Miracle Medicine.

Looking for a way to prevent diabetes, heart disease, and cancer? Hit the road!

What if someone discovered a fantastic medicine that treats and prevents diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, and even cancer? Would you go to your doctor to get a prescription? What if you didn't have to go to the doctor to get the medicine, and didn't ever need to drop by the pharmacy to pick it up? How much would it be worth to you, and how much would you pay? Wouldn't you make sure you took it and insist that your children and loved ones take it too? I surely would!

Well, that "medicine" has been discovered, and what's more, it has been shown to prolong life, improve mental ability, combat depression, and allow you to experience deeper emotional and spiritual connection when used in the appropriate doses. It is, however, not free, even though you don't have to shell out big bucks to get it. The currency that you pay is time ... and the medical miracle is walking. Surprised? Probably not.

It seems that most of us know deep down that we should be more active ... and what's a more natural activity than walking? What may be new to you is the extent of the benefits that even short bouts of walking (10 minutes, three times per day for 3 to 6 days per week) can bring. So let's look at a few.

Among North Americans, diabetes is growing at epidemic rates. It's becoming hard to find somebody who doesn't know somebody with diabetes or doesn't have diabetes themselves. Evidence strongly indicates that walking reduces your risk of getting diabetes; and if you already have it, walking helps control it. In October 1999 research showed that one hour per day of walking (even doing physically active housework) can give similar results as seen with more vigorous exercise, such as swimming or jogging. According to the Harvard researchers, what is important is the total amount of energy used in the activity, not necessarily how it is accomplished. Walking reduces your risk of diabetes by helping your body to use the natural anti-diabetes hormone, insulin, more efficiently and effectively.

Walking also helps you keep extra flab and pounds off. While it is unlikely that you will lose a great deal of weight by just walking a few minutes per day, the combination of a prudent adjustment to your food intake and food choices along with a walking plan can literally do wonders. Losing weight itself will bring with it multiple health benefits as well as a greater sense of accomplishment, especially as you see the dress sizes decrease and the belt notches increase!

Women who walk during pregnancy are less likely to have miscarriages and are more likely to have easier labor than those who are inactive. Walking also helps pregnant women keep from gaining too much weight, while improving their stamina. This allows for a much more pleasant and enjoyable pregnancy, as well as a smoother and safer delivery.

Walking, however, does not have just physical benefits. Many people walk for social, mental, and spiritual well being, as well as for fitness. Many find that walking can lead to a deeper spiritual and religious life, and allows time for play and socializing that can be fun and healthy.

Walking increases the flow of the blood to the brain. Can you spend 45 minutes a day walking at a brisk pace (16 minutes per mile)? Research has shown that this time spent walking increases the thinking skills of people over age 60. With the brain functioning better, you are able to commune better with yourself and with the Creator.

Walking allows you time to ponder and consider deep and fundamental questions that every human being will face sometime or another. What is the meaning of life? Is there any purpose for my living? Am I fulfilling that purpose? Am I just occupying space, or making the world a better place? What is the best choice that I can have for the rest of my life? Have I been forgiven for the things that I have done, and do I have the calm spirit of forgiveness for those who have offended me? What am I supposed to do? At some time in our lives we ask these questions, but to get the answers requires time ... time to think. Walking allows you to clear the line and clear your mind, then allows you to see yourself as a whole person. This is important since most of us long to be complete, to connect with one another, and to commune with the nature about us.

Walking can also be a tool to connect you with the God of nature. One author has suggested that as she walks, she takes the time to see the beauty about her in people she sees passing by or with whom she walks. She also appreciates the things you and I may take for granted, such as the trees, flowers, small and not-so-small animals, or even the blue sky and the rain. It is said that on a clear day while you walk you may feel like breaking out in song and being thankful can come easily. It is known that the rhythm of walking helps integrate the body and mind and may facilitate your being more open to more spiritual things.

Doctors and psychologists recognize that walking and other exercises can lead to the release of the "happy" chemicals called endorphins and enkephalins. Even people who walk at a slow rate can notice the change in mood. Regular walking can be used as therapy and has been recommended by physicians and therapists to relieve the pressure of life, since the experience of pressure is related to brain chemistry. The release of endorphins when you walk can help you to achieve naturally what many prescription drugs and herbs try to do ... without side effects, except, of course, you might become fit!

As a stress reliever, walking is close to the top of the list. One experiment with college students showed that those who were walkers had lower stress levels than those "couch potatoes" and "sofa pumpkins." They were also less stressed than even those who engaged in strenuous physical exercise! Feeling your body move and getting in tune with the rhythm of your body is a stress reliever. There is an added bonus, too, when you couple walking with being outdoors and breathing fresh air ... you will be a triple winner!

Walking has social aspects as well. I walk with my patients whenever it's appropriate. When I have business appointments, I'm much more likely to be walking and talking than "lazing and glazing." Try it sometime! As you walk with your spouse, loved ones, and children, you can obtain lasting memories and tight family values, and you will have the opportunity to play and connect in ways that are not possible sitting in front of the television. Taking a stroll after dinner and holding hands with the one you love can strengthen a strained relationship and enhance the social life.

Also, walking with a committed partner or friend can help you keep yourself motivated and reduce the habit of skipping out or overdoing. Today we have so many gadgets and gizmos that help to give us extra "free" time, but in our free time to become closer, we often overwork and entertain ourselves, much to our detriment. Developing a walking habit can cut through some of the clutter of the modern life. It is almost impossible to walk together with someone for a half hour without sharing a conversation. To remain silent and to keep your heart hard is a struggle during a good walk with a companion.

While women seem to gravitate more naturally to social walking, men benefit too. A research study from Boston University published in August 2000 showed that men who walked briskly for two miles a day reduced their risk for sexual dysfunction. This was true whether men kept on exercising from their youth or took up exercising at middle age.

The take-home message: it is never too late to start. So let your walking replace other habits that are known to decrease sexual function, such as cigarette smoking and alcohol use. You'll feel better, look better, and have a much more fulfilled and enjoyable life.

There it is ... and it's all yours! Miracle medicine! You don't need a prescription. You don't even need the latest expensive or amazing exercise gadget that fills the airwaves on infomercials! All you need are two limbs to walk on, a good pair of walking shoes, and a safe place to walk. You can walk up stairs, at home, or at work. You can walk around the house, apartment yard, or parking lot. You can walk on a school track, at the Y, or in the mall. But nobody can do it for you! You can do it; you can make the time if you take the time! What are you waiting for?

Zeno L. Charles-Marcel, M.D., is medical director at Lifestyle Center of America. He is board-certified in internal medicine and geriatrics.