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Welcome Natural Nation to the Christian Healthy Lifestyle Podcast. I'm your host David Sandstrom and my mission is to help you navigate natural health so you can stay out of the doctor's office, age gracefully and live the abundant life Jesus promised. Today we're going to talk about a powerful tool for our health and wellbeing. It's available to every single one of us for free. That tool is spending more time outdoors in nature.
Let's talk about it.
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You know, our modern lives by default keep us in an unnatural environment. Most of us are stuck indoors on our screens and separated from God's creation in nature. Our bodies and minds were designed to thrive outdoors. As people over 40, we're seeking to take greater responsibility for our health and move away from the pill for every ill approach to healthcare. Spending time outdoors
helps to strengthen our resilience from the inside out and reduce our dependence on prescription drugs and medical interventions. Not only that, we want to live abundantly just as Jesus promised us in John 10.10. Getting our batteries recharged on a regular basis in nature is part of our natural design. Think about it for a moment. God created us to live in a garden, to be in a natural environment.
Our ancestors spent the vast majority of their time outdoors exposed to sunlight, fresh air, and the earth itself. We instinctively know that spending time outdoors is good for us. Think about any big city. The city planners always made room for some type of a city park, sometimes multiple parks, right? New York City is considered a concrete jungle, but right in the center, there's a beautiful central park complete with
green areas, plenty of trees and lakes. It's quite beautiful actually. Sometimes when you're in the park, you may not even realize that you're in a big city. Not only that, when Jesus needed a break from his ministry and he wanted to recharge his batteries, he often retreated to the wilderness and spent time there in prayer with his father. We would do well to model that behavior. Our modern world has turned us into creatures of habit living in what I like.
call a human zoo. We spend our days in artificial environments, buildings with filtered recycled air, artificial lighting, staring at our computer screens and televisions all day. Our modern lifestyles expose us to toxins from dirty air conditioning systems, paints, glue, formaldehyde, and carpets, and other building materials, which are all detrimental to our health.
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It's a lot like what happens when you take a wild animal and put them in a zoo. Even with the best care, their health often suffers. They become lethargic, they develop chronic degenerative diseases, and they lose their vibrant spark or vitality. In many ways, our modern lifestyles put us in a similar situation. We're living in an environment we weren't designed for. We're living in a human zoo.
and our bodies and minds are paying the price. So how do we fight back? We get outside in nature, move our bodies and renew our minds. There's a growing body of scientific literature on what's often called green exercise. Any physical activity done in a natural environment is considered green exercise. Studies are showing that exercising outdoors has greater benefit for
mental and physical health than exercising indoors. A systematic review found that compared to indoor workouts, outdoor exercise leads to increased feelings of revitalization, more positive engagement, and a decrease in tension, confusion, anger, and depression. Participants also reported greater enjoyment and were more likely to repeat the activity. What's the best form of exercise?
the one that brings you the most joy and the one you're likely to repeat. Being refreshed outdoors isn't just a slight mood boost. It's a measurable improvement in psychological wellbeing. And I don't have to mention physical wellbeing as well. As Christians, we're called to have mental emotional fortitude and exercising in God's creation is a beautiful way to cultivate it. A huge part of this is our sedentary culture.
We've all heard the phrase, sitting is the new smoking. And it's a powerful analogy. Prolonged sitting is a major risk factor for many chronic degenerative diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. We have to fight back against this. We should be figuring out ways to spend more time outdoors and engage in light to moderate exercise. One simple way to incorporate more movement in your days is to take your work outdoors.
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Have a walking meeting with a colleague, eat your lunch on a park bench, or take a phone call while strolling around the block. One of the most fascinating aspects of being outside is the opportunity to connect with the earth directly. This practice is known as grounding or earthing. It's as simple as taking off your shoes and walking barefoot on the grass in the sand or maybe a dirt trail. Now water is an excellent
conductor of electricity. So probably the best way to get grounded with the earth is to swim in the ocean. A barefoot walk on the beach would be a close second. If you don't live near a beach, take a dip in a lake. Or if there's no water near you at all, simply walk barefoot on wet grass. When there's dew on the grass in the morning is a great time to do it. Or dry ground if possible, but make some contact with the earth.
We are beings created in the image of God and we live in a physical body. So making a direct connection with the very ground God made could be incredibly centering. In our modern world, we're constantly exposed to a barrage of harmful energy from Wi-Fi routers, cell phone radiation, and other electromagnetic frequencies from the wiring in buildings or high tension lead power lines outside.
our bodies are not designed to handle this kind of constant bombardment. Grounding can help us fight back. The Earth has a natural electrical charge and when we make direct contact with it, our bodies can absorb some of those beneficial electrons. At the same time, we're also discharging some of the harmful energies we're exposed to and that restores us to an energetic balance as God intended. And speaking of the environment,
Have you ever noticed that feeling of being at peace when you're near a waterfall or in the woods right after a rainstorm? That's because of the high concentration of negative ions in the air. Negative ions are odorless, tasteless molecules with an extra electron, and they're abundant in natural, clean air, especially in places with moving water or in a forest.
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Breathing in this ion rich air is believed to have a positive effect on mood and overall wellbeing. It's as if God's creation itself is working to restore and refresh our bodies. And it is. Now, for those of you that want to take your outdoor regiments at the next level, let's talk about cold water immersion. This could be a quick winter dip in a cold lake or
purposeful cold plunge. You may have a cold plunge at your house or maybe a cold shower or a cold bath. While it might sound extreme, there's a reason this practice is gaining attention. Research suggests that cold water immersion can help with post exercise recovery by reducing inflammation and chronic systemic inflammation is connected to almost any chronic condition.
