Have you heard that walking can add years to your life? It’s true. Every one of us may not have time for the gym or elaborate fitness regimes. In that case, regular walking can have incredible benefits for the body. A 30-minute walk every day can also help you maintain a healthy weight and prevent various conditions including heart disease and high blood pressure.

Research studies suggest walking over running as it is a low-impact exercise that works better on improving your mood and strengthening bones and muscles. Our health experts at SMILES were amazed to find out that regular walking is a practice that could significantly benefit the whole body and mind.

SMILES have created a list of benefits of walking every day that you should consider.

For 30 minutes walk every single day, you could gain the following benefits.

Excess body fat is dangerous that cause harm to your overall health. While any exercise can burn calories, brisk walking for 20-30 minutes especially helps burn internal belly fat, called visceral fat, that raises your risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Poor digestion can lead to GI tract disorders and so walking after meals can improve your digestion and regulate bowel movements. Maintaining a healthy digestive system plays a role in preventing colon cancer and other digestive problems such as constipation and diarrhea.

Believe it or not, walking is as effective as running when it comes to the prevention of heart-related diseases or stroke. Walking helps prevent heart problems by lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and improving blood circulation.

Regular walking is a good weight-bearing exercise to maintain general health, cardiac health as well as bone health. Research studies show that walking can improve joint mobility, which prevents loss of bone mass and even make them stronger and reduce the risk of fractures.

Your body’s immune system should always function properly to fight infections and diseases. Walking at least 30 minutes a day is a great way to boost your immunity. It helps boost the activities of the immune cells that allow your body to heal quickly during infections.

It may sound fishy, but walking every day can benefit your eyes as well. This is because walking ( and exercise as a whole) can reduce eye pressure and thus helps to fight glaucoma, a disease that damages your eye’s optic nerve.

A sedentary lifestyle and obesity are the most common causes of cancer, and this is where walking can help you. Scientists have found that walking can be a great way that helps in weight loss and lowers hormone levels that increase the risk of breast cancer in women.

Walking every day in the morning helps your body to produce Vitamin D. According to the research, Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones and it prevents various cancers. So, it is very crucial that you get 10 minutes of morning sun exposure, and walking is the best way to do so

Walking can help reduce stress levels by improving circulation, which in turn, provides nutrients and oxygen to the cells. It also stimulates your nervous system and decreases the production of stress hormones. Breathing in and out while walking greatly helps in relieving tension.

Feeling depressed or sad? Just take a walk for a while and feel better. Scientific studies have proven that physical activities like brisk walking can help prevent depression. Regular walking is highly recommended by health care professionals to help uplift your mood.

Besides removing toxins from your body, the benefits of walking include improving the lung’s capacity by providing oxygen flowing throughout the body. This can greatly impact on the functioning of the lungs and prevent lung diseases.

How often do you take a walk? Have you noticed a difference in any of these things? From the above list, it’s clear that walking can improve your health in many ways.

To know more about the benefits of walking and exercise, keep following SMILES.