Because of my mother’s love affair with hiking and the outdoors, I grew up on the trail. This legacy has provided me with an invaluable appreciation of health and fitness that I’ve passed on to my daughters.
All of our family vacations revolved around hiking excursions in the mountain ranges of the Northeast, including the Adirondacks, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. These hiking trips provided me with a deep sense of trust in my own strength and stamina, which formed the foundation of a lifetime of fitness.
While in medical school at Dartmouth in New Hampshire, I continued hiking as a form of invigorating outdoor exercise. When my children were young, outdoor hikes were a favorite family activity. To this day, long walks and hikes remain my favorite forms of outdoor exercise that keep me strong, healthy, and optimistic.
Hiking offers women many benefits that can’t easily be found in a gym.
Here’s why:
Fresh Air and Sunshine
For starters, hiking is done outdoors in the fresh air and natural light. As a nutrient, natural light helps balance hormones and optimizes fertility. It also increases serotonin levels in the brain, which is essential for maintaining a stable mood and preventing depression. Moderate doses of sunlight have also been shown to enhance immune system functioning while providing optimal doses of vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for building healthy bones and joints while also helping prevent breast and bowel cancer.
Vertical Vectors of Force
Hiking is a weight-bearing activity that creates vertical vectors of force in the long bones of the body. This induces a small electromagnetic current known as the piezoelectric effect, which draws calcium, magnesium, and other minerals into the bone, and in turn helps promote strong bones while minimizing the risk of osteoporosis.
Enhanced Mood and Decreased Stress
Repetitive physical activity such as walking and hiking results in the production of beta endorphins in the brain and body. These natural morphine-like substances help create and maintain a positive mood as well as a meditative state thereby reducing the effects of stress. Studies have shown that regular moderate aerobic activity such as walking and hiking can actually cure mild to moderate depression.
This mood-enhancing effect is increased with hiking because of the beneficial effects of natural light and fresh air. The natural repetitive motion of walking and hiking also entrains the brain for improved creativity and problem solving. When hiking, an increased sense of well-being is also created from the negative ions and increased oxygen that are produced by the trees and bushes that commonly line hiking trails—even in the middle of cities.
An Ideal Family Activity
Hiking is an activity that can be enjoyed by the entire family. When your kids are little, you can hike while carrying them in a backpack. This helps instill a love of nature and the outdoors, setting the stage for a lifetime of fitness. And carrying the extra weight provides even more health benefits. Once a child can walk, she (or he) can easily hike alongside you for a couple of miles. I’ve been amazed at how quickly children as young as two years old take to the trail. Studies have shown that when parents participate in regular fitness activities, their children are far more likely to be physically fit and active. Family hikes are the perfect antidote to overindulgence in television and other passive activities.
Prevents Obesity and Heart Disease
It’s no secret that our healthcare system is being taxed by the obesity epidemic. Over 50 percent of our population is overweight. Regular exercise is a key component of lifelong permanent weight loss and maintenance. Hiking, which requires minimal equipment and no special training, is an ideal form of regular exercise that can be done by nearly anyone. It can also prevent heart disease.
Low Cost
The only equipment necessary to begin the sport of walking or hiking is a decent pair of either walking or hiking boots or sneakers depending upon the terrain. Our nation is blessed with miles and miles of beautiful trails in every state. Here in Maine, for example, an organization known as Portland Trails maintains a greenbelt of beautiful trails throughout our largest city. They’re easily accessible to everyone at no charge. You can also enjoy the benefits of hiking at any level—whether that be day hikes or longer excursions that involve camping or carrying equipment in a backpack.
A Lifetime of Fitness
My vibrant 83-year-old mother is a testament to the lifelong benefits of hiking. She and her friend Anne, who’s now 86, hiked the Appalachian Trail when they were in their early 70’s. They’ve also hiked the 100 Highest Peaks in New England, providing inspiration to dozens of other hikers with whom they’ve come into contact on the trail.
Three winters ago, my mother and her friend Shirley, who’s now in her 90’s, enjoyed a snowshoeing vacation to northern Vermont in January. Snowshoeing is, of course, just another form of hiking! Because of their years of hiking as a primary form of exercise, not one of my mother’s hiking companions has suffered from osteoporosis or any of the degenerative diseases that are so common in older women in this country.
Take it from me, you’re never too old or too young to hit the trail to better health.
Christiane Northrup, M.D., a board-certified ob-gyn physician, is a women’s health and wellness pioneer and author of three bestsellers, The Wisdom of Menopause, Mother-Daughter Wisdom, and the classic Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom. Her latest book The Secret Pleasures of Menopause (Hay House) has just been released. For details on Dr. Northrup’s work and appearances, visit www.drnorthrup.com.
© Christiane Northrup, M.D. Excerpted with permission from The Dr. Christiane Northrup Newsletter