In the first part of this reflection, we clearly distinguished between hunger and appetite: hunger as an unavoidable physiological need, and appetite as a psychological desire that opens the door to enjoyment and fulfillment. We concluded then that if hunger reminds us of our biological condition, appetite reveals our more sensitive human dimension; both linked to a conscious and unconscious need for survival.
Now, in this second part, we want to focus on appetite and its close relationship with daily walking.
Appetite isn’t limited to food; it’s a vital symptom. Having an appetite means our internal systems are working in coordination, that there’s a physical, mental, and emotional balance that allows us to desire, enjoy, and project ourselves forward. A lack of appetite, on the other hand, is often an alarm: something in our physiology or mood isn’t right.
We could say that appetite is a rudder, an internal clock, a compass, a weathervane that points to our capacity to feel alive (1).
Baby Steps Appetite
Walking: An Appetite Generator
If appetite is the compass, walking is the key that winds the clock. The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other activates multiple processes that nourish, recreate, and expand our appetite in every sense:
Daily, sufficient walking increases the sensitivity of the hormones ghrelin and leptin, which we discussed in Part I, allowing the body to naturally regain a healthy appetite for food.
After a walk, the body responds with an “appetite for life”: it asks for water, nutrients, and restorative rest.
Technical and Functional
Walking is an accessible, economical, flexible, and universal exercise. It doesn’t require special equipment or particular conditions but produces tangible results in balancing appetite.
Studies on the physiology of movement show that even short walks of 20 to 30 minutes can reactivate a healthy appetite, especially in people with sedentary routines.
Mental and Emotional
Appetite isn’t just about eating; it’s about desiring. And walking enhances the desire to think, imagine, remember, and project.
Every walk clears the mind of what’s toxic and allows a renewed appetite for activities to emerge: reading, writing, drawing, talking, creating, loving (2).
Regaining your appetite means regaining your sense of purpose. Walking is a reminder that we can move forward, step by step, toward where we want to go.
Each walk, each journey, is a metaphor that appetite is built in motion: the more we walk, the more we feel like living.
Walking awakens an appetite for the world (3): to see, hear, touch, smell, and discover.
The Appetite for Food: A Privileged Mirror
Of all human appetites, perhaps the most visible and direct is that for food. And this is where walking becomes an extraordinary ally.
A walk “opens the palate,” making food taste better and making the body receive it with greater gratitude.
The difference between physiological hunger and enjoyable appetite becomes clearer.
Food after a walk is transformed into a celebration: appetite is not just a need but conscious enjoyment.
Walking with Appetite
We could summarize it this way:
The hunger to walk reminds us that we need to move.
The appetite to walk inspires us to enjoy the movement, to prolong it, to seek it out every day, and thus also prolong our lucid years with all our senses (external and internal) attentive and awake (4).
And the wonderful thing is that walking, at the same time, generates more appetite in all dimensions of life. If in Part I we talked about the need not to confuse hunger and appetite, we can now conclude that appetite is the clearest sign that we are alive, that we continue to enjoy life and keep our desires alive. Walking is one of the simplest and most profound ways to feed that appetite.
That’s why going for a walk every day, even for just half an hour, is like winding our vital clock: it reminds us that life is there, waiting for us with all its flavors, colors, landscapes, and unexpected encounters (5) (6).
👉 Walk to open your appetite, not just for food, but for the world: for nature, life, air, new knowledge, readings, writings, discoveries, as well as for relationships, ideas, and new projects.Each walk will surprise us like every sunrise.
(1) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Alteración Ficticia. Según la voluntad del delirio, EMULISA, México, 2009, Poema: La Vida, p. 36.
