Being an aerobic exercise, there is nothing not to like about walking. Walking does a lot for our heart and overall health, making us live longer, and wards off obesity. Study author Sanjay Sharma, professor of inherited cardiac diseases in sports cardiology at St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London, told The Independent:
recommended; why you should exercise daily“We may never avoid becoming completely old, but we may delay the time we become old. We may look younger when we’re 70 and may live into our nineties. Exercise buys you three to seven additional years of life. It is an antidepressant, it improves cognitive function, and there is now evidence that it may retard the onset of dementia.”
Why You Should Walk Regularly
More than 2,400 years ago, Hippocrates said, "Walking is a man's best medicine.
There are various health benefits of a regular stroll. Its advisable to take a walk for up to an hour or more a day for the following reasons;
See also; benefits of push-ups
See also; benefits of push-ups
Walking Slows Aging Process
It is very much possible to be 60 and look 40. What is the secret? WALKING.
It is impossible to be sitted while walking. Various occupations requires workers to be sitted for 8 to 12 hours a day, which is very disastrous to our health. Sitting for very long hours increases our risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Research out of the University of Michigan Medical School and the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System says those who exercise regularly in their fifties and sixties are 35 percent less likely to die over the next eight years than their non-walking counterparts.
Reduce Risk Of Heart Disease (CVD) And Stroke By Walking Regularly
As mentioned above, sitting for very long hours increases our risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol; and according to a new study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Life Science Division in Berkley, Calif, all three conditions are risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
Another study found that daily walking reduced the risk of stroke in men over the age of 60. Walking for up to 1 to 2 hours a day reduces risks of the afore mentioned conditions including cancer, and it could also cut a man’s stroke risk by as much as one-third.
Walking is the first step to cardiovascular disease prevention!
Observational studies suggest that walking for longer duration or distance may confer incremental protection against CVD and appears to have CVD-related health benefits in younger, middle, and older men and women, in both healthy and patient populations.
Walking Reduces Belly Fat,Cholesterol And Aids Weight Loss
"Vigorous exercise raises levels of fat-burning hormones," says lead researcher Arthur Weltman, PhD, director of the exercise physiology laboratory at the university of Virginia.
Belly fat that wraps around internal organs such as the kidneys and liver have been discovered to be associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
Walking an our or more a day helps increase the production of fat burning hormones which burns excess belly fat and those around our internal body organs, keeping us healthy and helping us loose weight at the same time.
Less body fat is "associated with lower levels of the "bad" LDL cholesterol," wrote Cooper.
Your blood cholesterol levels are crucial because they affect your heart-disease risk. "For every 1 percent drop in blood cholesterol, studies show a 2 percent decrease in the likelihood of a heart attack," according to "An Invitation to Health," a textbook for college students. Lower bad cholesterol levels after six to 12 months of aerobic exercise, including walking, can "mean as much as a 30 percent reduction in the risk of coronary artery disease," according to "Essentials for Health and Wellness," a college textbook.
Walking Reduses Stress
According to the Huffington Post, walking improves the production of Stress-Busting Endorphins and also shifts to brain to a calmer state, boosts energy and reduces fatigue, leading to lower stress levels.
Daily walks activates soothing neurons in the brain which help dull the feelings of stress, anxiety and depression.
Do yourself a favor, skip going to the mall tomorrow on bus or your car; go on foot instead - Your body will thank you.
You are never too old to take a walk, and remember, A Walker Is An Athlete.
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