‘Current research reveals that walking 8,000 brisk steps or more per day leads to great health benefits, practically equal to the benefits from jogging, minus the attendant injuries from running.’
WHILE cheetahs, gazelles, horses, deer, and other animals in the wild were obviously born to run, it is becoming clearer, medically, that we humans were born to walk, not to jog or run. While jogging became popular since the late 60s, 40 years thereafter, the negative health effects became obvious, overshadowing the health benefits.
Jogging traumatizes the body, including muscles, joints, heart and kidneys, especially when excessive. Running thickens the heart tissue, leading to fibrosis (scarring) that causes atrial fibrillation. It also leads to cardiac diastolic dysfunction and stiffening of the large arterial walls. Other injuries include shin splints and stress fractures. More obvious and more common are injuries to the spine, hips, knee, and ankle joints, leading to arthritis of those joints and chronic pains. Some seniors eventually require hip or knee replacement.
Current research reveals that walking 8,000 brisk steps or more per day leads to great health benefits, practically equal to the benefits from jogging, minus the attendant injuries from running. More importantly, most seniors are only able to walk briskly or walk but not jog anymore. Indeed, brisk walking is in.
Brisk walking is defined as walking three miles an hour. If one can recite the lyrics of a song, with a pause (to breathe) between phrases, but unable to sing them, they are walking briskly.
The new study demonstrated that “walking just one to two days is still associated with significant reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.” Each additional day of walking provides even greater health benefits.
“People taking just 8,000 steps one or two days a week are also less likely to die over a ten-year follow-up period, 14.9 % less likely to die compared to people who were sedentary, and 16% reduction for those who walked 3 to 7 days a week,” concludes the study published in JAMA Network.
This is, indeed, a wonderful finding, which would inspire and encourage everyone, especially seniors, to take those 8,000 steps to better health. And add another day at their own pace and comfort every week or two till they reach their goal.
For those with medical issues, consult your physician before embarking on any exercise regimen.
Spring COVID booster?
There has been fake news on television and social media that claimed the bivalent COVID-19 booster was unsafe, causing cardiovascular side-effects. Thanks to a new French study, the world now has factual scientific data. The population-based study “found no evidence of an increased risk of cardiovascular events at 21 days among the recipients of the bivalent vaccine versus recipients of the monovalent vaccine, including strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolism and all four events combined.”
This is indeed welcome news, especially to those immunocompromised and seniors with health issues, since the spring booster (bivalent) is recommended by the CDC, because those who had the original booster, with or without having been infected, are all recommended to have a spring booster. The reason is the immunity of those who had the first booster, and even those who have natural immunity from getting the infection have protection that would have waned by spring. Natural immunity is less stable, less consistent, and less effective than immunity from the vaccines. At any rate, the bivalent booster has been proven all over again to be safe and effective. Getting the bivalent booster this spring will confer safety from a serious residual COVID-19 infection and as of yesterday, April 3, 2023, there were still more than a million (1,066,175) active cases, and 10 new deaths, in the USA; and, 9680 active cases, 217 new cases, in the Philippines.
Seaweed and endometriosis
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (like omega-3 and omega-6) reduce proliferation of endometriosis lesions and most beneficial in managing this common female illness where tissues that lines the inside of the uterus grow outside the womb, in places they do not belong (like the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and bowels, or even the lungs and the brain) It causes abdominal pains and irregular and painful period, among other symptoms, like pain during intercourse or bowel movements.
Seaweed, fish, and nuts contain a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and are found to be helpful when added to the diet. Seaweed has been long proven to benefit women with endometriosis, alleviating their symptoms. Adding more vegetables, particularly cruciferous ones, legumes, and fruits, providing rich antioxidants and fiber, also helps. This diet, together with prescribed therapy by the Gynecologist, will make life a lot more comfortable for women with endometriosis.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He was a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry Truman, President George HW Bush, Muhammad Ali, Astronaut Gus Grissom (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
