Hail to the hills of San Francisco, Heartbreak Hill in Boston, the Austrian Alps, the Colorado Rockies, skyscrapers with access to stairs, stair climbers at the gym and elliptical cross trainers.

Whether you have diabetes or heart disease, are prone to obesity or not, keeping your insulin levels balanced and your cholesteral levels low are two of the keys to good health. One way to do this is to walk up and down a hill every day.

Fascinatingly, the biochemical consequences are different depending on the direction.

Dr. Heinz Drexel at the Vorarlberg Institute for Vascular Investigation and Treatment in Feldrich, Austria says that walking downhill reduces both the risks and effects of diabetes. Walking up hills, on the other hand, can help prevent heart disease.

In a recent study carried out in the Austrian Alps and reported yesterday at a meeting of the American Heart Association, a group of Austrian researchers were praised by leading U.S. cardiologists at the Scientific Sessions 2004 for their unique research. Simple but unique.

The Austrian researchers claim that walking downhill is good for lowering blood glucose levels while walking up hills reduces triglycerides which helps improve cholesterol levels.

Drexel and his team signed up forty-five healthy, sedentary people to walk on a steep mountain for 3-5 days per week for two months.

50% of the group went up by cable car and walked down 660 yards (600 meters) each time, the other 50% walked up and came down by cable car.

In the next two months, the two groups did the opposite.

To ensure that all the members were following the study properly, the researchers checked their cable car tickets each day.

Thirty-six hours after each walk the walkers' cholesterol, including LDL and triglycerides, as well as blood sugar levels were checked.

The researchers did not expect to see much benefit from walking downhill.

Yet, they found that the downhill walkers had better blood sugar levels.

Walking uphill, on the other hand, seemed to have no impact on handling sugar. However, uphill walkers did have much lower triglycerides levels which effects cholesterol.

LDL cholesterol levels (the bad kind) went down for both uphill and downhill walkers. For uphill walkers, LDL cholesterol levels improved by one percent more (10% vs 9%).

Drexel said, "Many groups are trying to find an equivalent in a gymnasium and fitness centers ... but it is more fun to do it in nature."

Dr. Gerald Fletcher of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, said different societies will have to apply the findings appropriately. "We don't have mountains in Florida," he noted.

Dr. Raymond Gibbons of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, suggested one adaptation. "I walk up five flights of stairs to my office and take the elevator down," he said.

For those too heavy or too weak to start as an exercise program, this could be a great "first step, or two, or three."

Once again, scientists are proving that exercise, in the gym or out in nature, is the key to a healthy heart and "on target" insulin levels.

Cardiologists said yesterday that the Austrian findings should be an impetus for exploring with greater precision the benefits derived from gym equipment such as stair climbers and elliptical cross trainers and for developing better advice for patients.

Hopefully, these findings will lead to better recommendations about which gym exercises most benefit which patients, depending on whether they're diabetic, obese, whether they suffer from other medical conditions, or are simply fine tuning their cardiovascular work-out regimen.

With cardiovascular disease and obesity now epidemics in the U.S., people need to take this study "to heart."

Whether it's on a treadmill, climbing stairs -- rather than taking the elevator -- or climbing up mountains, get on your hiking boots or walking shoes.

Walking shoes are often called cross-trainers.

In the more "rugged elegant" category, hiking boots can be as reasonable as $55.46 for a pair of Women's Everest boots by Skechers to La Sportiva's high performance, extreme high altitude boots for $720.

Those bound for the Aloha islands ought to consider Men's Stratum Sandals by Teva - on sale for $29.98 at the time of this post (list price: $59.98).

For boys, we would recommend the ECCO Track Terrain Gore-Tex Lace Boot for $79.95 (sizes 30 - 34 M EU). For boys and girls (unisex), we'd recommend the Children's Merrell Mesa Ventilator Mid for $53.95.

And for young ones in the backpack, consider the Camo Kids Camouflage Booties for $3.99

Thank you Dr. Drexel for yesterday's findings. Hopefully, your research will inspire people to "step up or down" to the task, as the need may be.

Inspire & Be Inspired (R).

Here's to heathy, adventuresome, soulful, "in-range" blood sugars and lower cholesterol living -- for everyone!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King

P.S. All prices quoted are based on Amazon's pricing on the day this story was posted.

P.P.S. Don't forget Penta Water.