Humans, as a species, have always been connected to nature. Our body, mind, and physiology are perfectly in sync with their rhythms, and we benefit from the goods and services they provide us. When we force ourselves to be in indoor environments, or within city limits, then desynchronizations arise that can eventually lead to health problems. To this we can add many other causes of stress and anxiety, the so-called evils of the 21st century: lifestyle, pressure from work or study, omnipresent noise, overwhelming traffic, rushing towards everything, and annoying people. Social networks, advertising, excessive consumption… There are many voices warning of the danger of these pressures and giving instructions to address them at their source.
Going out into nature gives pleasure and well-being, no one doubts that, and we don't need a book to tell us that. However, this one goes further than that. Nature That Takes Care of Us provides a broad overview of the elements, organisms and sights of nature that contribute to our health, much more than we usually think. From the majesty of the mature forest to the bacterial flora in our gut, nature's healing influence is in the details. We can perceive them in places as diverse as the wild nature, the balcony of our house, a hospital, or even a prison, and they are all useful and necessary.
Through this work, Katia Hueso, biologist and co-founder of the first outdoor school in Spain and prominent expert and publisher in the field of education, environment, nature conservation and sustainable development, invites us to explore and reveal those benefits that nature offers us. Where to find them. In a close, simple, direct and sympathetic tone, he offers tools for distinguishing the wheat from the chaff. So that nature takes care of us in an effective, real and safe way.
In the first chapter, the author provides an overview of abiotic elements, such as air, water, soil, and various forms of energy. Which can contribute to our well-being. It is surprising to discover how many of these contributions have been known since ancient times, such as thermal baths, therapeutic mud or mountain air.
Following the same scheme, In the second chapter, he talks about the contribution of living organisms to achieving this goal, from plants and fungi to animals of different sizes and conditions. From plant whispering to the joy of petting a dog, to the importance of the intestinal microbiota, the book takes a tour of the deep relationship we have with living organisms and how they influence our health through contact with them or their senses. And responsible use.
The third chapter focuses on green care, that is, the well-being provided by natural spaces or those in which nature is given a certain importance. This includes places as diverse as forests, beaches or even cities, where existing therapies are already practiced, such as forest bathing, horticultural therapy or adventure therapy.
Finally, add some thoughts about the role of virtual nature in this effort toward well-being, because when we can't go outside, which is an experience, by the way, we all had not too long ago. Finally, he offers two chapters: one on the ethical aspects associated with the use of plants and animals for therapeutic purposes and the other proposing tools for discerning treatments, because it seems to me of the utmost importance to know what one is getting into when health is at stake.
“I hope, I hope, and I trust that the results of this research can be useful to those who read it, not only because we suffer from health problems, Or the absence of well-being for any (other) reason, but because it would be like a reunion with our essence,” says Katja Hueso.
About the author
Katia Hueso was born on a hot July 14 in Madrid, and perhaps for this reason, she always seeks refuge in nature. Studied biology in Leiden (Netherlands)He prepared his doctoral thesis on sustainable development and, after moving several times, returned to his homeland to settle in a quiet town in the Guadarrama mountain range between the provinces of Madrid and Segovia.
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