RE: Re: Meditation Could Alter Insulin Levels

[Guest guest]

I wouldnt also overlook MBSR, meditation based stress reduction, as

championed by Dr. Kabat-Zinn at UMass. See his bio here

http://www.umassmed.edu/behavmed/faculty/kabat-zinn.cfm

and their center is here:

http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/

There are also a number of studies on Pubmed that show the effectiveness

of MBSR in reducing stress and many of its physical symptoms. He was on

PBS awhile back. He has some good books as well. Note, I speak as a

biased person having really enjoyed an MBSR based class here in ,

CA. It truly improved my outlook on life.

-Will

> Hi folks:

>

> When I enter " transcendental meditation " in the window at PubMed and=20

> hit the 'Go' button, I get 617 studies referenced.

>

> Rodney.

>

>

> >

> >=20

> > Heart disease patients who practiced meditation for four months=20

> showed

> > slight improvements in blood pressure and insulin levels, a small

> > government-funded study found.

> >=20

> > Patients who learned Transcendental Meditation did better on those=20

> measures

> > than patients who spent the same amount of time on lectures,=20

> discussions and

> > homework about the effects of stress, diet and exercise on the=20

> heart.

> >=20

> > The 103 heart patients in the study in yesterday's Archives of=20

> Internal

> > Medicine received regular medical care as well, including drugs to=20

> lower

> > cholesterol and blood pressure. Adding meditation had " a strong=20

> enough

> > effect that we could show a benefit over traditional health care, " =20

> said

> > co-author Noel Bairey Merz of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

> >=20

> > Some of the researchers involved are affiliated with the=20

> organization that

> > teaches Transcendental Meditation around the world, raising=20

> questions about

> > potential bias.

> >=20

> > Meditation involves sitting quietly and focusing on a repeated=20

> sound, called

> > a mantra, for about 20 minutes every morning and evening. Previous=20

> studies

> > have found meditation can lower blood pressure, but the new study=20

> is the

> > first to show an effect on insulin function.

> >

>

>

>

>

>

Jewell, Ph.D.

Campus Mass Spectrometry Facilities

UC