The Secret to Health You’ve Been Missing

Author

Dr Rick Jahn
September 11, 2024

Hey There LifeSync Community!

The Secret to Health You’ve Been Missing

Last week, I left you hanging. I teased an amazing “supplement” that I believe everyone should add to their life. Let me quickly remind you of the benefits this supplement provides:

  • Reduced risk of premature death

  • Improved cardiovascular health

  • Better blood sugar control

  • Enhanced insulin sensitivity

  • Reduced risk of obesity, sleep apnea, GERD, major depressive disorder, diabetes, and hypertension

  • Lowered all-cause mortality risk, especially in women in their 70s who reduced their risk of premature death by 40% with regular use

  • Easier weight loss and maintenance

  • Improved heart health, balance, metabolism, mood, and cognitive function

  • Increased HDL (good cholesterol) and decreased LDL (bad cholesterol)

  • Decreased blood pressure

Sounds like magic, doesn’t it? I know what you’re thinking—this has to be too good to be true. Honestly, if you crunch the numbers, it does seem impossible. But here’s where I sprinkle in a little Chinese medicine because conventional thinking alone doesn’t explain it.

Now, what if I told you this miracle “supplement” is something you already have access to? How much would you pay for these benefits? $200 a month? Most of us would, especially if it meant feeling better and reducing or getting off medications.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. The true cost? Your time.

Yes, you heard that right. It’s not a pill or a potion. The secret is walking, not running. Not high-intensity exercise. Just plain walking. But before you tune out and think you’ve heard it all, let me explain why walking is far more powerful than you’ve been led to believe.

Walking: More Than Just Exercise

In school, I was taught that diet is 80% of weight loss, and exercise doesn’t burn that many calories. On paper, that’s true. Walking burns about 100 calories per mile—hardly enough to burn off a Snickers bar. When you compare this to your basal metabolic rate (the calories your body burns just to stay alive), it seems insignificant.

So, why should you walk?

Blood sugar control is a major reason. Research has shown that even a 5-minute walk after meals can help moderate blood sugar levels, reducing post-meal spikes that can otherwise lead to crashes and sugar cravings. Walking right after eating is especially powerful because your muscles help absorb glucose, easing the burden on your pancreas and improving insulin sensitivity. This effect kicks in quickly, with noticeable changes in blood sugar occurring within 60-90 minutes after your meal.

Your blood moves where your energy (Qi) moves—a principle from Chinese medicine. If you don’t move, your energy stagnates, and your blood flow is disrupted. This impacts every system in your body. When you walk, you’re keeping energy and blood flowing smoothly, which supports your organs and overall health.

The Real Magic Happens After Meals

Here’s something most people don’t realize: walking after meals drastically improves blood sugar management. When you sit after eating, your pancreas has to work overtime to clear the sugar from your blood. But when you walk, your muscles help take up glucose, keeping your blood sugar balanced and reducing the need for insulin.

And this isn’t just for those with diabetes or prediabetes. Studies have shown that even people with normal blood sugar levels can experience significant benefits by walking after meals. When you see a man with skinny arms and legs but has a big belly, chances are good he has a blood sugar issue. Even if it never develops into T2D, it’s still an issue. If his body is efficient at raising insulin levels to remove sugar, the blood sugar numbers will probably fall within normal range. However, high insulin still causes problems and encourages inflammation, degeneration, disease, and premature aging.

Step Count Matters

You’ve probably heard that 10,000 steps a day is the magic number. However recent research shows that you can achieve incredible benefits with fewer steps. For example, women in their 70s who walked just 4,400 steps a day reduced their risk of premature death by 40%.

Other studies have found that taking 8,000-10,000 steps per day significantly reduces the risk of chronic diseases like obesity, sleep apnea, GERD, and major depressive disorder. This range of steps is where many of the long-term health benefits begin to kick in.

But even if you’re not hitting those numbers right away, don’t be discouraged. Taking as few as 3,900 steps a day has been linked to lower risks of dying from any cause.

Exercise Resistance is Real

If you’ve ever started a new diet or exercise plan and saw no results after a few weeks, you might have experienced something called exercise resistance. When you live a sedentary lifestyle, your body becomes less efficient at metabolizing fat, even if you exercise. It takes time—usually 4 to 6 weeks—for your body to begin overcoming this resistance. I believe this is where the magic is. How many people have you known who wanted to lose weight and improve their health join a gym only to quit a month later? Maybe a better start is to get your steps in. It’s a smaller obstacle to overcome. Nearly everybody can do it and it’s easy. It’s easier than getting to the gym 3x/wk when it’s not already part of your routine. Maybe this is a better place to start so when you do start hitting the gym, your body will be more responsive to the effort you put in.

Research shows that taking 8,500 steps a day can help break through this barrier, making your body more responsive to exercise and fat metabolism. This is where consistency comes into play. Walking regularly, every day, gradually primes your body to burn fat more efficiently and improves overall metabolic health.

My Own Walking Story

Let me tell you what happened to me. At one point, I wasn’t moving much, even though my diet was good. Life was busy, and I didn’t have time for intense exercise. Then I moved back to China, where my apartment was a 30-minute brisk walk from the train station. Suddenly, I was walking everywhere.

For weeks, I saw no change in my weight. But eventually, people started commenting on how different I looked. When I stepped on the scale, I was 20-25 pounds lighter! The weight had come off so fast I was worried I had a parasite.

It turns out that it wasn’t about calories burned from walking. Walking activates fat stores and doesn’t trigger hunger the way strenuous exercise can. The key is consistency and getting enough steps in.

Join the Experiment

I’ve decided to fully embrace this walking experiment. My diet couldn’t get much better—no seed oils, no sugar, no alcohol, balanced meals—and yet, I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. About 5 weeks ago, my partner and I committed to hitting 12,000 steps a day. Some days we fall short, but we always hit at least 4,000.

If you decide to join us, focus on the process, not the scale. Stick to the basics—limit alcohol, cut out processed foods and sugars, and just walk. Let’s see where we all are by January 1st.

There are no supplements to buy. Nothing complicated. Just walking. It’s easy to do—but it’s also easy not to do. Stick with it, and I believe you’ll be amazed by the results. You can’t outwalk or outexercise a bad diet. Be reasonable with your diet. Implement the changes we have already discussed. If you have deficiencies, that may hinder your results. This is where supplements can come in handy, but you need nothing to get started today. Well, maybe a smartwatch as it would be a challenge to count 12k steps per day.

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