DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Walking is about the only exercise I am capable of doing. I would like to do it correctly. How much should I walk? Is there any special way to walk? How about hand weights? Please add any information you think might be valuable. – R.Y.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: We all know that people should walk, but what constitutes a step? In a sequence of steps – say, left, right, left, right, left, right – would that be six or three steps? – R.G.

ANSWER: Walking has much to recommend it. It’s a good way to control weight and blood pressure. It’s good heart exercise. It’s considered a “weight-bearing” exercise, so it helps prevent osteoporosis. And, quite importantly, it’s easy on joints.

Start modestly. Five to 15 minutes is a good initial time. Increase the time weekly by a few minutes until you’re walking 30 minutes daily.

Many emphasize the number of steps a person takes as an indication of enough exercise. You can’t count steps. It would drive you crazy. You can get a pedometer that counts the steps for you. Two thousand steps equal one mile. Ten thousand steps equal five miles, the number of steps you eventually want to walk daily. In your question, R.G., you have taken six steps. Don’t complicate this.

Walking technique is simple. The heel should strike the ground first. Keep the elbows bent at 90 degrees. Walk at a pace where you can carry on a normal conversation. If you’re alone, talk to yourself. You’ll be surprised at how interesting you are. The head should be level, with the ears centered over the shoulders and the shoulders over the hips.

Hand weights add to the calorie-burning of a walk. Begin with light weights, a pound for each hand. If the weights hurt your elbows or your shoulders, don’t use them. Ankle weights are not recommended. They can throw your stride off balance and lead to joint injuries.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I take a high-school nutrition class. I am also seriously into bodybuilding. Since muscles are protein, I wonder how much more protein a bodybuilder needs to eat every day. I asked my teacher, and she told me to write to you. So I am. How about an answer, please? – J.M.

ANSWER: Muscles are mainly protein. However, gorging on protein doesn’t build huge muscles. Protein over and above what is needed for muscle growth is used as a source of energy, and excess is converted to fat.

The average person needs 0.38 gram of protein per pound of body weight (0.83 gram per kg body weight). A person weighing 154 pounds (70 kg), therefore, needs 58 grams of protein a day.

A very active athlete or a dedicated bodybuilder should increase the amount of daily protein to about twice that level. They break down and build up muscle more extensively than the ordinary person.

If you want some examples of the protein in foods, I can give you a few. Six ounces of steak has 51 grams; 6 ounces of hamburger, 40 grams; 6 ounces of tuna, 60 grams; one cup of cottage cheese, 28 grams; one egg, 6 grams. You can see it’s not hard to get the daily protein requirements, and most of us exceed those requirements.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My exercise of choice is walking at 3.4 to 4 miles per hour on a treadmill that is on a slight incline. However, like most people, finding time to walk in a busy schedule is hard. Is walking for 60 minutes three times a week just as beneficial as walking for 30 minutes six times a week? – A.A.

ANSWER: I can’t guarantee you that 60 minutes of walking three times a week is the absolute equivalent of walking 30 minutes six times a week, but it’s close enough. You don’t have to worry that you are shortchanging yourself by walking for a full hour three times a week.

The official guidelines, however, state that exercise should be done on most, if not all, days of the week. Your volume of exercise is of such length and intensity that it seems to me you are getting enough.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 74-year-old man who is increasingly suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia.

My urologist has strongly recommended the GreenLight PVP procedure. However, I am wary because of his enthusiasm as well as my own unfamiliarity with it. Please provide your opinion. – E.F.

ANSWER: The GreenLight is a high-powered laser that vaporizes prostate tissue and seals blood vessels, so bleeding is minimal. “PVP” stands for “photoselective vaporization of the prostate.” Men usually go home the same day of treatment with a smaller prostate gland, one that allows them to empty their bladders with much greater ease.

If my urologist were as enthusiastic about it as yours, I wouldn’t hesitate to have it. Why not ask your doctor if you can talk to some of his former patients who have had it done. I believe they’ll give it a ringing endorsement.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.