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00:00We all want simple ways to feel better.
00:04Maybe you want to know how to kickstart your day.
00:07Or perhaps you're having trouble remembering things.
00:10Maybe you want something to lift your mood.
00:15Following in the footsteps of Dr. Michael Moseley in his hit podcast, Just One Thing,
00:21we're travelling across the country.
00:23Ta-da!
00:24This is going to be good for you.
00:26I'm really excited for this.
00:27Asking people to make one small change for big benefits.
00:32Any idea what it is?
00:33I haven't got a clue.
00:35I haven't done gardening before, but it's the first time for everything.
00:38Sharing the quick and easy ways we can all improve our lives.
00:43All up!
00:45By doing just one thing.
00:47I feel so happy that we're doing this.
00:49I can't believe how much it has changed my life.
00:57This time, I'm in London's biggest borough.
01:01Once a market town feeding the city from its fields and farms,
01:05it's now a vibrant cosmopolitan hub.
01:09It's Croydon.
01:11I'm really excited about this Just One Thing.
01:14It's something that I, myself, absolutely love.
01:18In fact, it's probably safe to say that I've become a little bit obsessed in recent years.
01:22So, prepare to wake up and smell the roses.
01:26It's gardening.
01:29I love spending time in my garden, and I'm here to persuade busy Londoner LaToya
01:34that spending more time in hers could boost her mood and reduce her stress levels.
01:40I'm really looking forward to meeting up with LaToya.
01:43She's been through such a tough time lately,
01:45and can so do with a mega dose of all the good stuff that gardening and nature can bring.
01:56LaToya!
01:56Yes, hi, how are you?
01:59Good to see you.
01:59Good to see you.
02:00Good to see you.
02:00Good to see you.
02:00Good to see you.
02:01Good to see you.
02:01Good to see you.
02:02Good to meet you, too.
02:02Can I come on in?
02:03Of course.
02:03I'll have your deck in.
02:05Oh, thanks.
02:05You can't miss me, can you?
02:07LaToya works full-time for a local charity that helps business start-ups.
02:12LaToya, tell me a bit about your life.
02:15Well, my nine-to-five, I'm an operations manager.
02:17So, I do everything that has to do with the building.
02:19That includes health and safety, admin, and all that good stuff.
02:22And then, outside of that, I'm a women's health campaigner, so I advocate for women with fibroids.
02:29It's something that I have experienced.
02:35I've always had, like, bad period pain, just growing up.
02:39As I got older, it started to get worse.
02:42I just had pain all the time, heavy bleeding.
02:46I always had to plan my days.
02:48So, I'll look at the calendar and see what days is heavier to dictate how I could handle the outside
02:55world.
02:55LaToya discovered she had fibroids, non-cancerous growths in the womb that can cause intense pain.
03:02After two surgeries to remove them, she's keen to stop them coming back.
03:07Fibroids have been linked to stress and inflammation.
03:10So, LaToya's been trying to keep both under control.
03:14I was like, why is my body attacking me?
03:17That's when I started changing my lifestyle in terms of nutrition.
03:22So, I'm more eating fruits and veg, proteins.
03:28Just looking after myself and being intentional of what I'm eating.
03:32I guess I'm looking for other simpler things, but I feel like less hustle and bustle and just having time
03:38to zen out.
03:41Because I've got scar tissue now, I can only do low-impact exercises.
03:45So, I can't go to the gym and lift weights and things like that.
03:50I'm quite excited to introduce you to something that I think is going to add to all those other things
03:55that you're doing.
03:56But I've just got to go and get something.
03:58OK.
03:59So, will you meet me round the back?
04:00I will.
04:01OK. Don't be scared.
04:03It's all going to be fine.
04:05LaToya has no idea what I've got planned for her.
04:09But with a fabulous shared garden like this, I'm hoping she's ready to dig in and get her hands dirty.
04:16Ta-da!
04:18Oh, OK.
04:20Could you possibly fathom from all of this stuff here what we want you to do?
04:26Plant it?
04:29It is!
04:30She's a smart girl.
04:31OK.
04:31So, your face, you look quite trepidatious.
04:35What we'd like you to do is spend 20 minutes, three times a week, doing a bit of gardening.
