Here's Your No. 1 Health Tip

What’s the most important thing you can do for your health today? Michael Roizen, MD, Chief Wellness Officer and Chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute, says “It’s something that virtually everyone can do. Walk 30 minutes and then call a buddy.”

The health benefits of walking are astonishing. “Walking turns on genes that decrease your risk of cancers, lower your blood pressure and lousy cholesterol and decrease insulin resistance. Over the long term, walking also decreases the risk and pain of osteoarthritis,” says Dr. Roizen.

Walking boosts your immune system, and increases healthy cholesterol and the chance your arteries and organs, including your skin, will look and function like they did when you were younger. Walking also improves memory function, bone and muscle strength and balance. Best of all, walking is free.

“I can’t think of many things in your body that walking doesn’t improve, and virtually everyone reading this can do it,” he says. “Plus, calling a buddy during or after a walk keeps you walking. Together, walking and talking can make you up to eight years younger.” Walking is especially beneficial if you’re feeling blue.

Walking encourages your brain to release endorphins, the body’s natural opiates, which can make you feel better right away. It also gets the brain to exude serotonin, another potent mood elevator.

What’s the best way to walk? Simply put on a pair of sneakers, step outside and start walking. Dr. Roizen advises taking a walk around the block, a spin around the office parking lot during lunch, a no-dawdling loop through the grocery store on the way home and another walk around the block after dinner.

“Taking 10 minutes longer to get home to your family or to be away from your desk isn’t selfish,” he says. “Taking care of yourself is a way of showing love for the people who care about you.”