In this day and age of high tech personalized medicine, there are still some simple tasks that we all can do, if able, to improve our overall health. When you are dealt a diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma there is one thing that everyone can benefit from doing every day – walking. No matter what stage your cancer is, what cell type or course of treatment that you elect, walking everyday has proven health benefits. Walking can ease the recovery after surgery, contribute to the use of less pain medication and allow you to potentially be released from the hospital earlier.
How does walking have such positive benefits? As noted in http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/walking/art-20046261 walking can help maintain a healthy weight, prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, strengthen your bones and muscles, improve your mood and improve your balance and coordination.
In 2015, research was presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, that walking may slow down the aging process and that exercise buys you three to seven additional years of life. It can act as an antidepressant, improves cognitive function, and there is new evidence that it may retard the onset of dementia.
One study found that walking for two miles a day or more can cut your chances of hospitalization from a severe episode of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by about half.
Another study found that daily walking reduced the risk of stroke in men over age 60. Walking for at least an hour or two could cut a man’s stroke risk by as much as one-third, and it didn’t matter how brisk the pace was.
Walking triggers your body to release natural pain-killing endorphins, and the more steps people take during a day, the better their mood tends to be.
Walking daily around 10,000 steps or more is good, if you can do it out in the sunshine and barefoot for grounding it is better. In an article published online in March of 2015, ‘The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases are remarkable.”(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378297/) Grounding is defined as direct skin contact with the surface of the Earth, such as with bare feet or hands, or with various grounding systems. This research investigated the effects of walking on inflammation and concluded that grounding can be a simple, natural, and accessible health strategy against chronic inflammation.
Established in 1996, America Walks, is an organization which is trying to make America a great place to walk, by providing a voice for walking and walkable communities with federal agencies.
Walking is easy, free, and available for everyone. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is quoted as saying walking is “the closest thing we have to a wonder drug.”
The Harvard Health Publication of Harvard Medical School recently published the 5 surprising benefits of walking. Walking counteracts the effects of weight-promoting genes, helps tame a sweet tooth, reduces the risk of developing breast cancer, helps to ease joint pain and boosts immune function.
The benefits of walking are many, take advantage of them!
– Ellie
