Diabetes: when meditation lowers blood sugar! – Media Patrollers

Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which what we eat can either help or hinder blood sugar levels. According to research, in addition to drug therapy, mindfulness practices may help treat the symptoms of this chronic condition.

type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition, but the symptoms are manageable and, in some cases, potentially reversible with treatments such as medications, healthy eating, and regular physical activity.

New research shows that mind-body practices, such as yoga, can help people with this condition reduce their blood sugar level. rooted in mindfulness, mind-body practices are designed to be used in conjunction with standard treatments.

Mindfulness Has Similar Benefits to Diabetes Drugs

Several studies have looked at people with type 2 diabetes who have adopted a mind-body practice alongside standard diabetes treatment. The researchers compared them to a second group of people who received only the standard treatment.

The data collected revealed that people who practiced yoga, both in its active form and in its gentler, more static form, had greater improvements in their glucose levels.

Other studies have also looked at the benefits of other mind-body practices, such as:

• meditation
• qigong : a traditional Chinese practice involving gentle movements, deep breathing and meditative techniques, all aimed at improving health and well-being.
• mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).

Conclusion

The results showed that the mind-body practices resulted in an average reduction of 0.84% ​​in the participants’ hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).

Yoga had the greatest impact on blood sugar, resulting in a 1% reduction in HbA1c, but the other mind-body practices studied also had a positive impact on blood sugar.

Another study showed that treatment with metformin reduced HbA1c levels by 1.12% compared to people taking an inactive placebo.

But the researchers found that the impact of body-mind practices on blood sugar levels was still greater than the standard of care, which includes diet, physical activity and drug therapy.

Mindfulness Reduces Diabetes-Related Stress

The mindfulness practices may help people with type 2 diabetes manage stress, including stress related to their condition.

This stress comes from living with diabetes, which involves carefully monitoring what you eat and physical activity, as well as controlling your medication intake. The researchers said that:

“As a stress reduction tool, yoga and other mind-body approaches have been shown to improve blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes-related stress.”

Further research is needed to specifically examine how these practices affect the stress response in patients with type 2 diabetes.