On Nutrition: Learning from plants

Barbara Intermill, Tribune News Service on Jul 11, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A young friend of ours, an emergency room nurse, was staying at our home for a few days when we were out of town. I nonchalantly asked her to give my plants a little water if they felt dry.

She almost had an anxiety attack. “I’m much better at keeping people alive than plants,” she confessed.

That encounter reminded me of a commercial I had seen on our rural television station. It asked farmers the question, What makes plants happy? The answer: Proper nutrition, low stress and lively soil. That caught my attention.

So I did some digging (pardon the pun) and learned from experts at Texas A&M that a plant requires 16 essential nutrients for it to complete its life cycle. If any essential nutrient is lacking, a plant may not be able to develop roots, leaves or flowers and it may not be able to reproduce. Excessive amounts of one or more nutrient can also harm plants or even kill them, say these specialists.

We humans require 40 or more nutrients for optimal health. And these are divided into six major classes: carbohydrates, lipids (fats), proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. Like plants, a missing nutrient can affect normal growth and development. And excessive amounts of certain nutrients can seriously harm us.

Proper nutrition is a no-brainer. But plants need low stress? That made me think about what they endure. Not enough water, too much water. Bugs. Extreme temperatures. These can slowly (or quickly) kill a plant, as I have unfortunately learned from experience.

Stress is not just common in plants, as we all know. Yet not all stress is bad, say experts. We need a little stress to get out of bed in the morning, for example. But when stress is unrelenting, human bodies can break down. Chronic stress, for example, releases hormones that make us crave comfort foods, increase our blood pressure and can actually damage organs.

Lastly, a plant needs “lively soil” to be happy. They need to live in a medium that promotes healthy root growth and overall vitality. This type of soil is rich in nutrients and free of weeds and pests that could impede the plant’s growth.

We humans need nutrient rich “lively” soil as well. For instance, do I pay enough attention to how well I feed my physical as well as emotional and spiritual needs? Along with pulling weeds and trimming wayward bushes in my garden, am I careful to trim some of my personal habits that may threaten to interfere with my health or personal growth? What type of pests do I need to avoid?

I plan to think about that a bit more this summer. Especially when I’m feeding my roses and pulling out the hedge trimmer.