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meditation

  • Dear Readers,

    Welcome to the August 2017 issue of TotalHealth Online.

    In "Journaling to Lasting Weight Loss Success" Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, presents a way to focus entirely on yourself to progress to a healthier and happier you. The NEW Fat Flush Plan provides the help to do it.

    Dallas Clouatre's, PhD, article, "Meditation, Stress and Aging," suggests real and tangible benefits from meditative practices. These benefits are backed by research and include stress reduction, a balancing of blood pressure and blood sugar and, perhaps, greater longevity.

    Charles Bens, PhD, calls attention to a topic currently in the news, "Is Artificial Intelligence Going to Save Healthcare?" By all accounts its coming and here is one author's comments.

    "Acid Blockers Are As Deadly As Cigarettes," by Jacob Teitelbaum, MD. Suprising statement from a doctor. He goes on to discuss stomach acid, how it works in our bodies and how dangerous long time use of the drugs being prescribed can be for us.

    Gene Bruno, MS, MHS, RH(AHG), in "Reduce Body Fat with CLA," describing what CLA is, how it is used by our body and that it may help you lose a little weight.

    Gloria Gilbère, CDP, DAHom, PhD, presents "Quinoa Burgers & Patties" a healthy alternative to our standard burgers. Gilbère provides a history of quinoa and includes with her recipes a complete description of the healthy benefits of all the ingredients.

    Shawn Messonnier, DVM includes our pets with, "Zinc for Our Pets."

    Elson Haas, MD, "Is It Dental Pain Or Mental Pain?" Haas takes us on a trip to the dentist and provides us with an unconventional narrative on how he handles the pain and suggests a whole new approach for us to consider when we go in for our next checkup.

    You'll be first introduced to telomeres in the second article in this issue when you read Dallas Clouatre's, PhD, article in "Meditation, Stress and Aging." In the ending article, "Telomeres: The Tape Measure For Aging," by Charles Bens, PhD, you will find more history and explanation of how they work in the body plus an extensive personal evaluation to take so you can have a grasp of how you are doing from an aging prospectus.

    Best in health,

    TWIP The Wellness Imperative People

    Click here to read the full August issue.

    Click here to read the full August issue.

  • Often times after summer, we fall out of the fitness mentality and into the warm comforts of autumnal bliss. Sitting in front of the fire, we forget to move, and the idea of body awareness, movement and breath falls out the window. Instead of playing sports, we begin to watch them.

    This fall, what can we do differently? How can we break our habits and increase our mindfulness, and mind-body relationship with itself and our environment?

    Below are several ways to keep fitness at the forefront of your mind and body this fall with mindful meditation, exercise for the brain, body and breath.

    Each morning, wake up 10 to 15 minutes earlier and spend a little extra time with yourself, focus on your breathing, how the breath enters the body, how it makes you feel as you breathe, and how it exits the body. Pay attention to what happens to the rest of the body as you continue to breathe and continue to do the exercises, playing with the lengths of the inhales and exhales. Make it an enjoyable experience, So that it is an opportunity to learn more about your breath, your body and yourself. There is always an opportunity to expand our mental, physical and emotional selves. And this is one of them.

    Meditation is exercise for our brains. The central nervous system, which is run by the brain, controls our body and how it functions, making it a crucial element of our fitness regimes.

    Taking care of our brain IS taking care of our body. A study led by Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, found that meditating for only eight weeks actually changed the brain’s grey matter. Grey matter is associated with processing information as well as providing nutrients and energy to its neurons. This is why it is said that mediation has shown to improve memory, empathy, sense of self and stress relief.

    When school is in session, mental acuteness is just as important for the parent as it is the child. Meditation is proven to sharpen the mind’s focus, lower stress levels and help manage anxiety for the student and teacher, and ultimately the parents. Meditation is key to prepare and react to your children’s energies. When sitting in the car line to pick up the children from school, arrive 20 minutes early to prepare mentally for the sprightly youth to jump into cars with inquisitive and ever-so exuberant minds and bundles of energy bouncing off the walls and in the car seats. Meditation lowers our stress, raises our endorphins and prepares us for anything that will ensue.

