Light Yoga Benefits Diabetes According to Study
Joelle Reizes - September 14, 2011
Last week we wrote about how when it comes to “Diabetes Prevention: Every Little Bit Helps.” Meaning that any lifestyle improvement you make can be a benefit.
One of the lifestyle improvements, according to the article that we were sharing with our post, included 20 minutes of heart-pumping, sweat-inducing exercise 3 times a week, but this type of cardio exercise may not be feasible for some.
Today, in keeping with the theme of “every little bit helps,” however, we are excited to share factual evidence that light yoga may offer diabetes benefits for those who cannot do vigorous exercise.
You read it correctly! A recent Reuters Health article reports that light yoga seemed to help people with diabetes reduce their weight and maintain their blood sugar. This is according to a study published in the journal, Diabetes Care.
In this study, 60 of 123 middle-aged and older participants attended light yoga classes several times a week for a period of 3 months. During this time, the body mass index (BMI) of these yoga participants fell from 25.9 to 25.4, and their blood sugar levels held steady.
Although a BMI of 25 to 30 is still considered overweight, the minimal amount that dropped as well as the steady blood sugar levels is good news, especially since the rest of the study participants, who did not attend yoga classes, had an increase in their blood sugar levels.
What’s more, the yoga-practicing group had a 20 percent decrease in chemicals associated with oxidative stress, which are damaging byproducts of energy use in cells (free radicals). These free radicals rise beyond the body’s capacity to neutralize them and are associated with chronic diseases.
Now the researchers in this study say that vigorous exercise still works the best for lowering blood glucose levels. So, of course you shouldn’t trade your existing cardio routine for gentle yoga only. However, if you do not have an exercise regimen, and after reading our last post you threw out the idea of beginning one because you thought only strenuous exercise would do you good, it seems that “every little bit helps” still rings true. Namaste.
Read the Reuters Health article in full detail at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/02/us-yoga-diabetes-idUSTRE7814FL20110902
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Photo courtesy of Ambro on freedigitalphotos.net
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One Response to “Light Yoga Benefits Diabetes According to Study”
Great information! Thanks for sharing! Very helpful!