(2) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Sistema de Reprogramación Erotanática, EMULISA, México, 2025. Available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0FJJRL2GX
(3) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Apetito Existencial, EMULISA, México, 2025. Available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0FRDCPX3J
(4) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, GOVOT. El Susurro Inexorables de los Sentidos, EMULISA, México, 2025. Available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0DW2PTYNN
(5) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Sincronicidad Dirigida. En la Era del Realsmo Tóxico y la I.A., EMULISA, México, 2025. Available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0FGDSMWNK
(6) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Caminar con la Sincronicidad. Cuaderno de Trabajo, EMULISA, México, 2025. Available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0FGS96CX2
When we talk about writing, we think of a hand gripping a pen, fingers typing on a keyboard or the stroke of a brush leaving its mark on a canvas. However, there’s a more ancient, silent, and loyal instrument that also writes: our feet.
Since humans first dared to stand and walk, our feet have been leaving an invisible manuscript on Earth. Each step marks a letter, each path is a sentence, and the roads walked by generations form entire chapters of human history.
Our writing feet drew routes on the ground, left signs on the trails, and traced invisible stories that, nevertheless, still resonate in our collective memory. [El Lenguaje Oculto de los Pies (1)].
Our feet are, in reality, the first writers.
The Great Writing Feet of History
Many of the wise men and masters we remember didn’t write with ink, but with steps. Buddha, with his long walks, wrote the teaching of detachment on dusty paths in India, turning each step into a precept. Jesus, traveling through villages and deserts, inscribed the message of love and compassion on the sand and rocky roads, turning each journey into an educational program.
Medieval pilgrims (Post THE PILGRIMAGE, AN ANCIENT PRACTICE OF WALKING), with their tired feet, left entire texts on the routes to Santiago, Rome, or Jerusalem: stories of faith, sacrifice and hope, that can still be read in the worn stones of the roads. They embroidered with their footprints the paths that are still called “sacred roads” today.
The ritual dancers of many peoples (Post WALKING AND DANCING), by pounding the ground in endless circles, have drawn verses of fire and rhythm on the sacred earth. With their rhythm, they transformed the ground into a living manuscript, where each turn was a word and each beat an accent.
Even nomadic peoples, walking in the footsteps of the seasons, wrote the first encyclopedia of human movement: one that reminds us that home is not a fixed place, but a shared journey.
All of them—and millions more anonymous walkers—were authors of invisible stories, inscribed in the grooves of the dust, on the sands of the deserts, on the pavement of cities. There, where footprints are erased, the writing of humanity persists.
Walking, then, is not just moving: it is writing with the body an open narrative that others can follow, rewrite, or reinterpret. Every foot that touches the world participates in this great choral work: an infinite library written in silence and read with the memory of steps.
Perhaps not everyone notices, but every time you walk, you are also a writer. Your feet sign a unique text on the surface of the Earth—a text that is erased and, at the same time, remains.
The Secret Writing of Our Feet
If we look closely, we’ll discover that each of us continues to write with our feet. The child who runs after a ball traces a chapter of games and discoveries. The worker who walks at dawn to catch a bus writes a story of daily effort. The lover who walks the streets to meet their beloved writes poems of waiting and desire (Libro de poemas: Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Alteración Ficticia. Según la Voluntad del Delirio, EMULISA, México, 2009, Poema: “Digna del Nogal”, p. 115).
Our feet are not silent: they keep a quiet, incessant diary that accumulates in footprints that the wind and time erase, but that memory preserves. Each step is a line, each path is a narrative.
An Invitation to Write with Your Feet
Walking isn’t just moving from one place to another. It’s writing a story of presence in the world. Our feet invite us to be writers without ink or paper, but with stories that are inscribed in our flesh, in the ground we walk on, and in the memory of those who walk with us.
Today more than ever, when much of writing has become digital, we need to remember this first, primal way of narrating: walking. Because in every step we take, we continue to be part of that great collective book of footprints, in which wise men, pilgrims, dancers, warriors, farmers and dreamers wrote before us.
So, reader, this post is an invitation: go for a walk, turn your steps into words, and let your feet continue to write the story that only you can tell.
