Walking is the simplest,easiest and most versatile form of exercise, and it's becoming increasingly popular as an aerobic activity. Kinder to the joints and skeletal system than running or even jogging, walking can provide aerobic benefits and improve overall fitness when it is done vigorously. The average stroll takes about 20 minutes per mile, so the fitness walker should aim for about 12 minutes per mile, though it may take time to get up to that speed.

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Even Slower Walking Works
As with all true aerobic activity, vigorous walking needs a warm-up and cool-down period. Slower walking at first and a bit of stretching will usually do the trick. For people who prefer to walk at a slower pace for their entire workout, it's possible to get aerobic benefit by walking for a longer period of time. Find a green, scenic place and go for it!

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Before you Walk
The only special equipment a fitness walker needs is a comfortable pair of shoes, but it's smart to dress in layers that can be removed as the body temperature rises. Walkers need to exercise three to five days a week for 20 to 45 minutes each time if they move vigorously, and longer if they prefer a slower pace. Changing stride lengths, increasing the pace and swinging your arms broadly all increase the intensity of the activity.

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Who Will Benefit?
Just about everyone will notice improvements in their overall health when they increase the intensity and/or time spent walking. Even people with joint pain or those who are out of shape, over 40 or who have a family history of heart disease can benefit from walking, perhaps short distances on level ground at first, once they get a healthcare professional's approval. You've been walking since infancy. Why not make walking an integral part of your fitness program.?  

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There's Something About Spuds
Along with fruits, grains and other vegetables, potatoes are justly famous as a good source of some of nature's most valuable nutrients: complex carbohydrates. And they're nonfattening!
 
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Substantial Health Benefits
Because they have always been plentiful and relatively easy to grow, potatoes were formerly regarded as "low-class." Now, however, other "high-class" foods that also happen to be high in fats are being linked to heart disease and to some cancers, while foods high in protein, such as beef and eggs, are often fattening as well. Potatoes and their carbohydrate "cousins" are a healthy alternative. They may taste fattening but actually are not. Carbohydrates contain only four calories per gram. Fat contains nine calories per gram, more than twice as many as carbohydrates. Carbohydrates also raise your energy level, because they're converted into energy more efficiently than proteins and fats are. In addition, when potatoes are eaten with their skins they provide a substantial amount of dietary fiber. Fiber has been shown to reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer, particularly colon cancer.
 

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The Well-Dressed Spud
Smothering a baked potato in butter and sour cream of frying potatoes in butter or oil, as for French fries, cancels out many of a potato's benefits. Most people would be surprised at how delicious a baked potato is simply sprinkled with lemon juice. There are also some tasty salt substitutes on the market. Other fat-free or lowfat toppings include fresh salsa; chicken broth with the fat skimmed off; Worcestershire sauce; fresh herbs, such as chopped dill; chili flakes; hot sauce; lowfat yogurt; unusual vinegars, such as those made from wine, rice or cider; capers; chopped green onion; minced garlic; shredded ginger root; toasted sesame seeds; or prepared horseradish. If you just can't give up fattening toppings, try to a least cut them down to a mere "taste" or, when dining out, order them "on the side" for dipping. Another tips is to try baking "fries" in the oven. Their great potato taste will still come through.

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All This and Convenience Too
A potato is 80 percent water and so will normally keep for a long time, up to several weeks in a refrigerator, depending on how fresh it is. It should be discarded if the skin starts to turn green. (Some scientists question the safety of the potato peel even in fresh potatoes, but others see no danger in normally colored peels as long as potatoes are thoroughly washed before cooking.) Microwave ovens can turn out a baked potato in a matter of minutes, instead of an hour in a conventional oven and that form of cooking retains most of a potato's nutrients. So stock up on nature's powerhouse tuber: the potato. Its health benefits, versatility, convenience and taste make it a dietary winner.

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