    For those that require more of a structured schedule to hold us accountable, one can begin a yoga practice. It is a great mental and physical exercise that improves balance. Yoga, meaning union of the breath with the body, brings self-awareness, acceptance and peace with our body-mind relationship, and with our body and mind relationship with it’s surrounding environment. One can begin to practice at home or in a studio with others. The beauty of yoga and life is that the choice is ours. Yoga provides us the freedom to practice it anywhere: outside, inside, by ourselves or with others. And, it all begins with the breath. Yoga begins with the relationship of the breath and body. We clear our minds on the mat and nothing else matters nor does it have to even exist. Only the here and now matter with our body and breath. This form of meditation is a beautiful practice synchronized with movements, certain “asanas” or poses that have specific benefits, depending on what we need during that moment. Yoga is a mental, physical and even for some, spiritual exercise that provides balance for our habitual imbalances, whether that imbalance is in our bodies or minds.

    The beauty of yoga is that there are different kinds for different people. The type of yoga that is most fitting at that moment is the type that works for the individual. There is no right or wrong answer. There is what is right now. We are blessed being of this technological age where knowledge is literally overflowing at our fingertips. With the touch of a button, all our questions can be answered. However, with such over saturation and access to knowledge, we can often get overwhelmed and weighted down with all these external stimuli being thrown at us. Which type of yoga is most fitting for us, for me, for you? There is meditative, spiritual, physical, hot, Bikram, Iyengar, Kundalini, power, restorative and many, many more. Thus, we stop searching and go within. We go back to the breath. Let’s keep it simple to keep us moving forward. Keeping it simple is essential moving forward. "One breath at a time" is an inviting and achievable place to start; it is a great motto to adapt so that we can reach our goals and keep moving, keep living and keep breathing. With the breath we remember that, although it appears simple, the benefits greatly outweigh it’s simplicity. Remember that breathing keeps us happy, lowers our stress, focuses our mind, and energizes our body. It is an empowering notion. So much can come from so little.

    So this fall, sitting in front of the fire, we can gaze into the golden embers, get lost in their glow and begin to focus solely on our breath and body. As we cherish the relationship with our mind, body and breath, everything else fades away and out of existence. We can ignite life in our bodies, blood cells and brains by a single breath. The only constant in life, that ever present ebb and flow of air, we can begin to improve our relationship with ourselves and those that are around us by beginning a journey of mindful meditation. Exercising our brains and bodies, we fall in love with the mindful meditation, our mind, our bodies and ultimately ourselves. Thus, this fall we begin our fitness journey and the rest of our lives with one breath at a time.

    References:

    1. http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Grey-Matter.aspx
    2. http://www.medicaldaily.com/mental-health-benefits-meditation-itll-alter-your-brains-grey-matter-and-improve-319298
    3. http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Grey_matter.html
    4. http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/meditationheals-body-and-mind
    5. http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/which-yogais-right-for-you-2/
    6. http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/aircomposition.htm
    7. http://www.teachpe.com/gcse_anatomy/respiratory.php

  • Meditation, yoga, tai chi and other practices often are mentioned in passing as being good for health. However, it is surprising how little medical research has been devoted to testing such claims. Perhaps equally surprising is that until recently little work had been undertaken to quantify the impact of stress on aging. Of course, people often talk about reducing stress and note that too much stress is not good for us, but how much is too much and what, exactly, is the impact on the length of life? It took the interest of a Nobel Prize Winner finally to direct research at medical schools towards these questions. A paper by Epel and Blackburn on the impact of stress on the length of telomeres, a direct cellular measure of successful aging, only appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in December 2004.1 More than a decade later, meditation has begun to be accepted as a low cost /no cost approach to health benefits.

    Stress and Adrenal Fatigue

    In medical circles, two syndromes often are discussed with regard to what laymen consider to be the consequences of stress. The first is adrenal insufficiency. Adrenal insufficiency is a condition in which the adrenal glands do not produce adequate amounts of steroid hormones, primarily cortisol; it also may include impaired production of aldosterone (a mineralocorticoid), which regulates sodium conservation, potassium secretion, and water retention. Craving for salt or salty foods due to the urinary losses of sodium is common. Adrenal insufficiency is a medical condition that requires intervention beyond dietary supplements.