(1) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, The Hidden Language of the Feet. Between the Individual and Collective Unconscious, EMULISA, Mexico, 2005. Available on Amazon, Kindle edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FYGJBSSL
This is the first in a series I’ve titled “THE FLAVOR TRAILS”. To walk is to open ourselves to the world. It’s not just about paving our way through landscapes and paths, but also about traveling through more intimate terrains: our flavors. Behind every path, there are aromas; behind every crop, there are seeds; and behind every community, there are recipes that hold centuries of tradition.
In each of these posts, we’ll be walking through spaces where our journey will become nourishment and culture will reveal itself through the kitchen.
The dried chile will be the star, but not just as an ingredient. It’s a tireless traveler that has accompanied the history of traditional Mexico, from the field to the table. We will explore its routes: from the furrow where it’s born green and vibrant, to the market where it’s offered wrinkled and aromatic; from the hands that harvest it to the pots where it transforms into adobo, mole or salsa. Join it on its culinary and cultural journeys.
To walk the trails of the dried chile is to recognize that in every bite, there are the footprints of farmers, pilgrims, cooks and travelers who carried it from one State to another, from one century to the next. I invite you to follow those footprints.
In my book, Capsicupea. Los adobos mexicanos (1), I present 440 recipes that use 27 varieties of dried chiles sold in Mexico. “I’ve always had a fondness for all dishes prepared with adobo. During the eighties and up to the end of the nineties, due to construction work I was doing in some large, medium, and small cities in Mexico, I visited a large number of local markets, restaurants, and eateries that offered their respective adobo specialties. This preference allowed me to confidently recognize the different components of each dish, which I wrote down and organized. In a considerable number of cases, I dared to ask the owner, and also the head cook, about some of the seasonings I couldn’t identify. And that’s how I created this list of adobo dishes that I am now pleased to present to you—the pleasure of savoring them. Only in a few cases is the recipe presented with a meat or seafood that I didn’t try in its original form; the vast majority include the ingredients with which I tasted the delicious delicacy. On certain occasions, I’ve had to return to a place to find a dish I didn’t write down but considered very important to include in the selection.
All the recipes were prepared by me, and sometimes I had to do them two or three times to be precise and refine them. However, many dishes were left without a photograph because it would have taken me months to do so. I preferred to print the book and leave spaces for the reader to add their own photo (or photos) of the dishes they make.
With centuries of customs and traditions, each region of the country and each state in particular have developed their exclusive and distinct adobo dishes according to their culinary tastes and the characteristics and flavors of the typical natural products of each area of Mexico.
Each dish has its tradition in terms of its ingredients and, of course, the amount of adobo used to coat the main food. However, it is the taster’s prerogative whether they cover it completely with the adobo or just toss it in a pan with a small amount”.
We begin this post with the chile ancho, obtained by drying the poblano chile, which acquires the depth of flavor that accompanies the traveler.
“To walk culture is also to taste it”.
THE FLAVOR TRAILS is not a cookbook, but an invitation to walk through culture by way of taste. Because walking is not just about moving: it’s about opening the senses (2). And when you also walk with the sense of taste, you discover that a country’s history can be told in an adobo, a mole or a salsa.
1. The Discovery on the Trail
Walking through Mexico’s markets is like exploring a universe of colors and aromas. In San Pedro Cholula, among stalls of fruit, corn, and herbs, a reddish, almost earthy sight stopped me: piles of chiles anchos that looked like tiny mountains dried in the sun. It was there that I remembered this fruit was not born ancho, but green and fresh, in the furrows of Puebla, and that its journey to my hand is also a walk.
2. The Chile Ancho in Cultural Context
When a poblano chile dries, it becomes an chile ancho: wrinkled skin, dark red, with a sweet, smoky aroma. It is the star of poblano adobos, the base for moles and salsas that accompany meats, vegetables, or tamales.
