Cool Out to Bring Down Blood Sugar
Staying relaxed & calm can help your levels From Prevention Magazine by Sarí N. Harrar Learning to melt your stress away may coax blood sugar down to healthy levels, suggests research from the Medical University of Ohio. The experiment followed 30 diabetics, half of whom practiced daily tension-taming exercises, such as muscle relaxation, and had their techniques monitored with weekly 45-minute biofeedback sessions. The others took diabetes education classes. After 10 weeks, those who relaxed saw about a 10% drop in fasting blood sugar and in the level of HbA1c--a sign that their glucose had stayed lower around the clock for the previous couple of months. Such results mean lower risk of diabetic complications, like heart disease, blindness, and nerve damage. Meanwhile, the education group's blood sugar and HbA1c levels actually rose slightly. "Stress triggers hormones that raise blood sugar," explains lead researcher Ronald McGinnis, MD. "Reducing chronic stress switches this process off." If that's not motivation enough, the relaxation group also experienced a drop in depression and anxiety. Delma --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Access the Recipes And More list archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/ Visit the group home page at: http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
