By Seema Deshpande
Why should a fit person have to monitor blood sugar? Practicing yoga consistently can be extremely healthy. Sometimes, people think yoga will protect them from every ailment. Indeed, yoga can be practiced in various forms such as pranayama or breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga postures. Furthermore, yoga can be practiced by anyone. As a result, practitioners are young, elderly, athletes, or people who hardly exercise. Yoga can be suitably modified to match everyone’s needs, regardless of age, health, or activity level. While yoga can improve your physical and mental fitness significantly, research studies are being conducted to study the effectiveness of yoga in preventing and/or treating various physical and psychological disorders. In detail, we will see whether, or not, yoga can lower the blood sugar level in diabetics.
Understanding Diabetes
Firstly, let us first understand diabetes. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, diabetes is a disease affecting “the way the body uses food for energy and growth”. Secondly, the food we eat is broken down into glucose, and our body needs the hormone insulin to use glucose. NCCIH categorizes diabetes into three different types – type 1, type 2, and gestational. In the first type, people hardly produce any insulin, and not many people suffer from this type of diabetes. In type 2, people do not properly respond to the insulin produced by their bodies. This is the most common type of diabetes. Gestational diabetes affects pregnant women, which normally goes away after childbirth. However, the risk of mothers developing diabetes in later stages of life remains.
About Type 2 Diabetes
Since type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, we will see what research says about the impact of yoga on controlling this type of diabetes. A research article published in 2007 in the Journal of The Association of Physicians in India states that yoga has a positive impact on lowering blood sugar levels. In this research, 108 patients with type 2 diabetes were studied for a period of six months. The article also states that patients showed a significant improvement with a considerable fall in the fasting and post-prandial blood sugar levels. Additionally, the research study stated that there was a reduction in drug requirements. Also, there was a significant decrease in body fat and an increase in lean body mass.
Practicing Yoga Poses
In the study, patients practised various asanas such as Dhanurasana, Ardhamatsayendrasana, Halasana, Vajrasana, Yogamudra, Shalabasana, Naukasana, and Bhujangasana. The research article states that Dhanurasana and Ardhamastsayendrasana were the effective asanas, whereas Yogamudra and Shalabasana worsened the diabetic status. Participants practiced yoga postures for 45 minutes every day during the research period. Within this study, relaxation practices such as Shavasana and Makrasana were also included.
Improving Glycemic Control
Furthermore, studies reveal encouraging news in another research article published in 2011. In fact, in the US-based The Journal of Clinical and Applied Research and Education, Diabetes Care, the research is promising. This study concluded that “yoga can be used as an effective therapy in reducing oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes”. In fact, it further stated that yoga along with standard care helps in reducing body-mass index. In general, there was an improvement in glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients.
Results
As seen above, some studies have started to reveal the positive impact of yoga on controlling or reducing blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetic patients. In addition, there are research studies that suggest that yoga can be used as an effective means to prevent diabetes. As a result, we recommend that you include yoga in your day-to-day lives and benefit the most from it. However, if you are diabetic or you suffer from any other physical or psychological disorder, be sure to seek medical advice first before deciding on practicing yoga. Therefore, proceed with practicing if and only if your physician permits. Additionally, practice only under the guidance of a qualified yoga teacher.
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References:
NCCIH: https://nccih.nih.gov/health/diabetes/supplements
Tuomilehto, Jaakko, et al. “Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by changes in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance.” New England Journal of Medicine 344.18 (2001): 1343-1350.
Sahay, B. K. “Role of yoga in diabetes.” JAPI 55 (2007): 121-126.
Hegde, Shreelaxmi V., et al. “Effect of 3-Month Yoga on Oxidative Stress in Type 2 Diabetes With or Without Complications A controlled clinical trial.” Diabetes care 34.10 (2011): 2208-2210.
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Yoga can be used as an effective means to prevent diabetes. Thanks for posting this good info.