Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
There is currently a huge upsurge in interest into recent scientific research highlighting the importance gardening for health.
This focuses on the activity of gardening for mental and physical health, as well as the way that if you garden for your gut you can improve your digestion too. The microbiome is the plethora of microbes that humans host in their gut, and other cells, and which are fundamental to well-being. Recent studies link digestive health and the human microbiome to a range of health conditions such as depression and anxiety, obesity, cancer, diabetes and autism. Interest in the topic has led to an array of related popular science publications, diet and recipe books. There is currently however very little literature on how to grow produce which has high nutritional value, and which optimizes the microbial life within our digestive systems.
What types of vegetable, fruit, and herbs should we being growing to encourage beneficial internal microbes? How do we design and plan a productive garden that supports gut health?
Grow Yourself Healthy will introduce relevant recent science in an accessible way, provide practical guidance on how to grow, produce and design a productive garden to optimize your health, and provide information on how to grow and store vegetables for fermentation, including select recipes for gut health.
Included in the book are 10 bespoke projects for all size of garden, from windowboxes and containers to square metre and 4m x 4m plots.
Synopsis
GROW YOURSELF HEALTHY shows how to transform your gut health with a wealth of gut-friendly crops, projects, recipes and planting plans
* Discover how to grow 50 vegetables, fruit & herbs to maximise their nutritional value
* Plan your own gut-health garden using 11 easy projects, with planting plans and best varieties
* Follow 13 recipes for fermented foods to multiply the benefits and enjoy all year round
* Understand the science of gut-health gardening and how it affects our health and well-being
* Find everything you need to transform your garden and your family's health and happiness
Based on the author's practical experience of growing fruit, vegetables and herbs in ways that supercharge their nutritional value, GROW YOURSELF HEALTHY is a practical guide on how to design and manage an edible garden for gut health, providing food for us and the trillions of microbes we host within us. It describes the science behind the subject in an accessible way and shows how to grow an incredible diversity of fruit, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, even in a small space. The book describes the best types of fruit and vegetable to choose and how to grow them to optimize their health boosting properties. It brings together the latest scientific research into different organic growing, harvesting and processing methods that will empower the reader to take back control of the nutritional value of the food they eat.
GROW YOURSELF HEALTHY also contains 11 practical projects to demonstrate how to grow healthy, fresh produce at home, in a small garden, allotment, balcony, or even on a windowsill. A chapter with 13 fermentation recipes shows how the genius of microbes can be harnessed to transform freshly harvested produce into delicious sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and fermented drinks.
The book is lavishly illustrated with beautiful photographs by Marianne Majerus.