04:43OK?
04:44Not so much.
04:45Not so much.
04:45And that can be potting, weeding, digging.
04:50And, you know, gardening is good in so many different ways.
04:53Yeah.
04:54You know, for your cardiovascular health.
04:55Yeah.
04:56Lowering blood pressure.
04:58Really good for stress hormones like cortisol, lowering those.
05:01So, there's lots of benefits.
05:03Gardening is perfect for LaToya, as gentle exercise can help reduce inflammation and lower stress levels.
05:11I've got you all sorts of goodies to get you started.
05:14And we're going to start right now.
05:15So, you ready for it, girl?
05:17Accepting the challenge?
05:19I have accepted.
05:20Yeah, you've got no choice in that matter, to be honest with you.
05:22Right.
05:23To get this gardening novice into the swing of things, I'm keeping it simple with a few pots for her
05:29patio.
05:30You know, rosemary, that's going to be an evergreen that'll grow all year round.
05:34We've got some lemon thyme here.
05:36And then seasonal pansies, which if you grow in your window box, hopefully will tumble down.
05:41OK.
05:42And, to be honest with you, there's no art to it.
05:44You can pretty much shove them in where you fancy.
05:46OK.
05:49And, it's looking lovely.
05:51It's not bad at all.
05:52Yeah, how do you feel already?
05:54How's, you know, how's the mood?
05:56Really good.
05:57And you don't have to do it alone.
05:59We are going to invite some of your friends to join us.
06:04OK, cool.
06:04And get involved as well.
06:08I was shocked and was like, OK, this is something new that I haven't done before, so why not?
06:13I'm really up for the challenge.
06:20How's it going to be?
06:21Gardening could transform Latoya's health, boosting both her physical and mental wellbeing.
06:27All that weeding, digging and planting works lots of different muscles,
06:32helping to build strength, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of
06:37cardiovascular disease. It can even lower the risk of diabetes. One study of
06:44people over the age of 65 found that gardeners were less likely to develop
06:49type 2 diabetes than people who did other kinds of exercise. And gardening's
06:55good for our brains too. A recent study that tracked people across their
06:59lifetime found that regular gardening was linked to staying sharper as they got
07:04older. So LaToya could be feeling the benefits for years to come.
07:11I've kick-started LaToya's gardening challenge but trying something new isn't
07:17always easy on your own. So she's roped in friends Stephanie, Valerie and Labassie
07:23to help her get growing.
07:26Hi ladies, thank you so much for coming along for this little adventure with your
07:31girl LaToya who we absolutely love and adore. Have you got any ideas why I might have brought
07:36you to a field just outside Croydon at this time in the morning? Is it animals involved?
07:42Animals involved? Could be. Could be. Just one thing I'd like you to partake in is gardening.
07:49Oh that's quite a nice pleasant surprise. Is that relief? Yeah. Valerie have you done much gardening?
07:57Actually not at all. None at all. Okay do you mind getting a bit mucky Stephanie? Yeah I don't mind
08:03digging my hands in a little bit.
08:04Okay. I mean I haven't done gardening before but it's the first time for everything. It's not been something on
08:10the radar. No.
08:11You look amazing. You're in a white boot, you've got a white shirt on. Do you feel you're in the
08:17right outfits for gardening?
08:20Not really. Well girls I can tell you gardening is not just about planting. Follow me.
08:30I'm nervous because I don't know how to really do it. But I don't think it's that hard. Get a
08:36bit of compost, get some seeds, add a bit of water. Yeah I'm going to tuck in. I'm going to
08:42get into it.
08:43I'm very much a glamour babe and I'm going to be in nature. It's just so out my comfort zone.
08:52To get the group inspired I brought them to a local allotment. Hi Ed. Hello, hello. I'm Zoe. Come and
09:00say hi to this gorgeous group of ladies.
09:02Lovely to meet you. Welcome to Roots. Welcome. So just one thing is gardening but also it's not just plants.
09:09It's not just pretty flowers. Of course you can garden for things you can eat. So we are here to
09:14help Ed today do a bit of harvesting. It's a busy time of year Ed.
09:16It is. Lots of tasty produce has been growing all season so we can we can pick, we can eat
09:21and we can have fun. Great.