Its cultivation requires patience: farmers plant in the spring, walk the milpa (cornfield) in the summer to care for it, and finally harvest in the fall. Every step of that rural journey is reflected in the deep flavor that, once dry, accompanies Mexican cuisine.
3. The Chile Ancho’s Journey (Production and Consumption)
Although the chile ancho is born in the furrows of Puebla, it has extended its journey throughout the entire country, creating production, distribution, and consumption routes that make it a true traveler of earth and fire. These routes are not just commercial—they’re also cultural, because each transfer carries with it cooking methods, customs and celebrations. Its paths are diverse, and each one tells a different story.
Route 1. The Central Highlands Route – Puebla – Mexico City – Central Mexico
The heart of its origin is in the valleys of Puebla, where the poblano chile is allowed to mature until it becomes ancho. From there, it goes to the markets of Atlixco and Tehuacán, and naturally makes its way up to Mexico City. At the Central de Abasto, it’s concentrated as a wholesale product, then distributed to iconic markets like La Merced, San Juan and Jamaica. From here, it travels to neighboring states: Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Querétaro, and the Bajío region, where it becomes indispensable in festive adobos and moles. With their distinct cultural journeys, from the fields of Puebla and Tlaxcala, ancho chiles travel to Mexico City and the State of Mexico, where they become a central ingredient in urban adobos and moles. Large markets like La Merced, San Juan and Toluca are distribution centers where the ancho is mixed with dozens of spices and seasonings.
Route 2. The Gulf and Huasteca Route – Puebla – Veracruz – Gulf of Mexico
To the east, the chile ancho descends through the canyons and paths that connect Puebla with Veracruz. In Córdoba, Orizaba, and Xalapa, it is incorporated into Veracruz cuisine, especially in pork adobos and stew pot dishes. From there, it expands north, reaching Tuxpan, Poza Rica and the Huasteca region, where it is also known as “Chile Color” (Color Chili). This name reflects its fundamental role in Huastecan adobos, where deep red becomes a sign of identity. In regions of Veracruz, Hidalgo, and San Luis Potosí (and four other States that make up the Huasteca), the ancho chile is part of the famous “Huastecan adobos” with local herbs. The markets of Tuxpan, Tantoyuca and Tampico are key points in its commercialization.
Route 3. The Bajío Route – Guanajuato – Querétaro – San Luis Potosí
In Guanajuato, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí, the ancho chile is cultivated and consumed in abundance. It travels in sacks to the markets of León, Celaya and San Luis, where it is integrated into country and festive stews. Here, it also receives other names: “chile de color” or simply “colorado”, due to the reddish intensity it gives to dishes.
To the south, the chile ancho travels toward Oaxaca, where it coexists with the pasilla, mulato, and chilhuacle chiles. In the markets of Oaxaca de Juárez and in the tradition of the seven moles, the ancho holds a modest but persistent place, particularly in adobos that accompany meats and tamales. From Oaxaca, it is distributed to Chiapas and Tabasco, expanding its uses in regional broths and adobos.
The path north takes it to San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas and Coahuila, where it is combined with roasting techniques and dried meats. In Monterrey, the ancho chile appears in family stews and also in the restaurant industry. In Zacatecas and Durango, the chile ancho accompanies dried meat, roasted dishes, and mining stews. The markets in Zacatecas city and Durango display it in shiny piles, and from there, it travels to Monterrey, Saltillo, and Torreón, where it combines with new culinary traditions. From this route, it heads to the United States: in Texas, California, Arizona and Illinois, it is commonly found in Hispanic markets under the name ancho chili pepper. Exported dried and in sacks, it maintains its destiny of being a bridge between Mexican cuisine and the nostalgia of migrants.
On each of these routes, the ancho chile is not just merchandise; it is memory in transit. It accompanies humble kitchens as well as wedding banquets, ranch stews as well as international menus. Its paths remain open, as if each wrinkle on its skin preserves the imprint of those who cultivated, carried, and shared it.
