I like to walk!

Walking is a very important daily activity for me to do. Actually, before the pandemic I used to walk a lot more. I usually did it for one or two hours a day.

Then came the pandemic, the isolation and all this situation prevented me from going out for my daily walks. In my country regulations are made that allow one week to have a little less restriction, letting people work and go outside, while the next week is a total restriction and so on.

During the weeks with total restriction in the afternoons people shouldn’t be out in the streets and then after 4pm everyone should be at home. Obviously, not that many people do this. There are people who need to be behind them explaining why they should take care of themselves.

Motivated by the fact that there is now a less restrictive week, I can go for a walk in the afternoons. Usually after 4pm, I walk near the residence where I live.

The benefits of walking are many. I can say that, medically, walking from a simple half hour every day allows the human body to control many of the diseases that exhaust the human being, like chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, rheumatism, obesity, etc.

To go for a walk, you should take the precaution of having a pair of shoes that are comfortable, preferably fabric shoes for exercising in the street. In addition you should always carry a container with water, since we never know how much fluid we’ll lose in the walk and our body begins to show signs of fatigue.

It’s necessary to take the foresight to walk in places away from busy areas to avoid breathing air contaminated by carbon monoxide eliminated by the fuel of cars.  So the area you choose to walk in should be surrounded by trees to breathe the pure air produced by them.

 Open, airy places and natural spaces are the best to choose for walks.

Clothing is also important. The use of loose clothing that allows us to move our joints freely without restrictions, by wearing straps, belts, tight pants with zippers or tight blouses. This is the best way to feel free and in contact with nature.

 When going for a walk it’s always more comfortable to do it with friends, you can walk neither so fast nor so slow as to carry on a pleasant conversation and from time to time you should take deep breaths and exhale to fill your lungs with much more vitality.

Walking from the medical point of view has several benefits from my point of view and knowledge:

First of all it allows the body to release endorphins and this simply makes us happier. It stimulates the psyche because by decreasing body aches and pains it allows us to remain active and happy for more hours during the day.

It has been proven that it activates the circulation of the lower limbs. It activates the blood pumping more efficiently and prevents blood clots from being produced and released into the bloodstream.

It contributes to lower blood levels in the body. The body, when needing to consume energy quickly to maintain the movement with expenditure of calories of the organism, quickly uses the sugar circulating in the bloodstream. Therefore, the sugar that we have free in blood is the one that uses first.

It contributes to eliminate fat deposits. When maintaining the rhythm of the walk after consuming the circulating sugar the body happens to use the deposit cholesterol and it unfolds it to the sugar that it needs. For that reason it controls the sugar and helps to diminish weight.

The blood pressure is regulated with the constancy in the walk.  The blood to the heart is pumped more, increases the frequency of the heart rate and lowers blood pressure.

Studies for many years have shown that cholesterol deposits in organs such as the liver and pancreas are lowered by daily walking.

The joint pains caused by sedentary lifestyles and chronic diseases of the joints decrease considerably due to the elaboration of collagen by the bone cells, reducing osteoposis and relaxing osteoarthritis.

In short, there are a wide range of benefits that are produced by walking, so I invite you to resume the habit of walking as a therapy for better health.