What do you think of before you take a walk? Who to text with (ok, don’t do that!), who to walk with (always good)? !Outdoor temperature? What are the best shoes to wear? Where’s my sunscreen, come in we can discuss which one!? But what is really the most important piece of information your trainer forgot to tell you: Walk outdoors! Did you realize that what you should also be planning to walk in a park and not near traffic on a busy street? A study published in The Lancet (looking at individuals over age 60) showed that everyone benefits from avoid busy street pollution on their walk are healthier. The walking next to traffic exposed all participants to greater numbers of air pollutants such as black carbon and ultrafine particles. Actual lung function in health people, people with cardiac conditions, and people with lung disease all were found to have better arterial function and lung function after walking in the park rather than walking along a street. And we didn’t even bring in our life coaches to evaluate the better mental health after walking among nature!
