In the news

Walk, don’t run!

          “Running is not exercise; running is a sport.” I have repeated that comment over the years and I have taken a bit of flak as a result. No matter. I have thick skin and I can back up my statement. My follow-up: You can get hurt in a sport. You can’t hurt yourself exercising as long as you do it right.

            Runner’s knee is a common medical term. Walker’s knee not so much. Stress fractures and shin splints are much more common among runners.

            Several studies over the years have indicated that walking confers nearly the same health and longevity benefits as running does. Running is more efficient for humans than walking, since evolution has made humans excellent runners, but that’s where an advantage lies for walking as an exercise. Although it seems counterintuitive, walking, being less efficient than running, requires a greater expenditure of calories per mile. (Note: this is a much-argued issue and involves several factors that make comparisons difficult.)

             Not all studies account for the fact that runners usually have a different lifestyle than walkers. The former are more likely to have other good habits such as engaging in resistance exercise, i.e.., lifting weights and eating a better diet. Runners are less likely to be overweight and thus avoid its consequences, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

            Although walking is an excellent exercise for the heart and lungs, it’s not enough. We need resistance exercises, especially for the upper body, in order to maintain strong bones.

            A caveat: do not carry hand weights while walking. That was a common practice in the 70s but it has been shown to lead to problems involving the elbow and shoulder joints, and the spine. Swinging hand weights also can throw you off balance, leading to falls.

            If you enjoy running, by all means do so. The endorphin rush adds a great deal to that enjoyment. But if your goal is to attain overall good health, walking about 2 ½ hours per week, the current recommendation, it means only 30 minutes a day, and it doesn’t have be done all at once.

Lifestyle

The return of the Saturday night bath?

            Stone Agers never bathed, except maybe by accident, just as animals don’t. (Ever try bathing a cat?) As the trend to bathe seldom or never picks up speed, especially among Californians (!) some serious research is being done to determine the advantages and disadvantages of bathing every day.

            I must admit that this question has been of interest to me since I began researching the lifestyles of Stone Agers, who were considerably healthier than those of us who live in the 21^st century. (I can already visualize the raised eyebrows among you.) Consider that humans who lived 30,000 years or so ago had no coronary artery disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes or osteoporosis, nor were their lives shortened by alcohol, tobacco or drugs. We know that from studying modern hunter-gatherers who live as their Stone Age ancestors did, and who are entirely free of these diseases. It seems extremely unlikely that those ancient people bathed any more frequently than the animals that they ate – or who ate them.

            I didn’t take my first shower until I was seven years old when my parents moved to a house that had one. Until then my parents, my sister and I had a bath on Saturday night. (Yes, we did change the water!) I can’t recall that any of us had skin problems, nor do I recall that we smelled bad.

            Bathing every day does have some adverse effects but it isn’t clear that this is significantly detrimental to our health. No-bath proponents point out that nature coats our skin with natural oils and a layer of beneficial bacteria, both of which we remove with soap and hot water. The oils protect our skin from drying out and forming micro-cracks that allow harmful germs to enter. Those “good” bacteria ward off harmful ones and stimulate our immune system. Dermatologists have speculated for decades that harmful chemicals and heavy metals enter our bodies during a bath or shower.

            My personal opinion is that daily bathing is not necessary, that going shower-free two or three days a week might be of some benefit, and that a little deodorant on those days will eliminate the phew factor. Of course, showering is obviously needed after a sweaty workout or a busy day in the garden.

            A caveat: In contrast to a body wash, handwashing should be done several times a day, especially before eating anything and after elimination.