Walking downhill helps lower blood sugar levels, uphill helps cholesterol levels

Main Category: Cholesterol
Article Date: 08 Nov 2004 - 12:00 PDT

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If you are too weak, unfit or heavy to embark on an exercise program, you should try walking downhill. Walking downhill is good for lowering your blood glucose levels, say Austrian researchers. Walking uphill reduces triglycerides - these are important components of cholesterol.

Dr. Heinz Drexel, Voralberg Institute, Feldirch, Austria, says that walking downhill may be a good starting point for sedentary people to start exercising. It is much easier and it does you a lot of good.

Drexel says that walking downhill reduces the risks (effects) of diabetes. Drexel carried out his research in the Austrian Alps.

Drexel and team got 45 healthy, sedentary people to walk on a steep mountain for 3-5 days per week for two months. 50% of the group went up by cable car and walked down each time, the other 50% walked up and came down by cable car. For the following two months the two groups swapped.

In order to make sure all members were doing this properly the researchers checked their cable car tickets each day. 36 hours after each walk the walkers' cholesterol, including LDL and triglycerides, as well as blood sugar levels were checked.

The researchers did not expect to see much benefit from walking downhill. They found, however, that the downhill walkers were better able to handle sugar. Walking uphill, on the other hand, seemed to have no impact on handling sugar.

LDL cholesterol levels went down for both uphill and downhill walkers, much more for the uphill walkers. Uphill walkers also had much lower triglycerides levels.

Drexel says his next research will be on how downhill walking may help diabetics.

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