Running Crushes Your Heart Attack Risk—No Matter How Slow You Go

culled from:prevention.com

“The mortality benefits in runners were similar across running time, distance, frequency, amount, and speed,” explains study coauthor D.C. Lee, PhD, of Iowa State University.
This could be great news for people who feel daunted by the current U.S. Government recommendation to get 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week—which works out to more than 20 minutes a day. According to Lee, just 5 to 10 minutes a day of jogging at an easy pace will cut your risk for CVD by a whopping 58%.
Cardiovascular activity like running has been shown time and again to improve blood pressure and blood sugar sensitivity. Along with the improved cardiorespiratory fitness that results from running, any one of these effects (or all of them) could explain why runners live longer than non-runners, Lee suggests.

If you’re not a runner and you tend not get any exercise, start by walking daily for a few weeks to help your body grow accustomed to movement and to prevent injury, Lee advises. And once you start running, stick with it. Even if you’re only out on the road or trail every once in a while for a few minutes, persistence is more important than running hard or fast, Lee’s study indicates. Runners who kept at it for 6 years or more enjoyed the most health benefits, he explains. (Consider this your permission to buy yourself some snazzy new running shoes.)