09:24Latoya's already made changes to her diet but growing your own food can take healthy eating to a whole new
09:30level.
09:32It's so sweet. So fresh. It's so sweet. Sorry, we're eating the produce.
09:37It's nice. How tasty are they? Yeah.
09:40How fast is it?
09:43Wow.
09:44Wow. Gardening doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes the simplest plants are the most rewarding to grow.
09:52So Ed, if someone's just starting out, what's a good plant to start with?
09:57If you like garlic, garlic is an easy winner. You can plant it pretty much any time of the year
10:02and it's super, super hardy.
10:04Potatoes, they're also great in spring. Just stick them in a bit of compost and they'll grow.
10:09And you can do this if you're at home, you can just get a little tub to plant them in,
10:13can't you?
10:13Yeah. From the garden centre. Yeah, you can grow them in a bag. Yeah, grow them in a bag.
10:16Anything. Simple flower to grow.
10:19Sunflowers. Sunflowers.
10:20Really easy. Great.
10:21Because you see them a lot in people's gardens or front. Yeah.
10:26Or calendula. Calendula, once you get it going, it's going to self-seed everywhere and it'll just bring that brightness
10:31year after year and you won't have to sow it again.
10:33And it's a medicinal flower as well, so I dry mine, seep them in olive oil and now I'm going
10:38to make lip balms and skin greens out of them.
10:41So nice little Christmas gifts. That's so interesting.
10:44When you get into growing, you go, oh, I can make gifts for my family now instead of buying them.
10:49Chutneys and piccolillies. Yeah, exactly.
10:52I gave my nan some chutney and she was like, this is the best gift I've ever had.
10:55And I'm like, yes! Homegrown, homemade. Brilliant. Great tips, Ed. Thank you.
11:04So, LaToya, what do you think of it so far?
11:07I think it's good. I've seen so many different, like, plants and vegetables and things like that and I have
11:14to eat vegetables because I have to change my diet.
11:16I think I could get into it, but start small. Yeah.
11:20Yeah, we've only just got you on board here. I'm not expecting you to have grown this in a week.
11:26I promise you, LaToya.
11:27Yeah. It's early days, but this experience might just have planted the seed for a brand new hobby with lots
11:34of health benefits.
11:35Let's see the harvest then that you've collected, ladies. That's quite a lot. That's very impressive.
11:40Well done, everybody. Yeah, well done.
11:43What, the chives? Yeah. I want some chives. What? Yeah, we can pick them.
11:46Oh, that's lovely. I'm definitely going to put them in my scrambled eggs. Yeah, for sure.
11:51I think having a two-year-old and a seven-year-old and two jobs, it might be quite a
11:56bit of a juggle trying to fit this in, but I'm going to give it a try just because I
11:59think the kids are going to love it.
12:01This is, this was fun. I'm not even going to. Yeah.
12:05No, I was a bit hungry. It's making me hungry.
12:07You've got us out here. You've got us out here, haven't you?
12:09Yeah, I guess there's a change from us always going out to like raves and things like that.
12:14It's different. It's going to be fun for me to really think about how I'm going to overcome my fear
12:21of dirt and soil and really getting in the nitty-gritty of the earth.
12:27So, yeah, it's going to be interesting.
12:29So, a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the ladies there, but you know what? Those girls
12:34are very much there for LaToya, so I have high hopes for them in this challenge.
12:43There's plenty of inspiration for these budding gardeners here in Croydon, thanks to its long tradition of growing.
12:50Back in medieval times, the area was renowned for growing saffron, the valuable spice from the crocus flower.
12:57The town's name is thought to come from the Old English crow denu, which literally means crocus valley.
13:03The therapeutic benefits of gardening and plants have been known about since ancient times.
13:09The Greeks, the Romans and the Egyptians all had the concept of healing gardens,
13:15and gardens throughout history have been incorporated into buildings like monasteries and hospitals,
13:21all as our understanding of the impact in gardening on our physical and mental health has grown.
13:28The benefits are so well known that they've been recognised by the NHS,
13:32who have set up Green Social Prescribing, which is outdoor therapies for health,
13:38and that includes community gardening and conservation volunteering.
