Why Nature Feels So Good - Pt 1: Our Bodies.

We all hear it all of the time, spend more time outdoors, eat more whole foods, ground yourself, and the list goes on. But why is it that connecting to nature, or fueling our bodies with food in its whole form feels good?

Our Genes Evolve Much Slower Than Civilization

A human gene can take anywhere from thousands to millions of year to evolve. Comparatively, our civilization is evolving at warp speed. Even thinking back 100 years ago, or 1,000 years ago, every day was completely different. Why does this matter? Our bodies are intricate arrangements of 10’s of trillions of cells, all working together beautifully in a synchronized dance of life, powered by the inputs of energy it receives. This dance is not unique to humans, but all living organisms.

For as long as life has existed, our bodies have been designed to receive the same inputs. Our muscles have always been built from amino acids. Our cells have always been approximately 60% water. And our blood has always been built of a complex combination of cells and molecules, including iron. Vitamins and minerals are not a pillar of health, but they are quite literally the building blocks of our bodies.

Here is where things get really cool, nature has packaged up the vitamins and minerals we need for life, in forms that are easily absorbable and understood by our bodies. Let’s use the example of a raspberry. A raspberry isn’t just energy (carbs) or fiber, it is a balanced package of protein, fiber, carbs, sugar, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, and Vitamins C, A, E, K, and B. Our recognize all of these nutrients in a raspberry and utilize them for systems throughout our body.

Things get even cooler when you think of the way our bodies interact with nature. Most of know that we absorb Vitamin D from the sun. Our bodies use that Vitamin D to grow stronger bones, support our immune function, and prevent infection. Our bodies do much more than absorb vitamins from the natural world and foods around us, they exchange energy with the world around us, natural or not. Remember that diagram of an atom you learned about in science class years ago? How there is a nucleus with protons and neutrons in the center and electrons buzzing around the outside? You my friend, are made of those atoms (approximately 7 × 10^27 of them). Wherever we are, in nature or a constructed environment, our bodies energetic fields interact with the energetic fields of the world around us. This isn’t woo woo stuff, it is science. Some of you may know the benefits of grounding, which is placing your feet on the Earth. What is happening is grounding is an energetic exchange with the Earth’s abundance of electrons with a negative charge, impacting (and calming) our own energetic field.

So back to my question, why does nature feel so good?

The simple answer is because our bodies are built for it, furthermore, our bodies understand the elements of nature. Our bodies are built of the same compounds found in nature. Our bodies were built to thrive and survive in nature, as have since the beginning of time. Our bodies respond to the energetics of nature, of food, of the Earth. When you look closely, it is easy to see that it is all connected. The moon circles our Earth every 28 days, the same length of time of the full female hormone cycle, where life begins. The Earth circles our Sun every day, the same length as the male hormone cycle. I could go into an infinite number examples of the human body’s connection to nature, from food to sensory inputs to energetics, but maybe even more important to discuss is the disconnection from nature.

Our civilization has evolved rapidly around of bodies. Our constructed environments, our unlimited supply of newly engineered food and drinks, and our days spent indoors with stagnant air, away from nature, all impact our body just as nature does. The difference is the understanding and processing. Simply put, our bodies weren’t built for the constructed environments we live in. The energetics of non-sunlight lighting, 5G, bluetooth, man-made materials, and man made chemical compounds, don’t seamlessly integrate with our genes and the processes within our bodies. They instead frequently interrupt the rhythm of the dance within our bodies.

This doesn’t mean that we all need to move to the middle of nowhere and live away from modern civilization. Modern civilization has some pretty incredible qualities too. It is worth being aware of the impact a disconnected life with nature, or a connected life with nature can have on your biology of your body. Nature will always feel good to our bodies, nourishing our bodies with fresh air, whole foods, and inputs that it can recognize can balance out the negative impacts of a constructed world.

Equally as important to our bodies, is our minds. Why Nature Feels So Good - Pt 2: Our Minds, is coming next.

Stay tuned,
Susan