Today, the ancho chile has also begun to travel international routes: it is exported in modest volumes to the United States, where Mexican communities (mainly in California and Texas) have made it an essential ingredient to keep their home cooking alive. Its sweet-smoky aroma has also begun to be recognized in gourmet shops in Canada and Europe.
4. Uses of the Chile Ancho
It’s used in most of the adobos and moles prepared in Mexico. In the 440 dishes presented in Capsicupea, it accounts for 65% of the chiles used in the described dishes.
Recipe: Pork Adobo with Chile Ancho
Ingredients (for 6 servings)
1 kg of pork shoulder, in small cubes (can be combined: ½ kg shoulder with ½ kg pork ribs)
3 small chiles anchos
2 cloves of garlic
¼ small onion (or onion powder)
A small handful of dried piquín chiles
A dash of vinegar
Vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Preparation: To prepare the adobo sauce, the chiles anchos are soaked in hot water, deveined, and their seeds are removed. Then, they are blended with a little water, along with the garlic and the previously toasted chile piquín. The paste is then fried. Once the paste is well-fried, add a cup of water (200 ml).
Wash the meat well and lightly brown it with a little vegetable oil and salt in a pressure cooker. Once slightly browned, add the adobo sauce. Cook for 20 minutes. The sauce should be neither too thin nor too thick. Add a little water if it’s too thick, or a bit of cornstarch or wheat flour if it’s too thin.
Serve with white rice.
This adobo is simple, but it holds centuries of farmer and festive journeys. It is native to the northern part of Veracruz, primarily Tuxpan. This recipe was passed down to us by Mrs. Coty (3).
In general, dried chiles are prepared for adobo in two ways:
First method:
Lightly toast the chiles on a griddle, being careful not to burn them.
Devein the chiles and remove the seeds. Deveining is done to prevent the adobo from being too spicy (optional). The seeds are removed so the adobo isn’t bitter.
Blend in a blender with garlic, onion, spices, and vinegar until a smooth paste forms.
Cook over medium heat in a pan with a little oil for 10 minutes, with salt to taste.
Second method:
Soak the dried chiles in hot water, heating for 5 minutes.
Devein the chiles and remove the seeds. Deveining is done to prevent the adobo from being too spicy (optional). The seeds are removed so the adobo isn’t bitter.
Blend in a blender with garlic, onion, spices, and vinegar until a smooth paste forms.
Cook over medium heat in a pan with a little oil for 10 minutes, with salt to taste.
5. A Traveler’s Reflection
Preparing an adobo, a mole or an chile anchosalsa is like walking through invisible furrows: each bite is a step on the land of Puebla, a memory of the hands that harvested, the feet that carried the sacks to the market, and those who have crossed generations with this recipe. By eating them, you walk through culture by way of flavor.
6. Inspiring Closing
The chile ancho isn’t just a dried fruit—it’s a bridge between the countryside and the city, between the earth and the table. I imagine that one day, at “El Señor Adobo” (Mr. Adobo), this adobo will be served as a symbol: a flavor accessible to the palate of the traveler and the foreign visitor. Because chiles, like us, never stop moving.
I would like to share the inspiration behind my series of posts “THE FLAVOR TRAILS” Globally, a considerable number of people prioritize achieving the goal over enjoying the process. However, in most of my experiences, I have found greater satisfaction in the journey than in the culmination. I would like those who venture out walking to see their journeys as a culinary experience from now on. I am convinced that most of humanity delights more in the journey of savoring exquisite delicacies than in the simple act of finishing a meal. Every time you go for a walk, try—with mental, emotional, physical, and other efforts—to equate the walk with a meal, so that you enjoy and savor every moment of the journey until you reach your destination. The Appetite-Desire that arises at the beginning of a meal is undoubtedly the key to disfrutment and enjoyment. For this matter of Appetite, I recommend my book: “Existential Appetite” (4). Well, this is the reason why I am writing this series “THE FLAVOR TRAILS”. Buon Appetito!
