free Mondays to get started on your plant-based journey will make an enormous difference. You will probably eat more fresh fruit and vegetables providing lots of essential vitamins and minerals to help ensure that your body stays healthy.

Sunlight Is Great for the Mind and Bones

Going green can involve turning off the lights in your home and relying on sunlight instead. This means that you reduce energy wastage and save money, but you will also benefit from getting more vitamin D. Many people suffer from a lack of vitamin D in the winter, and this causes depression. The cure is to use a lightbox so that the mind is tricked into thinking it is getting more natural sunlight than it is. This calms your nerves and lifts your mood. However, relying on natural light by turning off artificial ones will have a similar effect. Vitamin D also strengthens bones, so it is vital for anyone who is suffering from osteoporosis.

Who knew that going green could be so good for your health as well as the environment?