100 Reasons to Walk (for Your Health)
RTC is pleased to repost this great list of the health benefits of walking by Dr. David Sabgir, founding CEO of Walk with a Doc. You can follow Walk with a Doc on Twitter at @walkwithadoc.
You can see why walking puts us on a bullet train out of this health-care crisis. Ironic, right? All of these are hyperlinked (even #67-69).
- Reduces blood pressure
- Lowers cholesterol
- Increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good" cholesterol)
- Reduces heart attacks (by 86 percent combined with other factors)
- Increases efficiency of heart
- Makes our heart muscle stronger
- Lowers heart rate
- Strengthens lungs
- Improves respiratory function
- Improves cardiovascular endurance and performance
- Provides more oxygen to body, including organs and muscles
- Provides more nutrient supply to the body
- Reduces strokes (by up to 50 percent)
- Helps to alleviate varicose vein pain
- Increases your metabolism
- Stimulates digestion
- Makes digestion more efficient
- Stimulates intestinal movements, resulting in better elimination of wastes
- Reduces chances for colon cancer
- Strengthens and develops muscles
- Increases efficiency of muscles
- Benefits joints due to stronger muscles
- Helps maintain cartilage health in the joints
- Eases muscular tension
- Alleviates back problems
- Increases muscle flexibility and agility
- Improves speed of muscle contraction and reaction time
- More healthy skin due to the fact that skin pores open more during exercise, resulting in more efficient removal of dirt and impurities
- Burns up and removes toxins from body
- Increases blood flow to the brain
- Stimulates growth of nerve cells in memory center of the brain
- Improves various indexes of psychological functioning
- Enhances brain functioning by increasing the amount of oxygen available to it
- Increases sense of well being
- Increases resistance to pain because endorphin levels are elevated
- Increases sense of excitement because hormone epinephrine is elevated
- Alleviates boredom
- Lessens worry and tension
- Reduces stress by removing lactic acid from blood
- Alleviates anxiety and/or pain, because tranquilizing effect of exercise lasts for several hours
- Enhances mood
- Excellent opportunity to enhance social network
- Boosts energy
- Improves self-esteem and self-confidence since body and mind are improved and strengthened
- Increases sense of self control
- Provides source of pleasure and fun
- Releases anger and negative emotions
- Reduces depression more effectively than short- or long-term psychotherapy
- Enhances coordination, power, timing and balance
- Boosts immune system functioning
- Reduces severity of asthma
- Can help prevent cataracts
- Can relieve headaches
- Helps you quit smoking
- Burns calories
- Causes body to use calories more efficiently
- Causes weight loss
- Helps maintain weight loss
- Can act as an appetite suppressant
- Decreases fat tissue
- Improves physical appearance
- Enhances one's image and opinion of the body
- Improves bone density and prevents osteoporosis
- Reduces joint discomfort
- Help manage arthritis
- Allows one to feel better about their bodies and enjoy sex more as a result
- Provides enhanced ability to achieve orgasm
- Allows for greater sexual satisfaction
- Can reduce or eliminate impotence due to increased blood flow
- Prevents or manages type 2 diabetes
- Helps insulin work better, lowering blood sugar
- Has a significant effect on fibrinogen levels
- Alleviates menstrual cramps
- Improves athletic performance
- Can add years to one's life
- Enhances quality of life
- Reduces pain and disability
- Improves glycogen storage
- Reduces risk of developing certain types of cancers of the colon, prostate, uterine lining and breast, and other chronic diseases
- Regulates hormones
- Allows you to overcome illness or injury more quickly
- Can lessen medical bills
- Reduces anxiety by causing fewer worries about health
- Creates better performance at work
- Allows one to stay independent as they get older
- Keeps health care insurance premiums lower
- Makes one more attractive to potential mates
- Allows for healthy pregnancy
- Increases energy
- Allows you to be more productive and less stymied by stress and depression
- Can help make possible increased income due to increased energy
- Allows one to become more familiar with their body and its functioning
- Can stimulate you mentally
- Lets one eat more without gaining weight
- Increases productivity at work
- Adds variety and spice to life
- Gives one increased ability to defend oneself and loved ones if needed
- Provides a natural high afterwards, such as runners' high
- Provides heightened alertness
- Reduces inflammation
You're a rock star! 150 minutes this week and we will see you on the flip side.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Dr. David Sabgir
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