13:42Brilliant.
13:45LaToya is starting to feel the physical benefits of working in her garden,
13:49and it's keeping her mind active too.
13:52This is all new to me.
13:55Probably doing this wrong.
13:57Just trying to get this out.
13:58It's quite tough.
14:01It says how to remove a stuck pot-bound plant out of a pot.
14:09I've done that.
14:12OK.
14:15I thought it would be very difficult, but it's seeming quite therapeutic.
14:21I think I'm enjoying this.
14:24What are those?
14:26Oh, my God.
14:27They're so rudely.
14:29In the beginning, I was like, I don't think I can do this.
14:31I don't think I can carry on doing this.
14:33But as the days have gone, it's been good.
14:37And now I'm doing this by myself, going online to find out how people do it.
14:42It's really good.
14:44So I'm not mad at Zoe.
14:48I'm glad to hear it.
14:49But how are LaToya's friends getting on in their gardens?
14:55I just found a mint bush at the back of the garden.
14:58That smells amazing.
15:00I'm definitely going to pick some mint leaves and try and make a fresh home tea.
15:07How amazing.
15:08I'm taking it inside the house.
15:10I've got my vase.
15:11I've got compost in here.
15:14I want to see how I can make my own lettuce.
15:18So let's see.
15:19It's saying two seeds per hole.
15:21So I'm going to put them in there.
15:25I'm going to cover that up.
15:27And see what happens if we get some lettuce soon.
15:36Now I do not have an amazing garden like some of the rest of my beautiful friends.
15:43However, I do have an amazing balcony.
15:45Oh, gosh.
15:51I told you, gardening is going to be a struggle for me.
15:58I've just literally broken my nail.
16:02It's not for everyone.
16:03But for me, gardening has been a real tonic.
16:07I didn't really get into gardening until I was in my 40s, when really sadly I lost my partner.
16:13But my friends bought me plants to grow in his memory, which was such a lovely thing to do.
16:22And it was so good for me when I was grieving just to sit outside in my little plot looking
16:29after these plants.
16:30And so whenever I've faced tough challenges in my life, where will you find me outside in the garden?
16:39Gardening doesn't just feel calming.
16:42Studies show it can reduce the symptoms of depression and help decrease stress.
16:48Latoya's now got the pain from her fibroids under control.
16:51But the worry they might come back is still taking a toll.
16:55I feel like the more I'm stressed, then I guess that's when the inflammation happens, fibroids could grow.
17:02We still don't know.
17:04Research shows that more time in the garden could help Latoya unwind.
17:09So to get closer to nature and squeeze in some exercise, I've sent the group to Battersea Park
17:14to discover just how good gardening can be for both body and mind.
17:20Oh, my God.
17:21It's pretty.
17:22It's pretty.
17:22It's not because they're crocs.
17:24Yeah, exactly.
17:24The butterflies.
17:27They're here to help horticultural therapist Damien Newman from gardening charity Thrive.
17:34Hello.
17:35Hello.
17:35Hi.
17:37So what we're going to start by doing is having a little bit of a weed and a little bit
17:41of a tidy up around the edge of the border here.
17:44Damien works with the NHS to prescribe gardening therapy, and the science shows it really helps.
17:52Studies have found that just 20 minutes a day in green spaces can lift your mood and reduce levels of
17:58the stress hormone cortisol.
18:00Would that be considered a weed?
18:02That one there, yes.
18:03Yes.
18:04Yeah.
18:04So, yeah, get right down.
18:05Good spot.
18:06You know, there's just so many different ways in which gardening is good for you, and in particular good for
18:10mental health.
18:12Particularly with activities a little bit like this, if you think about it, it's quite meditative.
18:17Enables us essentially to spend some time when we're not worrying about things in our life.
18:22And, of course, the occupation of gardening is nurturing other living things.
18:26Yeah, that's true.
18:26And there's something quite powerful about that.
18:28It's quite difficult to not care.
18:30And that joy of nurturing and watching something you've cared for bloom or produce fruit or something you can eat.
18:38It's just a really great journey to be involved in.
18:42I think it's great coming together and doing it and having conversations.
18:46Yeah, another way to socialise as well.
18:48Yes, exactly.
