We have long advocated walking with an ultimate goal of 10,000 steps or step equivalents a day, every day, as a good way to protect your health.

But official exercise recommendations — 150 minutes a week of moderate to intense activity — haven't said how much walking might provide benefits that are equivalent to 150 minutes of sweating to the oldies.

A new study in JAMA Internal Medicine that looked at a decade of data on almost 15,000 women ages 62 and older found that whether you are walking 3,799 to 7,000 steps daily or aiming to get up to 150 minutes of moderate to intense exercise weekly, your protection from cardiovascular disease and reduced risk of death from all causes is pretty equal.

For people who love walking or for whom Pilates or flow yoga are not body-friendly, this is confirmation that their daily walks are providing protection from heart attack and stroke.

And if you want to increase the benefits of walking, go for interval training.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst say a moderate walking pace is around 100 steps per minute; intense is about 130. Try alternating a couple of minutes of intense walking with five minutes at a moderate pace. Repeat till you hit your desired step count.

Another great way to make walking protect your health is to try getting five flights of stairs a day into your routine.