    Adrenal fatigue occupies a bit of a nether world in many medical circles, meaning that allopathic medicine is not quite sure that it is real. According to the Mayo Clinic, adrenal fatigue is a term often applied to a collection of nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems. However, it also is used as a catch-all for the exhaustion caused by placing demands upon the body that are beyond its normal recovery capacity. Very important in this picture is cortisol, a hormone manufactured in the adrenals, but also exhibits a metabolism that is regulated strongly in various peripheral tissues, such as in fat stores.

    The counter-regulatory or "stress" hormone cortisol plays crucial everyday roles in the regulation of blood sugar levels, inflammation and the circadian rhythm. Cortisol should be relatively low late in the day as we unwind and prepare for sleep and should rise quite significantly starting an hour or two before waking. The circadian pattern of cortisol release generally is considerably more important than is its total 24-hour level.

    Acute demands outside the normal range and chronic stress alter this picture. Recurrent increases in stress levels, both from psychological and physiological sources, can result in excess cortisol production or alterations in cortisol release timing leading to a disrupted homeostasis and directly affecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the nervous system, and an array of other body systems.

    Immediate responses to stress
    Typical acute phase reactions to stress are increases in heart and respiratory rates, elevations in blood pressure and blood sugar, and a general increase in cellular metabolism.

    Post-stress reactions
    Those in good health, especially younger individuals, quickly recovery equilibrium. However, stress in excess of immediate recovery capacity can lead to bouts of hyperglycemia, fatigue, insomnia, irritability, anxiety, etc.

    Poor recovery from stress
    Chronic stress disrupts the normal equilibrium of the body. Chronic elevations of cortisol and the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine initially cause people to feel energetic, yet unable to rest. Indeed, there is increasing dysregulation of an array of hormonal systems, including growth hormone, glucocorticoids, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), mineral corticoids, angiotensin, and others. Ultimately a number of vicious cycles can be set in motion. These include set points involving mineral corticoids and insulin. One example of this is a cycle involving blood sugar, insulin and cortisol:

    chronic ↑ blood sugar => ↑ insulin + ↑ leptin => insulin resistance + leptin resistance => ↑ cortisol => ↑ blood sugar

    Depending on the individual's starting constitution and habits, this can lead to elevations of blood sugar and lipids, water retention, mood swings, a loss of lean tissue followed by a gain in fat tissue, generalized fatigue and other symptoms.

    The goal of any program aimed at controlling stress and reducing adrenal fatigue is to promote adaptation. One classic way of thinking about this issue is to consider the medical concept of allostasis, the process of achieving stability, or homeostasis, through physiological or behavioral changes. This can be carried out by means of alterations in HPA axis hormones, the autonomic nervous system, cytokines, or a number of other systems, and is generally adaptive in the short term. This adaptation calls upon mediators such as adrenalin, cortisol and other chemical messengers with the obvious corollary of increasing demands on precursor substrates and the production of downstream metabolites.

    Repeated episodes of allostasis increase allostatic load. This means that repeated episodes of stress increase the demands that are placed on the body. Even the body's attempts at rebalancing can lead to cumulative damaging effects. The burden of the level of responses required either repeatedly or chronically itself becomes an insult (stressor) in its own right.2,3

    Meditation, Stress and Telomeres
    The pioneering work of Epel and Blackburn linked perceived stress to shorter telomeres in healthy women as well as in Alzheimerfs caregivers, victims of domestic abuse and earlylife trauma, and people with major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Telomeres are a repeating DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequence that "caps" or shields the ends of the chromosomes each time that cells divide and the DNA is copied. With successive cell divisions, the protective caps wear down. Blackburn received a Nobel Prize for discovering an enzyme called telomerase that can protect and rebuild telomeres. This enzyme slows the slide towards telomeres becoming too short to protect the chromosomes and leading to a loss of the ability of cells to divide. The length of telomeres thus is one measure of how many cycles the cells have left, a measure of aging. The key finding regarding stress and aging is that stress and our ability to cope with stress strongly affect telomere length. Subsequent work in other labs revealed that the stress hormone cortisol reduces the activity of telomerase. Oxidative stress and inflammation—the physiological fallout of stress—appear to erode telomeres directly.4,5

    There are various ways of attempting to control stress its negative effects, including exercise, social support groups, eating advice, and so forth. One of the most successful in trials is meditation. As reported in an excellent 2104 BBC review,6

