Surprising Reasons to Walk After Every Meal

Walking isn’t just for hikers. There’s so much good data to support walking after meals as one of the easiest health interventions you can make on your own behalf. The benefits are shockingly good.

Walking requires no special skills, equipment, or location, yet it brings numerous and very real health benefits. And these benefits arrive immediately.

This post explores the incredible benefits of walking, with particular emphasis on the influence on digestion and blood sugar regulation that comes from walking after meals.

Let’s step into the world of walking and discover why we, as humans, are uniquely equipped to derive immense health benefits from this fundamental form of movement.

Walking is Fundamental

As humans, we possess a unique trait among mammals: we are bipedal, meaning we walk on two legs. This distinctive characteristic has had profound implications for our health. Our upright posture has helped us thrive in diverse environments, from the savannah to forests to bustling cities.

The evolutionary shift to walking upright began around six million years ago, and it offered several advantages: it freed our hands for tool use and food gathering, it enabled us to see over tall grass, and it reduced heat exposure in the hot African savannah.

Our bodies have since evolved to optimize for upright walking, with changes in our spine, legs, feet, and even our brain.

All of this influences our health today. But how does it connect with our contemporary love for walking, especially walking in nature-infused environments like forests or mountains?

When walking in a forest or mountain trail, we tap into our ancestral roots where physical movement was a necessary part of daily life. This practice, often referred to as “forest bathing” or “shinrin-yoku” in Japanese, can help reduce stress, improve mood, boost the immune system, and enhance overall wellbeing. Even if you can’t walk, spending time in this environment is crucial to your well-being.

If you can walk, you should enjoy that blessing as often as possible. Our lives are busy. Crazy busy. It’s maddening. It’s exhausting. Rarely do I ever get to feel like I’m doing the right thing, right now. Except when I’m walking. Hiking is one of the few times when I feel in my bones, deeply and immediately, that I’m doing the right thing, right now.

I believe that hiking in nature is not an escape from life but a return to it, to the activity and environment where our DNA thrives best.

But it’s not just my opinion…

The Science of Not Walking

Walking is elemental to humans. It’s so elemental that, for humans, not-walking has immediate and terrible health effects.

So many of us get out of bed, walk a short distance to our cars, then walk another short distance from our cars to an office where we sit all day. Later, after work, maybe we drive to a restaurant and sit for an hour before driving home again — where we sit in front of a TV, scrolling our phones. Since the pandemic, many of us don’t even leave our homes that much.

A sedentary lifestyle, characterized by minimal walking or physical activity, has detrimental effects on health and wellbeing, such as…

1. Weight Gain and Obesity: Lack of physical activity can lead to weight gain as the body doesn’t burn enough calories. Over time, this can result in obesity, a risk factor for many diseases.
2. Cardiovascular Diseases: Sedentary behavior is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, as it may lead to unhealthy cholesterol levels, hypertension, and poor circulation.
3. Type 2 Diabetes: Physical inactivity can lead to insulin resistance, a key factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. Regular walking or other forms of physical activity can help regulate blood sugar levels.
4. Osteoporosis: Regular weight-bearing exercise like walking is crucial for maintaining bone density. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to loss of bone mass and increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
5. Poor Mental Health: Physical activity, including walking, has been shown to boost mood and alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. A sedentary lifestyle can contribute to poor mental health and lower quality of life.
6. Reduced Muscle Strength and Flexibility: Without regular activity, muscles and joints can become weak and stiff. This can lead to reduced mobility, balance issues, and a higher risk of injuries.
7. Increased Risk of Certain Cancers: Sedentary behavior has been linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, including breast, colon, and endometrial cancers.

It’s important to note that all these risks can be substantially mitigated by incorporating even modest amounts of physical activity, such as regular walking, into our daily routines.

Walking is one reason why New York City citizens have such unusually high longevity rates. Not only do New Yorkers walk everywhere, they walk everywhere very quickly. (New York City has the fastest pedestrians in the country.) Despite living on a concrete island, Manhattanites are some of the most long-lived and healthiest people in America.

