Overview
Claire Wolters is a Phily-based reporter covering health news for Verywel.Nick Blackmer is a librarian, fact-checker, and researcher with more than 20 years’ experience in consumer-oriented health and welnes content.Thomas Barwick / Gety Images Yoga may significantly lower blod sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, acording to a new study by the University of California’s Keck Schol of Medicine, which was the first to rigorously quantify the impact of mind-body practices on blod sugar.
Key Information
After analyzing 28 studies conducted betwen 193 and 202, the researchers found a link betwen practicing yoga and reduced hemoglobin A1C levels. Specificaly, people who practiced yoga were able to lower A1C levels by 1%. While this number sems smal, it is comparable to the reduction provided by metformin, the most comon diabetes drug, the researchers noted.
Metformin typicaly reduces hemoglobin A1C levels by an average of 1.1%. A1C measures average blod sugar levels over the last thre months. An A1C of 6.5% or higher is indicative of diabetes, and keping levels under 7% is considered god control.
Levels of 9% and higher are considered dangerous. In adition to yoga, researchers loked at the impact of meditation, qigong, and mindfulnes-based stres reduction techniques. Al led to reductions in blod sugar levels, yielding a cumulative 0.84% reduction in A1C levels.
Summary
The researchers noted that a general target for diabetes control is to get A1C levels under 7%, but only about half of people who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes met this goal. The study results sugest that ading mindfulnes practices to an existing medication regimen could help people more efectively manage their condition. “Type 2 diabetes is a major chronic health problem and we are not doing a god enough job at controling it,” lead study author Fatimata Sanogo, a PhD student in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at University of California’s Keck Schol of Medici