A recent review also found it may help reduce sick days, improve sleep and quality of life. The jolt of cold water causes a cold shock response in our bodies, which increases heart rate and breathing. Our bodies are designed to keep us alive. And when we're in cold water, our bodies know that this is a threat. So they respond very positively. They direct blood flow from the extremities
into the center portion of our body near our vital organs like the heart and lungs and liver. Our bodies are attempting to keep us alive. And what that does, this constriction of the smaller capillaries and veins and arteries in our extremities and the expansion of the blood flow internally closer to our midsection is very much mimics exercise. It's excellent for cardiovascular health.
It's very much like exercise and we actually don't have to move to do it. It's a pretty cool thing. Combine cold plunging with sauna therapy and you've got a one-two punch that really is an incredible health building habit. Cold plunging is a powerful way to build mental and emotional fortitude. Cold exposure forces us to confront discomfort head on.
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As we read in 2 Corinthians 10-5, we are called to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Cold exposure is a powerful way to train your mind to overcome limiting beliefs and be more mentally tough. It teaches us that we're stronger than our immediate feelings of discomfort. We can apply that same mental fortitude to other challenges in our lives, whether we're facing a difficult conversation,
or stepping out in faith outside of our comfort zone, practicing cold plunging can really help increase our mental-emotional fortitude. So cold plunging is a form of hermetic stress, which means short-term stress that can strengthen our systems as opposed to long-term stress such as financial burdens or long cardio sessions at the gym. For us in the natural nation, it's crucial to understand the difference between
beneficial exercise and stress inducing activity. Many of us were taught that no pain, no gain is the only way to go. It's the only way you're to make progress at the gym. But the medical literature shows that intense high impact exercise can be counterproductive, particularly as we age. When you engage in very intense or prolonged exercise, your body perceives it as a significant stressor. This triggers your stress response system leading to a surge in stress hormones like
adrenaline, and particularly cortisol. While a short-term increase in stress can be beneficial, chronically elevated cortisol levels are associated with inflammation, weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and accelerated aging. A review of studies found that exercise at or above 60 % of an individual's maximal oxygen uptake can cause significant increases in cortisol levels. This works against our goal of aging gracefully.
We want to live abundantly and that means supporting our bodies by cooperating with our natural design, not working against it by pushing them into the brink. Instead, I want to encourage you to focus on light to moderate intensity exercise. Things like walking, gentle hiking, cycling or gardening, all those activities will get us outdoors and those activities get our limb fluid moving, which is crucial for helping our bodies get rid of toxins.
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Lymph fluid movement is also a boost to our immune function. Light to moderate exercise provides all the physical benefits without putting your body in a state of chronic stress. This is how you build true and lasting physical vitality. And finally, let's talk about one of the simplest and most profound benefits of all, natural sunlight. I know, I know, we've all been told to stay out of the sun and put sunscreen on, but I'm here to tell you
Sun exposure is not bad, it's very beneficial to our health. All kinds of beneficial physical processes are stimulated by sunlight. Now we can't overdo it. Sun exposure is good, but sunburn is bad. One of the best ways to avoid sunburn is to drastically reduce seed oils in your diet. When you do, of the first things you'll notice is you'll have a higher tolerance to sunburn.
If you're just starting out on reducing seed oils in the diet and you're worried about getting burned when you're outside, you can wear a large brim hat or a light colored long sleeve shirt. That'll help until you can detox from some of those polyunsaturated fatty acids that your body is forced to use to make your skin. I've done other episodes on the benefits of reducing seed oils. So you can go back to the archives and find those.
Exposure to the sun is the main way our bodies produce vitamin D. Vitamin D is crucial for bone health and for our immune system and neurological systems. While many people take vitamin D supplements, I believe that the natural vitamin D your body produces is far superior. When our skin is exposed to sunlight, it synthesizes vitamin D sulfate. Now this form of vitamin D is water soluble and it can move freely in the bloodstream.
unlike vitamin D supplements that are fat soluble and you'll find in a bottle which are not sulfated. Your body knows how to use this natural, God-given form of vitamin D far more effectively than a synthetic supplement. It's a simple, free gift from God to support our physical vitality and help boost our immune function. Just 20 to 30 minutes of daily exposure can help your body produce an adequate amount of vitamin D.
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When we step outside and immerse ourselves in creation, we're not just moving our bodies, we're communing with God. The Bible tells us that God's eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in what He has made. That's Romans 1.20. When you walk and take in the beauty of the trees, the sky, the mountains, or the ocean, you're giving your mind a rest and your soul a chance to connect with the Creator.
just as Jesus did when he went to the wilderness. It's a form of mindfulness, a chance to quiet the noise of the world and focus on God's incredible artistry. Philippians 4.8 tells us, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. God's creation is a
beautiful, tangible example of all these qualities. Spending time in nature can be an act of worship. So, National Nation, I challenge you today, don't treat this information like we all do with a good sermon from time to time. We sit through a Sunday morning service and we walk out of the church saying, man, that was a great sermon. And a week later, we forgot what it was about. Let's be honest, we've all done it.
Don't just listen to this information and say, was a good episode. Take action. Set a goal for this week. Maybe it's a 20 minute walk outside every morning or a barefoot walk in the beach or park. Make it a prayerful walk. Take in the beauty and thank God for it. Remember Natural Nation, 2nd Timothy 3, 16 and 17. God wants to equip us for every good work and that equipping includes spiritual strength,
mental, emotional fortitude and physical vitality. We boost all three parts of who and what we are by spending time in nature. Well, that's it for today. Go out there and live abundantly. I'll talk with you next time. Be blessed.
