Mounting evidence suggests that spending time outdoors in natural environments offers a range of health benefits, from heightened cognitive abilities and mood to less anxiousness and worry, as well as fewer respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, and hormonal problems. Frequent exposure to nature also supports more rapid healing after an injury and a longer life expectancy.
Most people know that being exposed to sunlight while outdoors boosts vitamin D3 production in the skin, thus enhancing the body’s ability to circulate vital nutrients for optimal bone health (e.g., vitamin K, phosphorus, calcium). However, many may not be aware that recent studies have shown that there are also beneficial airborne compounds that people are exposed to in natural environments.
Benefits of Environmental Compounds
Enjoying nature brings people into contact with various compounds that have proven impacts on health. For instance, most plants release phytoncides, which are invader-fighting essential oils that reinforce healthy blood pressure levels, bolster immune functioning, and influence autonomic processes (e.g., respiration, heart rate, digestion) when you’re exposed to them.
Exposure to phytoncides also helps coordinate immune function and healthy inflammation levels by heightening the activity of specific immune cells called natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells can help minimize abnormal inflammatory activity and encourage natural healing following a musculoskeletal incident, such as a bone injury or joint distress.
While outdoors, your body may also be exposed to a beneficial form of bacteria called Mycobacterium vaccae. This type of bacteria encourages optimal immune responses. Additionally, the pleasant sounds and sights of nature promote ideal immune system behavior through nervous system stimulation.
Nature’s ability to enhance important natural processes can be particularly beneficial in helping minimize age-related bone problems — an issue that commonly occurs as individuals get older.
Help Nature Boost Your Bone and Immune Health
Aging is associated with a gradual decline in bone tissue, as well as a dramatic decrease in bone formation. This means that bone injuries and joint are often unavoidable, particularly for active older adults, but this is where a balanced diet and nutritional supplements, along with extended time outdoors, make a difference.
Dietary supplements, such as multivitamins, typically contain essential vitamins and minerals that help maintain optimum bone and immune health into your golden years. For instance, vitamins D3 and K2 ensure that the body can efficiently absorb minerals such as calcium and phosphorus and direct them into the bones, where they help maintain strong, hard bones. However, they often provide less support following bone tissue damage. This is where enhanced growth factor activity becomes important, as the growth factors encourage bone tissue renewal. After the new bone has been restructured, vitamins and minerals can continue to fortify the bones.
Furthermore, if immune system issues trigger an inflammatory imbalance that worsens bone tissue damage, heightened activity from key growth factors becomes necessary to drive bone tissue reconstruction. The body naturally produces small quantities of these vital growth factors,
Just as exposure to nature promotes immune system and inflammatory balance, heightened levels of key growth factors boost the body’s ability to direct important processes that prompt bone tissue renewal. Ostinol® provides the only source of oral growth factors in a patented formulation.
So, for unmatched bone health, immune function, and much more, remember to spend time outdoors and take nutritional supplements like Ostinol® to bolster the benefits of nature.