18:50Sorry.
18:52In which something went into your hair.
18:54Yeah.
18:55In my ear, I heard a zzzz.
18:57Yeah.
18:58I was like, oh, my God.
19:00Yeah.
19:00Bit of a shock.
19:00Yeah, it was a shock.
19:01It was a shock, yeah.
19:02It shocked me as well.
19:04I didn't expect it.
19:10So, it's good for physical health.
19:12Because, as you can tell, you're all getting good exercise here.
19:16Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:16You know, there's some balance and there's some reach going on, isn't there?
19:20That's true, yeah.
19:21It's working different parts of the body.
19:23And if you imagine that at some point you're going to dig this space, at some point you're going to,
19:27you know, harvest some of the flowers and things like this.
19:30So, it works all different parts of the body.
19:32I'm actually finding this really therapeutic.
19:35So do I.
19:36This feels like hard work.
19:38Yeah, yeah.
19:40I feel like I'm a labourer.
19:42I just, in a way, I just, ah.
19:46Well, that's fair enough.
19:47Some people do see it more like a job.
19:50And, you know, like I say, there are different sorts of gardening for different people.
19:54You don't have to do the messy stuff.
19:56You can't garden without getting too dirty.
19:59What does that involve?
20:00Well, it may be it's about looking after containers and pots.
20:03Yeah, start slow.
20:04I might start inside and we'll see.
20:05Start with some crests.
20:07Yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:08That's it.
20:08Take it back to school days.
20:11From just a bit of weeding, most of the group are feeling the benefits already.
20:15I think that this is something I can apply to my kind of day-to-day life just to help
20:21improve
20:21and maintain a positive, um, kind of mental health.
20:26I do actually feel much better coming away, feeling like I have more energy and ready to get on with
20:32the rest of my day.
20:33I actually feel quite serene.
20:37I feel really great.
20:38Being with my friends made it so much better in terms of working together, talking, doing activities.
20:45So I really, really enjoyed it.
20:48But not everyone's having such a good time.
20:51I think there's a long way to go for me to start, you know, putting the gloves on and getting
20:56the tools out and gardening.
20:58Keep me away in these nails, away from the dirt.
21:01They just, they can't.
21:10Labasi might be surprised to know that getting your hands dirty can actually do you good.
21:15So as I'm digging in the soil to plant up this sedum, in fact, let's get the gloves off.
21:22As my hands go into this soil, you're actually introducing bacteria from the soil into your own body.
21:30Now that sounds bad, but actually it's not.
21:33Supposedly the bacteria in the soil is very beneficial to your gut microbiome.
21:41In fact, a recent study found that people who garden have a much greater diversity of good gut bacteria.
21:49We're talking brief contact with healthy soil, though.
21:52Gloves keep you safe from pesticides or untreated compost that might contain harmful microbes.
21:59All right, come on, little sedum.
22:01In you go.
22:05Perfect spot.
22:06Look at that.
22:08The Croydon girls are now well on their green-fingered journey
22:12and discovering all sorts of surprises in their own gardens.
22:16What is that?
22:17What is it?
22:18Oh, it's a baby.
22:20Is it your ladybird?
22:21Yes, she's a baby.
22:22Oh, what are we going to do with her?
22:25Uh-oh!
22:26Oh, no.
22:27This one's on your arm.
22:28This one's a baby.
22:30He's gone on your arm.
22:32Okay, I'm out in the garden and I'm going to get right in.
22:37I'm going to weed the soil here.
22:41I'm actually going to water some plants, too.
22:45And we're about to start planting some seeds.
22:50Isn't this exciting?
22:52I guess I'm just going to have to get used to this amount of dirt underneath my fingernails.
22:59Yuck.
23:04I'm pleased to see glamour girl Labassie getting stuck in.
23:08But Latoya's plants could do with a helping hand.
23:11Look at this one.
23:13It's dead.
23:15It all died.
23:17And he's reviving.
23:18A good old soaking will do the trick, but I'm glad she's not giving up.
23:23That is what's happened to the plants.
23:26But I'm learning and I'm loving the learning.
23:28So, yeah.
23:29If Latoya can keep her plants alive, the science shows they'll do more than just brighten her garden.
