Yoga and meditation lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetics – healing practice

Mindfulness exercises to lower blood sugar

Some mindfulness exercises like meditation and yoga can it blood sugar levels almost as much as the drugs commonly prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes.

In a new study by experts from Keck School of Medicine investigated the link between mindfulness and physical practices and the mean change in so-called HbA1c value and fasting blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. The results are in the “Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine“published.

Data from 28 studies analyzed

Researchers are evaluating data from randomized controlled trials conducted around the world between 1993 and 2022. So became 28 surveys identified in which people with type 2 diabetes performed so-called mindfulness exercises in addition to drug treatment.

The effects of this combination therapy were then compared to those of people receiving just drug treatment to lower their blood sugar levels, the team said.

Mindfulness exercises significantly lowered blood sugar

In this study, practices such as Meditation, Qigong, Yoga and mindfulness-based stress reduction all lead to one, according to researchers significant reduction in blood sugar levels.

Performing such mindfulness exercises was associated with a mean reduction in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels 0.84 percent Experts explain that the HbA1c value is a measure of the average blood sugar level over the past three months.

Yoga lowered blood sugar the most

yoga I was dealing with reduced HbA1c levels in the study about one percent, led to the largest recorded reduction of any mindfulness practice studied. And yoga was the most studied of all the studies assessed, the researchers add.

Yoga as effective as metformin

While a drop of just 1% doesn’t sound like a lot, according to the team, it’s pretty remarkable. So metformin only lower HbA1c levels in people with type 2 diabetes on average 1.1 percent. Metformin is the most commonly prescribed diabetes medication.

“What is important in this study is that the effect is very strong and occurs in addition to the standard treatment‘ explains the author of the study professor doctor Richard M Watanabe in a Press release.

Thus, the results of the present study indicate that mindfulness exercises Treatment of type 2 diabetes supplement and possibly as precautionary measure Can serve.

Mindfulness exercises are becoming increasingly popular

The popularity of yoga and meditation has increased dramatically in recent years when it comes to promoting one’s own health and protecting oneself from disease or combating existing illnesses.

According to the team, many people with type 2 diabetes engage in mindfulness practices because they believe it helps them control their blood sugar. However, until now it was unclear whether mindfulness practices could actually lower blood sugar.

The new study now shows that mindfulness practices are indeed able to lower blood sugar, and that even in a similar measurelike this through this Metformin, a diabetes drug the case is.

“The most surprising finding was the magnitude of the benefits provided by these practices. We expected a profit, but not that it was that big‘ adds the author of the study Fatimata Sanogo added. (as)