Kill two birds with one stone :

Kill two birds with one stone :

The two intimidating ‘birds’ are cancer and coronary heart disease.

The ‘stone’ in our hand is a healthy life style and healthy levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar.

We all know that a healthy life style and optimum blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels are associated with a low likelihood of coronary heart disease.

Now, studies show that even the probability of cancer is affected by these measures.

The 4 life style measures  are diet, physical exercise, avoidance of smoking and obesity.

The optimum levels of total cholesterol to have with a healthy lifestyle are  <200 80="" a="" additionally="" and="" are="" blood="" control="" course="" diastolic="" different="" dl.="" dl="" drugs="" f="" fasting="" glucose="" have="" hg="" if="" life="" measures="" mg="" mm="" mmhg="" nbsp="" not="" o:p="" of="" pressure="" resorted="" serum="" set="" slightly="" systolic="" targets="" these="" to="" under="" with="">

Greater the adherence to all these metrics, greater the benefit, so that if all the parameters are taken care of, cancer chances reduce by 50%, recent studies show.

Interestingly also, the two drugs known to prevent heart disease- aspirin and statins- are also now found to have some benefits in cancer prevention.

In Asian population, studies have found additional benefit with  a normal waist to hip ratio ( ≤ 0.9) and increased fruits and vegetables in diet.

Thus, having a healthy lifestyle and ideal readings with judicious use of medications can not only prevent heart disease. They can do a profitable  “side business” too !

Why not kill two birds with one stone ?

Is walking in the house, exercise ?

Is walking in the house, exercise ?

Recently, while on a holiday, I went to the hotel pool to swim.  After some time I found that I was not getting tired even after 45 minutes of non- stop swimming, which would happen  at 30 minutes in my club pool. I was wondering what was the reason, since the time and distance covered was the same- in fact more.
Then it struck me that compared to my club swimming pool the hotel pool was smaller in length,  so my stopping and turning at the ends was more frequent than what happens in the club pool which is longer.

Every time you reach the end of the pool and turn, you break speed and slow down. This allows a little rest and one can swim for longer time.

The same happens when you walk in the house. However big it may be, you slow down at the walls while turning and hence you are not walking at constant speed like on the beach or a walking track. Thus, although you may walk for the same time, it doesn’t give you the same cardio vascular training or fitness or conditioning as walking with constant speed.

Although something is better than nothing, walking in the house does not give you the same cardio benefits as walking out on the road, park, beach or a treadmill.
So unless there is a compelling medical reason, one should not substitute walking in the house for outdoor or treadmill walking.  Thirty minutes five times a week or 50 minutes thrice a week, round the year, is the minimum “dose”  of any aerobic activity like brisk walking, running, swimming, skipping, dancing cycling etc. to confer cardio vascular benefit.

Walking slowly after dinner in the house or outside is a different matter and not for cardiovascular fitness. People with known heart disease should this post dinner walking only after medical advice from their doctors.