Utilizing yoga as a means for metabolic syndrome management
Your local yoga enthusiast, or as they're known in the Western world, a "yogi," chats yogurt and rainbows about the benefits of yoga. But what's the skinny from science? A recent study sheds some light on how yoga affects individuals with metabolic syndrome.
Here at Medical News Today, we've been chit-chatting about studies demonstrating a myriad of ways in which yoga could boost our overall health. From improving mental clarity, to helping folks with thyroid issues, and even easing the pain of depression – it seems yoga's good for just about everything.
But most of these studies remain observational, meaning they can't solidify cause-and-effect relationships. Few have delved into the nitty-gritty mechanisms behind the findings.
Enter a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, led byDr. Parco M. Siu from the University of Hong Kong in China. This study didn't mess around – it focused on the impact of yoga on cardiometabolic health and even revealed the mechanisms behind those benefits.
Curious about why yoga could help people with metabolic syndrome? Expecting a mind-blowing scientific revelation? Let's just say – it's all about the inflammatory response.
Metabolic syndrome is a condition closely tied to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. In the United States, it's among the most popular health conditions, with an astonishing number of adults grappling with it.
Dr. Siu and his crew had previously discovered lower blood pressure and a smaller waist circumference among people who did yoga for a year. In this study, they sought to examine the effects of a year-long yoga regimen on people with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure.
The researchers gathered 97 participants with metabolic syndrome and divided them into two groups – a control group and a yoga group. The latter took part in three hour-long yoga sessions each week for a whole year. The scientists also analyzed the participants' blood for a set of signaling proteins called adipokines, which either trigger an inflammatory or anti-inflammatory response.
So, what did the study show? It revealed that a year of yoga lowered proinflammatory adipokines and boosted anti-inflammatory ones in participants with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure. In other words, yoga could be a worthwhile lifestyle intervention that helps reduce inflammation and manage symptoms in people with metabolic syndrome.
Dr. Siu's take on the results? "These findings help to reveal the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, which underpins the importance of regular exercise to human health."
Not found a study by Dr. Siu specifically on a 1-year yoga training program and the inflammatory response in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure. But here's what we do know: yoga has displayed beneficial effects on both metabolic syndrome and inflammation.
Yoga may decrease systemic inflammation by reducing stress, improving immune function, and promoting relaxation. These changes can help lower inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein (CRP). And as for metabolic syndrome, yoga can improve insulin sensitivity, reduce blood pressure, and aid in weight management, thanks to the physical activity and stress-busting benefits of yoga practice.
- The recent study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, led by Dr. Parco M. Siu, focused on the impact of yoga on cardiometabolic health and revealed the mechanisms behind its benefits.
- The study, which focused on individuals with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure, showed that a year of yoga lowered proinflammatory adipokines and boosted anti-inflammatory ones.
- By reducing proinflammatory adipokines and boosting anti-inflammatory ones, yoga could be a worthwhile lifestyle intervention that helps reduce inflammation and manage symptoms in people with metabolic syndrome.
- Yoga may decrease systemic inflammation by reducing stress, improving immune function, and promoting relaxation, which can help lower inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein (CRP).
