How Gardening with MG Is Beneficial to Me
In some of my other articles, I’ve mentioned that my husband and I love to garden. We love growing and preserving our own food. There are several reasons we love gardening, and I would like to share some of them with you.
Avoiding genetically modified foods
One of the primary reasons I love to garden is because I love watching plants grow and it provides me stress relief - and we know how stress can affect myasthenia gravis (MG). However, there are other valuable reasons to garden.
Besides the fact we do not like eating genetically modified foods, some of the preservatives used in packaged foods cause both of us gastrointestinal distress. Though I haven’t found much information on how genetically modified foods can affect MG, I still wonder if some of the issues I experience stem from what goes into my food ... especially processed foods.
Some might say I’m paranoid. Be that as it may, I’m convinced all those chemicals can’t be good for us. I even like getting the un-modified foods, seeds, and plants or purchase heirloom seeds or plants.
Controlling what goes into our food
By growing and cooking our food from scratch, we can control what does into it. For instance, my husband needs extra sodium, I need less. To compensate for the difference, I cook low or no-sodium, and he adds what he wants at the table. I do add some salt to some foods, such as pasta and potatoes. Those are just 2 items that need to be seasoned during the cooking process. Salt is also used in food preservation and flavor enhancement, including in baking.
We all know fast foods and many restaurant foods are far from healthy. Though we don’t eat healthy often enough, we are working towards that goal. Proper diet is important to us when facing chronic disease, such as MG. Processed foods generally have a long list of ingredients most of us cannot pronounce. I prefer to stay as far away from those as possible.
A source of exercise
Our garden provides me with exercise from spring through most of fall. It gets me out of the house and active. Because I have MG and am on CellCept, I have to be careful not to get too much exposure to the sun. But, getting some vitamin D and exercise is always a plus.
Stress relief
I mentioned earlier that gardening is stress relief for me. Even if I have nothing to do in the garden some days, I still make my rounds around the garden and just look it over. I love watching my plants grow and set-on "fruit". It’s so relaxing! Then harvest time comes along and you get to eat fresh, delicious foods straight from the plant! Excess harvest is preserved or shared with others. That in itself is gratifying.
Another stress relief my garden gives me is that most of the watering in the early stages are done by hand. I enjoy watering and watching the thirsty plants revive. Even when I’m tired and really want to go back to bed, gardening revives me.
I truly believe that by me staying as active as I can with gardening, it helps me with MG. I don’t stress as much, and I enjoy being able to accomplish something so very satisfying!
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