Yoga as a Potential Solution for Managing Metabolic Syndrome
Yogis, the enthusiasts of yoga, love to tout its health benefits, but what do the scientists say? A new study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports investigates the influence of yoga on individuals with metabolic syndrome.
At Medical News Today, we've been keeping our readers informed about numerous studies that suggest yoga could have a positive impact on various health aspects, such as brain health, cognition, thyroid issues, depression, prostate health, and even erectile dysfunction. Yet, most of these studies are observational and can't establish a causal link. Moreover, the scientific community has yet to uncover the mechanisms behind these findings.
The study led by Dr. Parco M. Siu from the University of Hong Kong in China aimed to shed light on the effects of yoga on cardiometabolic health. This research supports previous findings that indicate lower blood pressure and smaller waist circumferences among individuals who practiced yoga for a year.
The research team, therefore, wanted to explore the impact of a year-long yoga regimen on individuals with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure. They divided the participants into two groups: a control group that received no intervention and a yoga group that underwent a 1-hour yoga session thrice a week for a year. They also monitored the patients' adipokines, proteins released by fat tissue that signal the immune system to release either an inflammatory or anti-inflammatory response.
The study authors sum up their findings, reportedly stating, "The results demonstrated that a 1-year yoga training decreased proinflammatory adipokines and increased anti-inflammatory adipokine in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure." In other words, yoga appears to reduce pro-inflammatory adipokines, which are linked to metabolic imbalance and low-grade systemic inflammation, and increase anti-inflammatory adipokines, which regulate immune function and inflammation.
These findings suggest that yoga could serve as a beneficial lifestyle intervention, potentially assisting individuals with metabolic syndrome in managing their symptoms by decreasing inflammation. Dr. Siu comments that these results help to reveal the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, emphasizing the importance of regular exercise for human health.
- The study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports suggests that yoga could have potential benefits for individuals with metabolic disorders, such as metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure, by decreasing pro-inflammatory adipokines and increasing anti-inflammatory adipokines.
- The researchers found that a year-long yoga regimen significantly decreased pro-inflammatory adipokines, which are linked to metabolic imbalance and low-grade systemic inflammation, and increased anti-inflammatory adipokines, which regulate immune function and inflammation, in participants with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure.
- While yoga has been shown to have positive effects on various health aspects, such as brain health, cognition, and even chronic diseases like type-2 diabetes, more scientific research is needed to uncover the mechanisms behind these findings.
- The results of this study indicate that adopting a regular yoga practice as part of a health-and-wellness routine could potentially help individuals manage symptoms of metabolic disorders by reducing inflammation, thus emphasizing the importance of fitness-and-exercise and nutrition in the prevention and management of medical-conditions like metabolic disorders and chronic-diseases.