(2) Loya Lopategui, Carlos. GOVOT. El susurro inexorable de los Sentidos (The Inexorable Whisper of the Senses), EMULISA, Mexico, 2025. Available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0DW2PTYNN
The sun is barely up, and the air still holds that freshness you only feel in the early morning. A man leaves his house, with no phone in hand or headphones in his ears. He only has his steps. The crunch of leaves under his feet, the timid song of the birds and the faint scent of damp earth make up his first conversation of the day. He isn’t going anywhere in particular. He walks… and in that walking, the world begins to order itself.
In this world that’s moving at full speed, where every minute seems scheduled, walking has become a luxury… and a forgotten necessity. However, this ancient act, which our ancestors practiced as a natural part of their existence, remains the most powerful tool to transform our body, mind and spirit.
Walking doesn’t require gyms, special clothes or schedules. Just a pair of willing feet and the desire to move. It’s the most democratic exercise: young, old and everyone in between can do it—in the city, in the country, or at the beach; alone or with company.
In a time when everything seems to move at a speed that leaves us breathless, the essay “Walking: from a Physical Act to a Philosophical Act” (1) reminds us of something essential: walking isn’t just about moving from one point to another; it’s an opportunity to think, feel, and live with more awareness.
More Than an Exercise: A Paradigm Shift
For centuries, walking was a tool for survival, a way to get to places, work the land, or explore territories. But in both Eastern and Western philosophy, it always had a deeper meaning. Aristotle taught while walking in the Lyceum ((Posts ARISTOTLE AND HIS SPEECHES DURING HIS PERIPATHETIC WALKS; WALKING AND PERIPATHETICS), Zen monks turn it into walking meditation (Post THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AND ZEN), and Nietzsche found the spark for his boldest ideas on his long walks (Posts futuros NIETZSCHE Y LOS GRIEGOS EN EL CAMINAR; NIETZSCHE Y LA INTELIGENCIA ARTIFICIAL).
This book proposes to reclaim that heritage and take it a step further: to see walking as a philosophical and ethical practice capable of transforming the way we live in the world. Walking is an act that involves the body, mind and spirit, allowing us to reconnect with what is essential amid the daily noise.
Four Dimensions to Rediscover the Act of Walking
The essay invites us to explore four major forms of walking in contemporary life:
Meditation in Motion: Allowing the rhythm of your steps to set the pace for your thoughts. Each breath accompanies a step; each step becomes presence. Walking this way calms the mind and opens space for creative and meditative thought, as well as new ideas.
The Philosophy of Walking: Thinking doesn’t always have to happen while sitting at a desk. When you walk, the mind is freed, ideas flow, and connections appear effortlessly. Great writers, scientists and philosophers have found their best thoughts on a trail, not sitting in front of a blank page.
Resistance to the Culture of Speed: In a society that pushes us to rush, walking is a formal and precise act of rebellion. Walking is choosing a human pace; it’s allowing time to expand, and it’s observing what rushing doesn’t let us see.
Ecophilosophy and Connection with Nature: When you walk, your body merges with its surroundings. You learn to look at the sky, feel the wind and hear the sounds of the world. And that direct contact reminds us that we are not the masters of nature but a part of it.
A Legacy of Steps and Thoughts
The essay explores the teachings of thinkers like Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Camus, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Deleuze, and Nietzsche, along with the insights of Taoism, Zen and Samurai philosophy. Each offers a unique perspective, but all agree on one thing: walking transforms. It doesn’t just change the person walking but also the way that walker “Makes World.”
Every step is a silent dialogue with your body. Your breathing synchronizes, your heart beats with controlled strength, and your muscles awaken. And all the while, your mind clears. Walking allows you to think better, observe with attention and reconnect with what truly matters.
The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other can become a statement of principles. A path can be a straight line on the ground, but also a route toward a more conscious, free, and creative life.
