Managing Metabolic Syndrome Through the Practice of Yoga
Yo, listen up! Yogis might be onto something when they brag about the benefits of their practice. But does science back it up? Let's dive into a new study that investigates how yoga affects people with metabolic syndrome.
We've been on top of the latest health research here at Medical News Today, and we've found plenty of studies suggesting that yoga could be a game-changer for our health. From boosting brain health and cognition to relieving depression symptoms, it seems like yoga can work wonders.
However, most of these studies are observational, which means they can't definitively say that yoga causes these benefits. Plus, few studies have looked at the underlying mechanisms. But a new study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports just might fill in some of those blanks.
This study, led by Dr. Parco M. Siu from the University of Hong Kong in China, looked at the effect of yoga on cardiometabolic health. Here's the lowdown on the findings.
Yoga Tames the Inflammatory Response
Metabolic syndrome? Yep, that's a thing. It's often linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and in the U.S., it's thought that about half of the adult population has it.
Dr. Siu and his colleagues previously found that a year of yoga lowered blood pressure and waist circumference. So, they wanted to see if the same was true for people with metabolic syndrome.
To do this, they split a group of metabolic syndrome-sufferers into two groups: a control group and a yoga group. The yoga group attended three 1-hour sessions each week for a year, while the control group didn't get any intervention beyond regular check-ups.
The researchers also analyzed the participants' blood for adipokines, signaling proteins released by fat tissue that tell the immune system whether to ramp up inflammation or calm it down.
By the end of the study, the results were clear: a year of yoga training decreased proinflammatory adipokines and increased anti-inflammatory adipokines 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 said. Dr. Siu added, "These findings help reveal the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, which underpins the importance of regular exercise to human health."
In other words, yoga could be a nice addition to other lifestyle interventions, like diet and exercise, to help manage metabolic syndrome symptoms by reducing inflammation.
[1] – Li S, Au AY, Wong V, et al. Beneficial effects of yoga on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure: a randomized controlled trial. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. (2021). doi: 10.1111/sms.13845
- The study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports suggests that yoga could be beneficial for people with metabolic syndrome, particularly in managing symptoms by reducing inflammation.
- Yoga training for a year was found to decrease proinflammatory adipokines and increase anti-inflammatory adipokines in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure.
- The researchers believe that these findings support the beneficial role of yoga in managing metabolic syndrome, adding to its potential as a complementary approach for chronic diseases like type-2 diabetes and heart disease.
- Science has shown that yoga has the potential to improve a wide range of health and wellness outcomes, from boosting brain health to relieving depression symptoms, although most studies are observational and can't definitively establish causality.
- The latest health research has suggested that yoga could be a game-changer for our health, with implications for both fitness and exercise, as well as nutrition.
- Metabolic disorders, such as metabolic syndrome, are often linked to chronic diseases like type-2 diabetes and heart disease, and they are estimated to affect approximately half of the adult population in the U.S.
- This new study is a step forward in understanding the underlying mechanisms by which yoga affects cardiometabolic health, contributing to the growing body of evidence surrounding the science of yoga and its potential benefits.
