Did you know that the hormones that manage our bodies are part of the endocrine system? The endocrine system is the compilation of glands that produce hormones which regulate metabolism, support growth and development, help with tissue function and sexual function, and are responsible for reproduction, sleep, and mood, among many other things. They are almost like a command and control center for our bodies.
Accordingly, the entire body is affected by the health of this particular system. Any strong and harmful chemicals can have a very detrimental effect. These are known as endocrine disruptors, and there’s a disturbingly long list of examples in our everyday lives, from some plastic bottles to pesticides. Caring for your endocrine system is therefore not just about having a healthy diet but also minimising your exposure to disruptors. It goes without saying that we should limit our contact with food that is treated with pesticides!
That’s easier said than done though. Unfortunately, nowadays it is very difficult to trace where food is actually coming from. Even if a product states it is organic, it may have been treated with organic or synthetic pesticides, or might have had to be treated in order to airlift it from one country to another. An example of such products are berries.
So what can we do to stay healthy? How can we protect ourselves? The best option would be to grow whatever you need yourself in your garden at home. You would be able to grow what you like the most, avoiding food waste and you would be able to control the substances used to treat your plants for pests and opt for natural solutions instead of chemical protection.
Sadly not all of us are natural gardeners and if you are like me, I have no green thumb at all. I manage to kill everything except weeds in an instant. Nor do I have a garden space to grow vegetables and the climate I am living in here in the UAE doesn’t allow for growing more than 5 months of the year anyway. So what to do?
An option could be to obtain one of the indoor herb gardens that are springing up. I suppose that would be a start, but if your family is like mine and wants more than just a few leaves of basil or the odd cherry tomato here and there, this is not getting you very far, is it?
Out of exactly this problem, the HydroArtPod was born – an indoor gardening system that has lots of growing capacity, requires little space and no gardening knowledge, nor indeed much time to manage your crops. Just fill with nutrient-rich water, pop in the seedlings, plug it in and off you go. The system does the rest, fully automated. And the best……your garden will talk with you in case it needs attention or your salad is ready. Easy!
No matter what you do though, take care of your endocrine system – if the command center goes out of whack, that’s just the start of your problems. And goodness knows there are enough health concerns to worry about at the moment.
Stay safe, and eat well.