Walking Your Way to Optimum Health

Walking is referred to as the simplest form of exercise. But do you know that a simple routine as walking can deliver countless benefits to the human health? You may not realize it but there is more to walking than just building your calf and leg muscles. Some people love walking but there are others who don’t even bother to take a few steps to get something from the refrigerator.
For your information, walking is key to optimum health. If you look back through time, you will see that people in the past used to live longer lives, and this has something to do with them using walking as a primary means of traveling.
There is an ancient belief that claims the feet are the reflection of the entire body. According to this belief, there are nerve endings in the soles of both feet that are connected to the bodily organs, and when you apply pressure to these points, you are actually promoting healing to organs that correspond to it. This belief has been popularized by a method called reflexology, which works by stimulating the feet with certain amounts of pressure to bring healing and relaxation to the body.
Aside from that there are other several health benefits of walking that might just convince you to make a habit of it yourself.
First, walking at least thirty minutes a day does not only reduce your risk for coronary heart disease but it also cuts down your chance of having a stroke. In one study, people who made walking a habit have been found to have cut down their risk for both the deadly diseases. Walking promotes circulation in the body. It even helps clear up clogged arteries that are usually the cause of hypertension. According to experts, a daily routine that consists of a 30-minute brisk walk can boost the heart’s glucose intake and make the arteries more flexible. Adding fifteen more minutes to the same routine will also increase the elasticity of your carotid by up to 50 percent!
If you’re a heart patient, doctors advise that you walk long and walk hard regularly. Doing so will not only help you reap plenty of heart healthy benefits but will also make you lose weight, an important factor to having a healthy heart.
Walking is also good for the brain. Some experts discovered that besides regular exercise, walking alone can help boost the brain’s health. People who walked at least five miles a week were found to have bigger brains, which means they have better memory and increased mental ability compared to people who don’t. This is because the walking helps build up the connective circuits that make up the brain’s network.
When you grow old, the connectivity of the circuits in your brain slowly diminishes which is why your body doesn’t function the way it used to when you were younger. With walking, these deteriorating brain circuits are revived, and the onset of degenerative brain diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s are delayed.
Walking is beneficial for type 2 diabetes patients as well. Study shows that men and women who incorporate walking and physical activities into their lifestyle are 50 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who are sedentary – and this applies to people of any weight. Walking helps regulate sugar levels in the body, which is an important factor when you’re fighting diabetes.
Not only is walking good for the health, it is also good for your budget. When you make walking as a means of transportation when going to work or school, you are actually saving on energy and money. And since walking helps you delay the onset of several chronic diseases, you are also saving on medication when you walk regularly.
Finally and most importantly, walking helps reduce stress, which is the root cause of all diseases. When you walk or perform other forms of exercise, your body releases “feel good” chemicals called endorphins. These substances help boost the mood for long periods of time. When you walk, you’re actually allowing yourself to relax and get rid of stress from your life, lowering your chances of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and even cancer. So from now on, walk your way to maximum health!