23:36They could boost her mood and sharpen her mind.
23:41Just 20 minutes working in the veg patch can increase levels of a hormone called BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor,
23:50which is a bit like fertilizer for your brain, keeping it healthy and improving learning and memory.
23:56The physical activity of gardening releases the feel-good chemicals, dopamine and serotonin, and nurturing plants can stimulate a sense
24:06of purpose and self-esteem, increasing feelings of well-being.
24:10Looking at repeating patterns in nature, like the leaves of ferns, has also been found to increase alpha brainwaves, promoting
24:18relaxation.
24:22Latoya and her friends have reached the end of their challenge.
24:25And the group have brought some gifts to help keep their passion for plants blooming.
24:30This one is from me.
24:31Okay.
24:33And actually, this is what I've been watering and keeping alive.
24:39Okay.
24:40And you can have this to remind you of me.
24:47I have been keeping some fresh mint, some wild mint in the garden.
24:52That's so cute.
24:53So I picked you some and I hope that maybe you can make a nice mint tea or use it
24:57for...
24:58Yeah, you know I love a mint tea.
24:59I've been using a tea bag, so this will be good for, you know, organically.
25:03Grown and harvested by yours truly.
25:05Yeah, and you've got a little smile in there.
25:07Yeah, it's so cute. Thank you so much.
25:10I have brought you some personalised garden tools.
25:16Oh!
25:16Which say, Latoya Gardens for just one.
25:19Shut the front door!
25:21It literally happened!
25:24Oh, I love that.
25:26So you can remember this process for life.
25:28Thanks, guys!
25:31It's been fun.
25:32It's been nice.
25:33Yeah, just getting into this and bonding.
25:35Yeah, we're always all so busy.
25:38Yeah.
25:39Yeah, it's been a great challenge.
25:41I mean, from a health perspective, I would say I was definitely out of breath after 15 minutes of gardening.
25:48I felt good, though. I definitely felt relaxed.
25:51Yeah, I felt a lot calmer during the last few weeks and just had another outlet of another way to
25:57do something else rather than staying in, watching telly and just being outside as well.
26:02I really have felt better, actually, over the last few weeks.
26:05After years of battling with ill health, Latoya, with the support of her friends, hoped to find new ways to
26:12boost her health and wellbeing.
26:13I find myself, like, going into the shops and then seeing the plants first and like, oh, my gosh, this
26:19is nice when I used to just go past and grab a few bits.
26:22But now I'm taking an interest into it.
26:24Yeah.
26:24So I'm really, really enjoying it.
26:26So has Labasi, the group's biggest sceptic, had a change of heart?
26:32I don't know if I have the patience or the will to live through the growth of even just growing
26:39some seeds.
26:40Yeah.
26:40Well, I have to wait, like, how many months?
26:43Two hours.
26:45But she did find some benefits.
26:48So for me, I think it was good physically to actually just get my body moving, stretch, stretch out those
26:57muscles that don't usually get stretched out.
26:59I'd like to keep it up long term and I'd like to get the kids outside a bit more, so.
27:05Has sharing the journey with her friends inspired Latoya to keep growing?
27:11They've been amazing.
27:12Like, they're the best girls that I could have picked to join me on this challenge.
27:17Everyone was adaptable, got their fingers stuck in.
27:22And has the challenge brought her some calm to help keep her health issues under control?
27:28It's given me time to de-stress, be out in the outdoors.
27:32It's keeping me grounded.
27:34It's been amazing.
27:35I've had a whale all the time.
27:43It's wonderful to see Latoya is taking her first steps into gardening.
27:47And if she keeps it up, the research shows it could make a real difference to her health and wellbeing.
27:54Spending time gardening really is just one thing you can do to help lower your blood pressure,
27:59help with your immune system and your mental health, and even help you live longer.
28:06Right.
28:06This needs cutting back.
28:07It's taken over.
28:09We help us out.
28:15Thanks, everyone.
28:15Thank you, r might really be on it.
28:22Everyone just hace less so deeply.
28:23It seems fanged out of one thing.
28:23W puzzling it down.
28:26Oh.
28:27It looks cool.
28:38will come back. You want
28:38to know what it means.
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