How Walking Aids Digestion

Walking not only improves digestion but can also help reduce insulin levels and regulate blood sugar.

By Nicole Radziszewski | Experience LifeApril 6, 2023

When we’re sedentary, our digestion and motility can become sluggish. Walking encourages peristalsis — the constriction and relaxation of the intestinal muscles that push the contents forward.

In Italy, an evening walk — la passeggiata — for better digestion is a cultural tradition. And it doesn’t “involve pedometers or spandex; these walks are purely for pleasure,” explains endocrinologist David Ludwig, MD, PhD.

A light walk after lunch or dinner — even as little as two to five minutes — significantly moderated blood-sugar levels in participants with or without type 2 diabetes.

This walk can also help lower insulin levels, he adds. A 2013 study in Diabetes Care found that three 15-minute walks daily helped older people at risk for impaired glucose tolerance increase their ability to regulate blood sugar for the following 24 hours.

And a 2022 meta-analysis of seven studies in Sports Medicine discovered that a light walk after lunch or dinner — even as little as two to five minutes — significantly moderated blood-sugar levels in participants with or without type 2 diabetes.

Born to Walk

Going for a walk — though often underrated and underappreciated — is one of the most powerful things you can do for your health. Learn all the ways walking supports your overall health and well-being at “The Powerful Health Benefits of Walking,” from which this article was excerpted.