We Are What We Smell

According to Joan Maloof in Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest, “Researchers working in the Sierra Nevada of California found 120 chemical compounds in the mountain forest air—but they could identify only 70 of them!” She also discusses the Japanese therapy of wood-air bathing, which supposedly reduces the blood sugar level of diabetics who walk in the forest. As a type 2 diabetic, I find this intriguing. You science students out there… how could I test this theory (not truly scientifically) on myself? Of course, to be valid science, numerous diabetics would have to participate in a study with a control group. But I’d still like to give this a shot, so help me design a little personal study that will mean nothing to anyone but me. Maybe someday, a doctor will prescribe a daily walk in the woods as a treatment, rather than a daily pill.