Recipe of the Week

Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.

---

Just opposite my house is a very beautiful tree and in the summer months it looks truly magnificent, so that when I open the blinds in the morning, I just spend a moment looking at it and it makes me feel good, as if it is setting me up for the day ahead. I had never considered why until I read a recent scientific review that seemed to give me a pretty valid explanation. Trees may be talking to us! Now before you think this is just a load of 'hokum pokum', just allow me to try and explain.

It would appear that trees hold secrets that science is only just beginning to understand. In Japan and South Korea much research has been done on what is called 'forest bathing'. It's a technique which in Japan is called 'Shinrin-yoku' and is a form of sensory relaxation, known to help us to relax in a forest environment, away from the hustle and bustle of 21st-century living. We have all no doubt experienced a feeling of wonder when we are walking through a forest of beautiful trees, but probably have not linked it to having a really positive effect on our health.

In Japan you can get a prescription from your GP if you present with high blood pressure and stress, to do ‘forest bathing’ at a clinic in the woods. Here in the UK we are just beginning to experiment with similar ideas as the evidence of its value is indisputable.

‘Forest bathing’ has been known to have a significant improvement on heart rates and therefore helps those at risk of cardiovascular disease, remarkably moving them into a low-risk category. Amazing!

The research that has come out of Japan has also seen an increase in cancer-protective proteins in people's blood and all these changes have occurred when we spend only two hours a week in the forest environment. The great news for us is that our once-a-week long walk of around that length of time has possibly far more purpose now!

But how does it bring about these highly significant changes? Dr McEwan, a professor of health and well-being at the University of Derby, believes that exposure to trees, and the sounds of nature, triggers our parasympathetic nervous system (our body's rest and digest system) and in this state our cells are repaired and our heart rate is lowered.  

Another theory is that trees release chemicals that may boost our immune system. Higher levels of these chemicals are found in the more ancient woodland rather than your typical urban garden, with significantly more in conifers and evergreens.

We also need to be aware that it is not just ancient woodland that can harbour these relaxed feelings. A 2018 review of the research done on 'green space exposure' found significant reductions in diastolic blood pressure (when the heart is at rest between the beats), and reductions in salivary cortisol (often referred to as the 'stress hormone'). These are all factors that will reduce our risk of serious illness. So that daily walk in your local 'green space' park has real benefits too.

On looking online to see if there is any outlet for ‘forest bathing’ in the UK I was pleased to find a company doing it in Ambleside – a beautiful part of the world where they organise 'forest bathing' for just two hours in a peaceful and mindful environment in small groups of around eight people. But nearer to home for me, I have the lovely Cannock Chase, which is just perfect for a bit of forest bathing. I hope you have something similar near to you too.

So, it looks like it is starting to take hold here. I do hope so as we need as many opportunities as possible to offset our fast-paced, seemingly time-deficient lives in the world that we live in today.

1. Plan a really good walk in the countryside this week of around two hours preferably in a forest and embrace ’forest bathing’ for yourself.
    
2. Take the rest of your daily 30+minute walks this week in green space as much as possible, even if you have to drive to get there. This is the perfect time of year!
    
3. Make exercise snacks a must this week, so every day try to do 3 different body parts on at least 3 occasions. Try doing them outside in the garden in that restorative green space if you have one. Here are some ideas:

• Upper Body Exercise Snack:
  • Table top press-ups x 10.
• Abdominal Exercise Snacks:
  • Sit on floor and do 10 ab curls.
  • or do the plank and hold for 30 seconds.
• Leg and cardio Exercise Snacks:
  • Walk up and down stairs x 5 consecutively.
  • or march on the spot with knees high.
  • or pretend skip on the spot for one minute.
  • or sit to stand x 10.
• Stability Exercise Snack:
  • Balance on each leg for 30 seconds.

Did you know... 

If asked to name a famous tree, following recent events most people would probably think of Sycamore Gap. The sycamore there was said to be the most photographed tree in England and Wales, standing in a dramatic dip in the path along Hadrian’s Wall in the Northumberland National Park. The tree also became known as the ‘Robin Hood’ tree following its appearance in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It was sadly cut down in an act of vandalism in September 2023.



Another tree you might think of is The Major Oak, an ageing giant, said to have been a hideaway for Robin Hood and his gang of merry men. This 1000-year-old oak tree is situated in the heart of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire and won the popular vote for England’s Tree of the Year in 2014.

Another tree you might be less familiar with is the Flower of Kent tree standing in the grounds of Woolthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire. In 1687 Isaac Newton is said to have watched an apple fall from this tree causing him to think about why apples always fall straight down to the ground. This led to his discovery of gravity, one of the most significant moments in scientific history.