Walk or Die!

I have often said “if you stop walking, you die”, and that is literally true. There are ways to compensate some aspects of forced lack of walking (necessary if you for some reason cannot walk), but hardly anything can really replace it or offer the same benefits. No matter if you exercise in other ways or not, no matter if you are 4 years old or 104, walking remains your most important physical activity and the only one you must never stop doing. This is mainly related to the legs representing your second heart and lungs. Walking pumps the blood and stimulates breathing. Blood circulation requires walking to function properly. Without it, the cells will neither be fully nourished nor detoxified – a situation which will gradually cause degeneration.

Walking also affects the biochemistry of the body in a large number of ways, one of which is that it makes the liver produce good cholesterol which, in turn, protects against cardiovascular disease. It also makes the cells take fat as energy before they use carbohydrates, which helps rid the body of surplus fat in blood and tissues.

Please note that running or jogging offers only a fraction of the benefits of walking. In addition to that, it harms in more ways than one, while there is not a single known disadvantage of walking, if it is done correctly and with good shoes. The body is made for it! If for some reason you can only walk slowly, do it anyway, but the best is fast walking which slightly raises the pulse. But only slightly, otherwise the biochemical benefits will not occur and you will cause excessive oxidation instead.

The older you are, the more important it is not to stop walking even for a day. If you are ill or disabled, have to use a cane and walk at the speed of a snail, still walk. The day you stop, the process of dying starts. If you are over 70 and have to stay in bed only for a few weeks (for whatever reason), the risk is high that you'll never get up again. And what kills you does not have to be what originally kept you in bed. The body simply degenerates, the process of ageing is accelerated, and death might come faster than you'd believe.

If you are young, the body has more resistance to abuse. At 20 you can stay in bed for a year without dying – and the harm it causes can probably be repaired in some months of resumed active living. It doesn't mean it would not harm, only that a young body has more resistance to all forms of abuse, and there is often time to change habits and repair damages. When you age, that tolerance is gradually declining. If it is really bad, a month in bed or a month of bad eating can kill an elderly individual. Literally. I have seen it happen many times.

Try to walk a minimum of 30 minutes every day. More is better. If you walk many hours per day, that's just fine. Overstraining by walking is hardly possible, provided you move in a correct way and wear good shoes - otherwise you can harm feet or knees. If you walk very much, you may have to eat more, because it takes energy.

Walking is also an excellent way to lose surplus weight. And you will not become as hungry as after harder exercise, for instance jogging, since your blood sugar level is only marginally affected by walking.

If you raise the pulse only slightly, you will not touch the stored carbohydrates, but take energy from fat.

If you raise the pulse much, you will first consume the body's reserves of carbohydrates, glucose and glycogen. Only when the carbohydrates are depleted, the body will take fat for energy. The worst hunger appears by losing carbohydrates.

Then there is also the question of how to walk. Just as with many other things, it's something most people just do, without ever considering how. And, also just as with many other things, it is something often done wrong.

The most important thing is that feet and knees should point straight forwards; no angle, no feet pointing sideways, no knees bowing sideways. If you do this correctly, the whole body will move forwards, without any moving from side to side. Indeed, if your upper body swings from side to side when you walk, you do not hold or move your feet and legs correctly. You will harm knees and perhaps even your back.

Every athlete who is jogging or running knows this; the point of weight must move forwards in a straight line, without any swinging left or right, otherwise they will lose speed and increase the amount of energy that is required. Not to mention the extra strain on back and knees, which paves the way for injuries.

(This article is based on material previously published in Meriondho Leo.)

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