That’s how protective against negative health outcomes a walk can be.

The Science of Walking After Meals

With a deeper appreciation of our natural propensity for walking, let’s explore one of its vital health implications — walking after meals.

As counter-intuitive as it may sound, walking after meals significantly impacts our digestion and metabolic health.

The human body’s response to food intake is complex. After eating, our blood sugar levels rise as carbohydrates are broken down into glucose. This triggers the release of insulin, a hormone that allows glucose to be used as energy or stored for later use.

High blood sugar and insulin levels, particularly sustained over time, leads to health problems like diabetes and heart disease.

In a fascinating study titled “The Timing of Activity after Eating Affects the Glycaemic Response of Healthy Adults: A Randomised Controlled Trial” researchers found that a 10 minute bout of easy exercise at 45 minutes after eating substantially mitigated glucose and sugar spikes.

The study’s authors go on to theorize that the optimal window for mitigating the glycemic response may be 30 minutes after eating.

Walking after meals stimulates our muscles to absorb more glucose, which reduces the amount of sugar circulating in our blood.

Walking also aids in the stomach’s digestion process and can help alleviate symptoms associated with GERD by preventing acid reflux.

From Science to Practice

Incorporating walking into your post-meal routine doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some simple steps to get started:

• Start small: Aim for a 15-minute walk after at least one meal a day, gradually increasing as you become comfortable.
• Timing matters: Ideally, begin your walk about 30 minutes after finishing your meal.
• Find your pace: It doesn’t have to be a brisk walk to be effective. Find a pace that suits you. Remember, the goal is to make it a habit. (However, if you can walk briskly, then do walk briskly. Walking briskly confers the greatest benefits.)
• Connect with nature: Whenever possible, choose to walk in a park, forest, or along a mountain trail. This will enhance the benefits of walking by reducing stress and improving mood.
• Find your trail: Not ready to hike the hardest mountain hikes? No problem. Try one of these amazing nature trails, suitable for the whole family.

Remember, the key is consistency. The benefits of walking aren’t confined to immediate glucose regulation. Regular walking can lead to better cardiovascular health, stronger bones and muscles, improved balance and coordination, stress reduction, and even a boost in creativity and mood.

10 Amazing Benefits of Regular Walks

As we walk, let’s appreciate our evolutionary history, the scientific findings supporting the benefits of this simple activity, and the beauty of the natural environments around us.

Here are ten ways walking is good for your body…

1. Boosts Heart Health: Regular walking increases heart rate, strengthens the heart, improves blood circulation, and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.
2. Improves Blood Sugar Control: Especially post-meal walks, as they help to manage glucose levels and prevent sugar spikes, contributing to better overall metabolic health.
3. Aids Weight Management: Walking burns calories and, when combined with a healthy diet, can help in maintaining a healthy weight.
4. Strengthens Bones and Muscles: Regular walking stimulates and strengthens bones, increasing their density. It also tones muscles, particularly in the lower body.
5. Improves Mental Health: Walking, particularly in nature, can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. It helps produce “feel-good” endorphins, promoting overall mental wellbeing.
6. Enhances Digestion: Regular, light walking can improve gastric mobility, aiding in better digestion and reducing the risk of constipation and other digestive issues.
7. Improves Lung Capacity: Walking can help increase the capacity of the lungs, allowing them to inhale and exhale more air, which improves oxygen flow to all parts of the body.
8. Boosts Immune Function: Regular walking can strengthen the immune system, making the body more capable of fighting off diseases and infections.
9. Improves Sleep: Regular physical activity, like walking, can help you fall asleep faster and enjoy deeper, more restful sleep.
10. Enhances Cognitive Function: Walking can stimulate brain function, improve memory, creativity, and problem-solving skills, and delay cognitive decline related to age.

Walking connects us with our roots, embraces our human design, and leads us on a journey to improved health. After all, we’ve been shaped by millions of years of evolution to do just that — to walk upright, to journey into the wild, and to flourish.

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