Yoga as a reliever for metabolic syndrome management
Yoking Up for Better Health: Yogis and yoga enthusiasts have long claimed the practice benefits mind and body. But is there science to back these claims, especially for individuals dealing with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure? A research paper spearheaded by Dr. Parco M. Siu, from the University of Hong Kong, sheds some light.
At Medical News Today, we've been keeping tabs on various studies showing yoga's potential health perks, including enhancing brain health and cognition, easing thyroid issues, alleviating depression symptoms, aiding men with prostate issues, and assisting diabetes management. However, most of these studies are observational, making it tough to pin down causality.
This new study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, focuses on the impact of yoga on cardiometabolic health. The research confirmed that yoga benefits individuals with metabolic syndrome and revealed the mechanisms responsible for these benefits.
Seeing Reduction in Inflammation:
Metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, is prevalent in the United States, with about 34% of the adult population afflicted.
Dr. Siu and his team had previously conducted research suggesting lower blood pressure and smaller waist circumferences among yoga practitioners. Thus, they wanted to examine the effect of a year of yoga on people with metabolic syndrome.
The study assigned 97 participants with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure to either a control group or a yoga group. Those in the yoga group participated in a year-long yoga training program with three one-hour sessions per week.
The researchers scrutinized the patients' sera for adipokines, signaling proteins released by fat tissue. These proteins trigger an inflammatory or anti-inflammatory response from the immune system.
The Results Speak for Yoga:
According to the study authors, the results demonstrated that a year of yoga training lessened proinflammatory adipokines and boosted anti-inflammatory adipokine levels in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure.
"These findings support the beneficial role of yoga in managing metabolic syndrome by favorably modulating adipokines," the researchers added.
The results suggest that yoga could be a valuable lifestyle intervention that helps decrease inflammation and aids people dealing with metabolic syndrome in managing their condition.
Dr. Siu also commented on the study's findings, stating, "These findings help shed light on the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, which underscores the importance of regular exercise to human health."
Modern science is starting to validate the claims that yogis have been making for ages—that yoga offers numerous health benefits, including improved cardiometabolic health. As Dr. Siu's study indicates, the practice could be a good lifestyle intervention for those with metabolic syndrome, helping to decrease inflammation, thereby aiding in disease management.
- Yoga's impact on cardiometabolic health was the focus of a recent study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.
- The research revealed that a year of yoga training led to a decrease in proinflammatory adipokines and an increase in anti-inflammatory adipokine levels in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure.
- This finding suggests that yoga could be a valuable lifestyle intervention to help reduce inflammation and manage metabolic syndrome.
- Modern science is starting to corroborate the age-old claims of yogis, revealing that yoga offers health benefits, such as improved cardiometabolic health, and could be beneficial for individuals dealing with metabolic conditions like metabolic syndrome.
