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Today's Daily Health Tip


Walk Your Way to Better Health




Just as it seems a cold and flu season has passed, someone else gets sick and the viruses make their rounds again. So, how do you keep from
being affected? An overall healthy lifestyle certainly helps, but if you really want to keep from taking sick days, it might just be as
easy as going for a walk.




New research that took place at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, shows that exercise is perhaps the best way to keep
the common cold at bay. Taking a moderately-paced walk for between 30 and 45 minutes daily was found to increase the amount of immune
system cells that were present in the body. The levels of immunity boosters remained elevated for several hours after exercise and appear
to have a cumulative effect in protecting against illnesses over time.




The study subjects were 1,002 men and women ranging in age from 18 to 85 years old, with the bulk of them in their mid-40s. The researchers
kept track of their health for a 12-week period through the fall and winter of 2008. Taking into account various other aspects of lifestyle
such as weight and eating habits, the participants who walked more maintained the best health during the study time period. Those who
walked for at least 20 minutes a day, five times a week experienced 43% fewer days sick than those who exercised once a week or less. And
not only did they get far fewer colds, but when the regular exercisers did get sick, it was shorter in duration and milder. The more
sedentary participants spent nearly twice as many days ill as their more frequently walking counterparts. And the severity of the symptoms
they suffered was 41% less for those who felt fittest and 31% less for the more active of the volunteers than those less active.




The connection between a regular walking routine and resistance to germs most likely has to do with the effect of aerobic exercise on the
body's immune system. Every time you exercise, it releases an influx of antibodies as well as neutrophils-a form of white blood cells that
help kill invading organisms-and natural killer cells, another type of white blood cell, which help the body destroy both tumors and
viruses. These cells work to boost your body's defenses. Plus, harmful stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which tend to
repress the immune system and lessen our bodies' attempts to ward off illness, are lowered when we exercise.




Most adults catch the common cold between two and four times each year, the majority of which happens between September and April. Children
average from six to 10 colds a year. All of this lost work time and productivity is estimated to cost the American economy alone
approximately $40 billion every year. The health benefits of walking could eventually add up to huge potential savings over time on many
levels.




So, the next time everyone else is getting sick, enjoy the benefits of your daily walking routine instead!




For more about this study and the health benefits of walking, click here.




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