Walk or Run, But Exercise for Health Sake
Gibbs
6/24/07
Many Blacks are not taking care of themselves in the simplest ways they can. We see too many over-weight, even obese young and old people. This situation is causing medical problems and death.
In many studies, researchers have found that simply walking for 20 minutes a day can bring your body into better condition than most people allow themselves to be in. The TV has mesmerized too many after they come home from work. But just as that TV mesmerizes, it also causes untold mental and medical problems.
It has been shown that even moderate exercise can help your physical as well as your emotional state. In the June 24, 2007 issue of SF Chronicle Magazine, an article by Dr. Nayer Khazeni, cited a number of studies have indicated that exercise is comparable antidepressants in effectiveness.
So if you are feeling depressed, exercise can relieve that depression as effectively as an antidepressant one may be prescribed by a doctor. Aside from relieving depression, it may also block the onset of depression. So if you have been feeling depressed, exercise and move that depression.
Dr. Khazeni*explains the dynamics of how exercise functions to remove depression:
When you exercise, your body's serotonin and endorphin levels increase. These naturally occurring chemicals can decrease sadness, anxiety and pain, and increase your sense of well being.... Exercise, on the other hand, leads to immediate changes in the level of serotonin, endorphins and other chemicals, resulting in an immediate improvement in your mood."
Also, exercise has many other benefits than to just relieve stress, depression, etc., he argues that exercise has a way of permeating that blockage of depression. Still, the biggest problem for most Blacks is the medical problems associated with obesity.
With obesity comes heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many other problems that shorten life and impair one's health. With exercise that can be overcome. Dr. Khazeni recommends that you start with whatever you can achieve then add a little more each time until you are at a fairly brisk level, if you can achieve that.
Walking can reduce one's heart rate, increase one's recovery time from tiredness, increase blood circulation to the brain, increase metabolism, health in a good night sleep, reduce weight gain, etc. Walking is the most natural of all exercises. A person who has not been exercising should never start with long or hard exercises; that person should slowly build up so the body can adjust to the rigor. And if you have medical problems, it is always wise to contact your primary care doctor before starting.
But as a general rule, get out there and walk and build up to a run if you can, and do this regularly. For those who claim that they do not have the time: make time for health sake!
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* Dr. Khazeni is a specialist in internal medicine and
pulmonary/critical care and does research at Stanford University Medical
Center.