Many Health Benefits of Walking

Doctors at Duke University say walking is the magic pill for better health. Walking is among one of the most effective ways to get the exercise you need to stay healthy.

Study shows time and again that walking is the most natural movement to us and the most beneficial of all. Daily walks are essential to our health and wellness, to our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Many people walk as much for mental and spiritual well-being as for fitness.

Walking lowers high cholesterol levels, lowers high blood pressure, burns off excess calories, boosts your mood, lowers stress levels and much, much more.

“Studies have shown that spending as little as an hour a week in a natural area can have a positive influence on creativity” says James A. Swan, PhD, author of Nature as Teacher and Healer. New ideas, thoughts and emotions often surface during a walk.

A brisk 30-minute walk every day can make significant changes to you overall health. If you are overweight, walk off those excess pounds and at the same time you'll be increasing your overall fitness level. Start off slowly and gradually increase your speed.

According to a University of Pittsburgh study, walking to a beat could be useful for patients needing rehabilitation. Also, according to the Journal of the American Heart Association, if you are a woman and you can walk two or more hours a week at a brisk pace of 3 miles per hour or faster, you will significantly lower your risk of having a stroke compared to women who don't walk.

To get the heart-healthy benefits of walking, you need to walk briskly enough to increase your heart rate and breathing, but not so fast that you can't talk comfortably. Walking 30 minutes a day reduces your chance of having a heart attack.

Regular walking also helps protect your heart and circulatory system by raising the HDL, you know, the good cholesterol, and holding your weight down.

Here are some of walking's other benefits:

* Strengthens muscles and builds flexibility.
* Improves cardiovascular fitness.
* Keeps bones strong to help prevent osteoporosis.
* Improves the body's use of insulin to help prevent diabetes.
* Burns calories to help manage body weight.
* Builds strong muscles around joints to protect them.

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