Can
FOOD BOOST
your
MOOD
?
A free
Smart Nutrition
booklet can help you
on your path to better
health. Visit
askAAMC.org/
Magazine
or call
443-481-5555
to request
yours today.
Can your dinner put a smile on your face?
Learn how to eat well for your mind and your
body. Margaret Turner, MD, and Ann Caldwell,
registered dietitian, will be among our speakers
at the docsTALK “Good Food, Good Mood” on
April 17 at 6pm. Visit
AAMCdocsTALK.org
or
call
443-481-5555
to register.
Margaret
Turner, MD
Save the Date Thursday, April 17, 6pm
6
» A AMC MAGA Z I N E | SP R I NG 2 014
Healthier U
When you plant a
garden, you’re sowing
the seeds of good
health—and the harvest
is yours to enjoy.
“Gardening gets you outdoors,
and it’s great fun to grow your own
food or tend to lovely blooms,” says
Margaret Turner, MD, a pediatrician
with Annapolis Pediatrics.
If the idea has been growing
on you lately, here’s some more
incentive: Gardening can help
boost three important areas of
health—exercise, nutrition and
emotional well-being.
Get a workout
Gardening activities—including
digging, shoveling and raking—can
help strengthen and tone muscles.
Plus, gardening can help improve
your stamina and flexibility.
Watching your weight? “You can
burn up to 300 calories an hour
exercising your green thumb,” says
Dr. Turner.
Cultivate a better diet
Does growing a garden mean you’ll
eat more veggies? Studies suggest
that you will—and that you’ll enjoy
a wider variety, too, the American
Institute for Cancer Research
(AICR) reports. That’s good news,
since most of us don’t eat enough
fruits and vegetables, which provide
essential vitamins and minerals plus
beneficial fiber.
In addition to their nutritional
boost, fruits and veggies contain
disease-fighting substances that may
help protect against some cancers,
according to the AICR.
Brighten your mood
Gardening is a good way to relax,
and it may have a healing effect.
Somewhere between the rows of
tomatoes and squash, the stressful
feelings of the day might start to
fade away.
Additional sources: American Council on
Exercise; U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services
Eat local with a farmers
market. AAMC has one on
its main campus on Fridays
during the summer. Or,
find the one nearest you
at
MarylandsBest.net
.
Harvest Some
Good Health
