Why You Should Take a Walk Everyday: 30 Health Benefits of Walking 30 Minutes a Day – Part 2

Walking is one of the best exercises for your body.  Almost anyone can do it and it is less taxing on the body than other workouts.  In fact, it is a great way to slow age-related disease and illness for a stronger, more positive overall health outlook.  We’re continuing our series on 30 health benefits of walking 30 minutes a day.  Now here are even more fabulous advantages of why you should take a walk everyday:

11 – When you are walking, you’re not sitting.  Sitting is one of the worst health habits on the planet.  Especially those with “desk jobs” probably spend way too much time sitting during the day, which leads to many unwanted health conditions.  Getting up and going for a walk as a break from sitting is a health benefit in and of itself.

12 – Walking reduces risk of cancer.  Amazingly, walking for multiple hours per week significantly reduces risk of certain types of cancers.  For women, walking may stave off breast cancer.  For men, prostate cancer is less likely.  And for everyone, walking may help prevent colon cancer.

13 – Walking is good for your heart.  Like any type of exercise, walking helps stabilize blood pressure and can reduce cholesterol and triglycerides as well.  All of these factors help lower risk for heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular complications.

14 – Walking may help you lose weight.  Walking alone is not going to make you the fittest person on the planet, but it can help you lose a moderate amount of weight.  Adding hills and intensifying your walking with weights can lead to greater weight loss.

15 – Walking is good for weight maintenance.  Once you’ve reached your desired weight, walking can help you keep the pounds off.  Physical activity every day is vital to weight management and weight maintenance.  Walking is one of the simplest ways to get your heart rate going to sustain your weight.

16 – Walking reduces risk of diabetes. Exercise helps balance blood glucose levels.  This is important for everyone, especially those who are genetically predisposed to diabetes or are borderline diabetic.  Walking can even help improve blood sugar levels in people who have already developed diabetes.

17 – Walking helps your digestive tract.  Need a little help getting your GI system going?  Take a walk!  Walking stimulates mobility in the digestive system, especially when you engage your core and abdominal muscles that put pressure on your stomach and intestines.  Get moving to keep your bowels moving!

18 – Walking has anti-inflammatory effects.  Inflammation is the root cause of many diseases.  Walking helps prevent inflammation from building up in your body.  Therefore, walking can help protect you for illness and disease.

19 – Walking helps prevent dementia.  The 2014 World Alzheimer’s Report states that regular exercise, like walking, can help reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease.  Because walking promotes oxygenation to the brain, it combats vascular disease and age-related dementia.

20 – Walking boosts the immune system.  As we’ve already discussed, walking helps reduce inflammation and promotes brain function, cardiovascular strength and the digestive tract.  These all support a healthier immune system.  Moreover, research shows that walking regularly increases T-cell counts that help stave off illness and disease.

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