Walking, The Best Exercise
That Most Individuals Can Perform
Article by Diet Bites
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Positive Physical Impacts of Walking
Enhanced Bone Health, Density
1. Being active strengthens the bones because they grow more dense - and are larger than if the individual had spent their time as a couch potato. And while bones are being strengthened, so are muscles, including our largest - the heart.
Walk in a Clean, Safe Environment
2. We usually perform this activity outdoors which has both disadvantages and advantages. In the good old days - breathing in the outdoor air equaled a breath of freshness. These days, most of us are breathing in particulates - such as rubber which is worn from our cars and which becomes an invisible harmful element in the air we breathe.
Even so, the air inside our homes is often three times more unhealthy than that found in the great outdoors.
To get the cleanest air possible, get on the outskirts of town when exercising - away from the pollution and into the fresher air. By walking at a brisk pace, you'll be strengthening the lungs so that they hold-up best against the harmful elements.
Vitamin D Benefits from the Sun
3. A stroll in the sunshine soaks in a healthy dose of Vitamin D which assists in maintaining healthy levels of calcium within the body, fights against inflammation, supports cell health and a healthy immune system.
Healthier Blood Pressure & Cholesterol Readings
4. Exercising can work towards reducing high blood pressure readings as well as in the reduction of cholesterol.
Improved Metabolic Rate, Heart Rate
5. For a slow digestive system - it's difficult to beat activity as a natural remedy. Sitting not only slows the digestive process, it slows the release of potentially harmful waste from the body as well as increases the risk for blood clots, wasting muscles and weight gain. Walking also improves our heart rate.
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Positive Mental Impacts of Walking
Relieves Stress
1. Because exercise is a great stress reliever, we tend to feel free - or as Scrooge would say, "lighter than a feather!".
Fact is, stress is one of the top contributors to weight gain and working it out through healthy activity does a body good.
Combats Weight Gain Due to Dormancy
2. Almost everyone knows the benefits of a body in action in comparison to the disadvantages of a body which is dormant. And when we do things that we know are good - whether it's for our own self or for others, we simply feel good about ourselves as a person.
Balances Our Thoughts
3. Being active allows us time to get in touch with our thoughts and put our lives in balance.
That problem which seemed overwhelming before our walk may be settled afterwards.
In Summary
Walking is an activity that most of us can do - and when we lay dormant in a couch potato state, one day we might find ourselves having to get around by using a cane, an electronic chair or not being able to move around at all.
It takes a big step to get up from that comfortable chair or sofa - and to get moving, but once we do, our body feels energized and much healthier.
A positive state of mind over the things that we do amid our day equals a healthier body, and a body that exercises equals an even healthier one.
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