Walk to live longer and live well!

GUEST COLUMN: Dr. N. Prabhudev

Eat less and live longer! Sitting long is the new smoking!

Walk is the best Medicine. It’s free and has no negative side effects. This is a do-anywhere, anytime, no-equipment-required activity.

Walk remains a timeless non-pharmacological prescription for well-being and longevity. Faster walking pace could lead to a person being younger in terms of biological age. An Average Moderately Active Human takes around 7,500 Steps/Day. If You Maintain this daily average and live until 80 Years of age then you’ll have walked about 216,262,500 steps in your lifetime. Now the Math; the average person with the average stride living until 80 will walk a distance around 110,000 miles!

Physical fitness is a better indicator of life expectancy than body mass index. Even Small amounts of physical activity gives you exponential health benefits.

How much to walk?

alking is one of the safest forms of exercise. You shed the pounds and inches from your body, you are also toning your muscles and improving your health. If you walk at a pace of 4 miles per hour- a common pace, you can burn roughly 400 calories per hour.

Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination each week. Children and adolescents be active for at least 60 minutes every day.

1 Mile = 2,000 steps and 100 calories burned

To lose 1 pound per week you need to add 10,000 steps to your daily work out. No, it’s not a daunting task!

How to Walk? Use the whole body to walk:

• The pelvis and legs are assisted by the trunk and the arms.

• Focus on posture.

• Take comfortable strides. Heel to Toe, Step forward landing squarely on the heel of your foot, Roll forward onto the ball of the foot. Raise the heel and push off with your big toe. Relax shoulders and keep them back and down.

• Stand tall with a slightly lifted chest and a straight back.

• Bend arms 90 degrees at the elbow and swing in time with the opposite leg.

• Check hips are level; knees pointing forwards,

• Check steps are of equal length, Don’t tilt your head to one side, Don’t slump your shoulders, Don’t strike the ground with your toe first. Use your heel first.

The best time to walk

Any time is fine! Just a 10-minute walk right after eating helps foster lower blood sugar- reduces insulin resistance. An early morning walk is one of the best exercises for a healthy life. The fresh oxygen aired in the early hours of morning and the mist gives you great energy.

Longevity!

Daily Walk can add 7 Years to Your Life -The research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. Regular daily walking has been found to trigger an anti-aging process and help repair old DNA. Walking is a super food.

Walk on Brain!

Reduces Risk of Alzheimer’s! Lowers Your Risk Of Developing Depression. Improves Your Overall Cognitive Function. Releases endorphins and feel good hormones. Enhances Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor. Strengthens Your Hippocampus – critical role in forming and storing memories. It Improves Creativity and activates the superior temporal sulcus or STS.The morning walk modifies your nervous system, lessens your anger and hostility. It prevents Seasonal affective disorders-SAD.

Health benefits of Walk!

• Boosts Metabolism

• Increases vitamin D production and blood flow in the legs, Increases heart and lung fitness, Stress reduction, controls Cholesterol and BP, Controls sugar.

• Reduces the risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke,

• lowering blood pressure and cholesterol,

• Reducing your risk for heart disease by 30%, diabetes, cancer and more.

• Walking can have a bigger impact on disease risk and various health conditions

• Every minute of brisk walking throughout the day, lowers the risk of obesity by 5%.

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