Your meditation pillow is waiting for you! Recently, scientists have revealed that deep meditation impacts the immune system.
Interested in learning more about how yoga-derived “Inner Engineering,” a “technology” dedicated to your well-being, affects bodily health? Before and after an intense wellness retreat, researchers from the University of Florida evaluated blood samples taken from 106 healthy participants. In addition to meditating for over 10 hours a day, the volunteers were required to refrain from talking for eight days, eat a vegan diet, and get a good night’s sleep.
For example, according to a study published in PNAS, the National Academy of Sciences magazine, many immune-related pathways were modified in the post-retreat samples of participants.
Vijayendran Chandran, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and neuroscience in the University of Florida College of Medicine, says that “for the first time, the study provides clinical proof that the immune system can be enhanced naturally without pharmacological intervention through meditation.” Don’t Eat That!
“We were surprised to observe increased activity in as many as 220 genes directly related to the immune response, including 68 genes associated with anti-virus and anti-cancer responses,” says Dr. Chandran. A COVID connection was also found.
As Dr. Chandran points out, “Patients with severe COVID-19 had the reverse trend—the levels of these anti-viral genes were dramatically lowered,” meditation increased activity in the 68 anti-viral genes (interferon signaling).
Interestingly, three months after the retreat, the scientists discovered that the strong gene modifications persisted. Because meditation caused favorable gene activity equal to traditional treatments provided to multiple sclerosis patients, Dr. Chandran says that his findings “may have ramifications for numerous immune-related disorders, including COVID-19.”
Even if we only meditate for 10 to 20 minutes a day, can we expect the same benefits? Doctor Chandran says, “long-term meditation for a brief period each day may help strengthen the immune system.” “However, this scenario has not yet been tested by us.”
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There is no shortage of options in the supplement market, but how can you know which ones are effective? Most nutritionists agree that getting your nutrients from food and a healthy diet is preferable to supplements. Professor of Public Health at New Mexico State University, Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, MBBS, Ph.D., explains, “Only a healthy diet and regular exercise can prevent vitamin pills from counteracting the negative health effects of poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles such as spending most of one’s time indoors, smoking, or drinking excessively. To acquire all the vitamins you need, stick to a diet high in produce and dairy. However, if you must take immune-boosting supplements, talk to your doctor first. Don’t Eat That; instead, Consume This! Health sat down with experts to learn more about which supplements can help you stay healthy and why.