A Step Toward Yourself
If you have a pair of feet and a small stretch of ground, you have everything you need to start. You don’t need special clothes or advanced technology. All it takes is the decision to go out and move. The reward will be a more alive body, a more alert mind, and a more open heart.
But it’s not just about physical health. Someone who walks opens the door to a new perception of the world: they discover invisible corners, sounds that daily noise hides, and nuances that rushing erases. Walking is also a form of resistance against the acceleration that steals our presence.
Walking is the most accessible of journeys, but it can also be the deepest. Each step is an opportunity to ask yourself: What am I thinking? What am I feeling? Where do I want to go, not just on this path, but in my life? By walking, the answers will come on their own.
That’s why, more than an exercise, walking is a commitment to yourself. It’s a ritual that can change your day and, little by little, your entire life.
The invitation is simple: take your first step today. It doesn’t matter if it’s for five minutes or half an hour. The important thing is to begin. The rest will come on its own, step by step.
(1) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Walking: from Phisical Act to Philosophical Act, EMULISA, México, 2005. Available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNRZCKXL
Walking is an ancient physical practice with profound benefits for our overall health. Let’s see how walking can act as both a preventive and corrective measure.
Below are the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and emotional aspects that occur when considering walking as a Preventive and Corrective means.
1. As a Preventive Means
• Physical Health:
-Cardiovascular strengthening: Reduces the risk of heart disease, hypertension and stroke.
-Weight control: Helps burn calories and maintain a healthy weight, preventing obesity and associated diseases.
-Muscle and bone strengthening: Tones the muscles of the legs and core, improving posture and preventing injuries.
-Joint health: Improves joint flexibility and lubrication, reducing the risk of arthritis.
-Strengthening the immune system: Increases circulation and the production of white blood cells, improving the body’s defenses.
• Mental Health:
-Stress reduction: Releases endorphins, neurotransmitters that act as natural pain relievers and improve mood.
-Improved concentration: Increases blood flow to the brain, promoting mental clarity and the ability to concentrate.
-Prevention of depression: Regular physical activity is an effective complementary treatment for depression.
• Emotional Health:
-Increased self-esteem: Achieving goals related to walking can improve self-confidence.
-Improved sleep: Regular physical activity contributes to deeper, more restful sleep.
• Spiritual and Mental Health:
-Connection with nature: Walking in natural environments can promote a feeling of peace and well-being.
-Meditation in movement: Walking can become a meditative practice, encouraging introspection and connection with oneself.
2. As a Corrective Means
• Physical Health:
-Injury recovery: Gradual walking can help you regain mobility and strength after an injury.
-Chronic pain management: It can relieve pain associated with conditions such as fibromyalgia or arthritis.
-Improved circulation: Helps reduce swelling and the feeling of heaviness in the legs.
• Mental Health:
-Anxiety treatment: Regular physical exercise can reduce anxiety symptoms.
-Combat boredom and monotony: Walking can help overcome low moods and find new perspectives.
• Emotional Health:
-Overcoming depression: Walking is an effective tool to combat the symptoms of depression.
-Anger management: Physical activity can help channel negative energy and reduce impulsivity.
Finally, I present below certain specific recommendations so that our walks result in effective benefits:
Recommendations for Walking with Benefits
• Regularity: Walk at least 30 minutes every day of the week.
• Intensity: Adapt the intensity of the walk to your physical condition.
• Variety: Alternate between brisk walking and walking uphill to work different muscle groups.
• Posture: Keep your back straight, shoulders relaxed and look forward.
• Warm up and cool down: Spend a few minutes at the beginning and end of each walk to stretch your muscles.
In summary, walking is an accessible and beneficial physical activity for all ages and physical conditions. By incorporating walking into your daily routine, you will be investing in your physical, mental and emotional health.
Remember that walking is a natural practice for humans and the most important thing is to find a walking pace that is comfortable and pleasant for you, and enjoy it to the fullest.
Let’s make some reflections and explanations about these two concepts.
