The sweetness that can destroy your life… sugar. We associate the sweet flavor with energy, survival and happiness. We even coined a phrase: Dolce Vita (sweet life) for the experience.
But as more and more people realize there is a bitter side to all this sweetness: diabetes.
Just in the US there are 79 million people who are already in the pre-diabetes stage. If we look closely at the diabetes statistics we see more shocking numbers: 8% of the US population is suffering from diabetes currently. According to the American Diabetes Association’s 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet there were 1,9 million people newly diagnosed with this disease in 2010. And we have no reason to think that this trend will slow down any time soon.
Could that be that you are silently suffering of the consequences of the sweet life? Fortunately a simple blood test will give insight about the state of your health.
Diabetes cost a lot of money for our society. And it ruins lives and is responsible for early death if not handled properly.
Besides the economic burden, the loss of quality of life for sufferers are the major consequences of our changed nutrition and activity patterns in the last century.
Diabetes influences your life every day, changes your preferences and has serious complications that further decrease quality of life.
A few of the complications diabetes patients might have to face:
- high blood pressure
- heart disease
- stroke
- blindness
- kidney disease
- nervous system conditions
- and even amputations.
The question arising: what can we do to stop the spread of this serious condition? How can we treat diabetes and preserve the quality of life of those who already suffer from it? Could yoga support diabetes prevention and management?
At Clayton Yoga we witness the fact that yoga when practiced consistently for a longer period of time does have an actual positive effect on this disease for some of our students. (Of course there is no guarantee that yoga will help everybody – this is dependent on your personal situation) Look at this testimonial:
[box type=”info” size=”medium” style=”rounded” border=”full” icon=”none”]“My blood sugar is down to 5.5 from 6.8. Yoga works!” Carla Johnson[/box]
Yoga may help you lower your blood sugar levels. Plus students of yoga seem to have a higher awareness for healthy choices for life.
We found a research study critically reviewing published research around diabetes and yoga done by Kim E. Innes and Heather K. Vincent at the Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Virginia Health Systems, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Here is the summary of this research:
“In summary, a growing number of studies suggest that yoga may improve indices of risk in adults with type 2 diabetes, including glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles, anthropometric characteristics and blood pressure. Limited data also indicate that yoga may reduce oxidative damage, improve coagulation profiles and pulmonary function, and decrease sympathetic activation in adults with diabetes and related chronic disorders. Yoga may also be useful in reducing medication requirements in patients with diabetes and could help prevent and manage cardiovascular complications in this population.”
Source: The influence of yoga-based programs on risk profiles in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review. http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2176136
At Clayton Yoga Studio we practice Vinyasa yoga. There is a lot of emphasis on connecting deep yoga breathing and movement. As a result our yoga students develop an increased awareness for healthy living. Making healthy choices in your nutrition and exercise program could help in preventing diabetes.
We cannot promise healing for any disease unfortunately. But it is a great idea to try out yoga for 3 months and experience the change in your well-being.
Disclaimer: Please do consult your GP and/or specialist before beginning any type of exercise or yoga program!