Summary
More evidence is surfacing in support of the heart health benefits of yoga. Practicing yoga also reduces chronic stress, which boosts immune system function and enhances cognitive ability. Clearly, there are many health benefits to practicing this ancient art of body / mind wellness.
Original source:
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2004/11/10/features/9356246&sec=features
Details
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Adopting the right positions coupled with meditation not only soothes the spirit, increases a sense of self-control and makes the body more flexible, but might relax the blood vessels as well.
- Researchers, who tried to fathom exactly how conquering chronic stress significantly reduces the risk of disease to the cardiovascular system, now indicate that yoga is good for the cells in the endothelium, the inner lining of the arteries.
- The lining is usually quite flexible, going with the flow as it were, but among those with cardiovascular disease, it becomes more rigid, less stretchy and more susceptible to damage.
- The participants, mostly men and with a average age of 55, were measured for blood pressure, body mass, heart rates, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
- Hiking downhill appeared to specifically lower blood glucose levels, in turn reducing the risks or effects of diabetes, according the researchers' study carried out in the Austrian Alps.
- "Walking downhill may be a starting mode for sedentary people to begin with exercise," said Dr Heinz Drexel, of the Voralberg Institute in Feldirch, Austria.
- For two months, three to five days a week, half of the people hiked uphill and took a cable car back down, while the other half hiked only downhill.
- A day and a half after a hike the researchers measured cholesterol, including LDL and triglycerides, as well as blood sugar.
- Very obese people are as unhealthy, and probably as likely to die, as patients with heart failure, US researchers reported.
- A second study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans found that overweight men spend more on drugs than those of healthy weight.
- A novel fabric mesh sleeve that works like a girdle to reshape enlarged hearts showed promise in treating patients with heart failure and will be submitted for United States regulatory approval this year, according to researchers and the company that makes the device.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he has created several downloadable courses on survival and preparedness, including his widely-downloaded course on personal safety and self-defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a veteran of the software technology industry, having founded a personalized mass email software product used to deliver email newsletters to subscribers. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Tuesday, November 09, 2004
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