Assimilating and apprehending the word “corrective” is easy; but “preventive” is not.
When we walk we can lose weight, that is a corrective effect, that is, it is curative; However, when we say that we can improve our cardiovascular system (heart, veins and arteries), we do not say that by walking we can correct and heal it, but we mean that it is preventive to prevent it from deteriorating or continuing. deteriorating.
Let’s detail the above.
For example, prevention is equated to reducing the risk of several diseases, including those related to heart disease and stroke. Our WALK-RWD System is preventive because it avoids the danger of certain diseases not occurring. The preventive nature of the system is also because it prevents any disease from spreading or developing further.
From personal experiences, the corrective result achieved by walking, in terms of body weight, is the following: Depending on the type of diet (a personal diet [1]), the amount of food we eat at each meal (again a diet) and each person’s metabolism, we lose from 1 milligram (0.00003527 ounces) to 3½ milligrams (0.000123 ounces) for each step we take walking.
Health parameters vary (because they are a variable) for each person, at the stage of their life and for the day on which any laboratory study is performed, but once the data is obtained, it is considered a constant, in which the doctor bases his analysis and makes the evaluation and his prescription to relieve the patient. For another time or date, that same parameter will be different, that is, it varies from one time to another. The same thing happens for other people, the parameters are indices that vary but become constant quantities when obtaining the medical laboratory results.
Now, one of the parameters -among others- that are measured in laboratory studies to determine the health status of an individual, with respect to their cardiovascular system, is triglycerides, which is measured in “mg/dL” ( “mmol/L”), in milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood. The limits of this parameter are:
Very high: equal to or greater than 500 mg/dL (equal or bigger to 27.8 mmol/L)
If a person results – through a medical laboratory study – with a level of 214 mg/dL (11.9 mmol/L), it means that they are at the “High Limit Value” level.
Walking does not correct by reducing this abnormal level, but it is preventive, in the sense that if we walk daily, for example 2-3 miles/day (3-5 kilometers/day), so that these will not continue to deteriorate. levels, taking into account the medical evaluation, prescription and diet (scrupulous and precise) that that particular person must follow.
In other words, in this case of triglycerides – as in others – we cannot say that with walking certain units of the parameter measured in “mg/dL” (“mmol/L”) of triglycerides will be lost for each step taken. It is not corrective, however, we can say that walking IS preventive because it prevents this health parameter from continuing to increase.
Another health parameter in which walking is corrective is the heartbeat frequency (heartbeat frequency or also called pulse), which is immersed in the cardiovascular system, as it regulates lowering that frequency to normal levels. Sedentary people can have levels of 70 or 80 beats/minute, while athletes have it at 60 beats/min and below this level. A person in their 70s or 80s may decide to walk 2-3 miles/day (3-5 kilometers) and lower that level at some points immediately after finishing walking.
Another case is that of cholesterol, where we can appreciate the preventive aspect of the system. Cholesterol in the blood is one of the most important parameters and the danger of its deterioration can be avoided by walking, however, when this element integrated into the blood cannot be reduced sufficiently by this means of walking (and the corresponding diet), the person can and should go to their doctor to prescribe an appropriate medication to correct their blood cholesterol level.
Finally, I would like to mention that walking is also recommended for people who have suffered a heart attack. Always under medical supervision. Walking after this type of event improves both the physical and psychological aspects of the person, as they recover their emotional state of disability, apart from what we already mentioned from the physical point of view, regarding the frequency of the heartbeat for their respective pumping of blood throughout the body. Notwithstanding the above, excessive walking can cause arrhythmias in people predisposed to it, especially when they suffer from heart failure.
Let’s take daily walks, of at least 30 minutes, and this will help us in the two specified ways, they will act by themselves as Preventive and Corrective means, which will generate profound benefits for our overall health.
[1] Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Flavors Diet. The Art of Savoring Food, EMULISA, Mexico, 2024. Version available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D42N64W7
