Health

EcoWatch -  Living in a neighborhood with a high concentration of trees could significantly lower levels of inflammation and, importantly, decrease the risk of heart disease, new research from Green Heart Louisville’s first wave of clinical research from its HEAL study shows...

The results showed a “significant decrease” in levels of hs-CRP, an important marker for inflammation, in areas where tree and shrub counts were more than doubled. In excess, inflammation is known to contribute to a laundry list of diseases and illnesses, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity, and as the study points out, heart disease. 

“I wouldn’t have expected such a strong biomarker response, Peter James, director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, told NBC. “And that speaks to maybe something truly is causal here with how trees impact health.”