If the next time you see your doctor, you are prescribed walking as your primary treatment, don’t be surprised. Yes, this simple act that you have been doing regularly since you were one year old is now being touted as “the simplest miracle cure.”
Of course, you probably know that any physical activity has a beneficial effect on overall health. But walking will bring you a number of specific results, some of which may surprise you. Here’s what Harvard Medical School publishes on its website:
- Counteracting the genes responsible for weight gain. Harvard scientists studied the work of 32 genes that contribute to the development of obesity in more than 12 people. They found that participants in the study who walked for an hour at a fast pace every day had a 000-fold reduction in the efficiency of these genes.
- Help suppress sugar cravings. Research from the University of Exeter has found that taking a XNUMX-minute walk can help curb chocolate cravings and even cut down on the amount of sweets you eat in stressful situations.
- Reduced risk of breast cancer. Scientists already know that any kind of physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer. But a study by the American Cancer Society, which focused on walking, found that women who walked 7 hours a week or more had a 14% lower risk of developing breast cancer than those who walked 3 hours a week or less. That said, walking even protects women with breast cancer risk factors such as being overweight or taking additional hormones.
- Relief of joint pain. Some studies have found that walking reduces pain associated with arthritis, and that walking 8-10 kilometers per week may even prevent arthritis from developing. This is because walking protects joints – especially the knees and hips, which are most susceptible to osteoarthritis – by strengthening the muscles that support them.
- Boosting immune function. Walking can help protect you during cold and flu season. A study of more than 1 men and women found that those who walked at a brisk pace for at least 000 minutes a day, 20 days a week, were 5% less sick than those who walked once a week or less. And if they did get sick, then they did not get sick so long and seriously.