    In one ambitious project, Blackburn and her colleagues sent participants to meditate at the Shambhala mountain retreat in northern Colorado. Those who completed a three-month-long course had 30 percent higher levels of telomerase than a similar group on a waiting list. A pilot study of dementia caregivers, carried out with UCLA's Irwin and published in 2013, found that volunteers who did an ancient chanting meditation called Kirtan Kriya, 12 minutes a day for eight weeks, had significantly higher telomerase activity than a control group who listened to relaxing music. And a collaboration with UCSF physician and self-help guru Dean Ornish, also published in 2013, found that men with low-risk prostate cancer who undertook comprehensive lifestyle changes, including meditation, kept their telomerase activity higher than similar men in a control group and had slightly longer telomeres after five years.

    Western style research thus increasingly is validating meditation as a tool for combatting known markers for aging. The next issue is whether meditation improves individual conditions, such as high blood pressure and high blood sugar.

    Meditation and Specific Conditions
    Telomere length and the production of telomerase to regenerate telomeres are indirect measurements of health. Impacts on these markers can suggest anti-aging benefits, but true clinical findings involve endpoints, not markers, i.e., were subjects followed long enough to demonstrate an actual increase in longevity? With long-lived animals such as human beings, this type of follow-through is difficult. However, meditation has been tested in regard to specific medical conditions, including blood pressure, blood sugar and mental aging. Results have been positive in all three.

    Blood Pressure
    Although statistical reviews typically have found that clinically meaningful changes in health related to blood pressure usually take place only when systolic blood pressure (SBP, the upper figure) exceeds 140 and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) exceeds 90, in recent years increasing attention has been paid to the category of prehypertension. Nearly 60 million Americans have blood pressure (BP) in the prehypertensive range (SBP of 120– 139 and/or DBP of 80–89). These numbers do not yet warrant medication, yet may signal that changes in diet, exercise and other habits should be undertaken to prevent the emergence of the clinical condition that does require treatment.

    Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a change in habits that has been tested under controlled conditions. In a trial published in 2013, it involved body scanning exercises, sitting meditation and yoga exercises performed in eight supervised group sessions totaling 2½ hours per week. Subjects also were encouraged to practice at home. The trial examined 56 men and women averaging 50.3 years of age with BP in the prehypertensive range randomized to eight weeks of either MBSR or active control conditioning consisting of progressive muscle relaxation training (PMR) (the control arm).7

    Patients in the MBSR group exhibited significant reductions in blood pressure measurements; systolic blood pressure decreased by an average of 4.8 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) compared to 0.7 mm Hg with the control group, which did not receive the mindfulness intervention. Diastolic blood pressure also was lower in the mindfulness-based intervention group with a reduction of 1.9 mm Hg compared to an increase of 1.2 mm Hg in the control group.

    Blood Sugar
    As is true of blood pressure, in free-living populations meditation and other mind-body practices long have been associated with better body mass index and blood sugar regulation.8 Nevertheless, without prospective clinical trials, such benefits cannot be definitively claimed to be due to any given factor. Over the last handful of years, studies have gone some way towards remedying this issue.

    In 2015, the Endocrine Society presented information on the effects of MBSR on fasting blood glucose in overweight and obese women. The NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the NIH National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences funded the study.9 A pilot randomized controlled trial of 86 overweight or obese women (similar in age and body mass index) tracked eight weeks of either MBSR or health education control (HEC) with tests of fasting blood work and completed questionnaires at baseline, eight weeks and then at 16 weeks. The MBSR group's mindfulness scores significantly increased and its perceived stress scores significantly decreased compared to the HEC group's scores. Fasting glucose dropped significantly and quality of life improved significantly in the MBSR group, but not in the HEC group. Other measures were similar between the two groups.

    Results with the MBSR intervention were good with regard to blood sugar just as with blood pressure. A different form of meditation may be even more successful. Traditional Buddhist walking meditation in a 2016 trial improved not only fasting blood glucose and blood pressure, but also glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c, a measure of long term blood sugar control) and other factors above the results found with walking alone in diabetic test groups.10 Twenty-three type 2 diabetics were split into two groups that performed a 12-week exercise program that consisted of walking on the treadmill at an exercise intensity of 50–70 percent maximum heart rate for 30 min/session, 3 times/week. In the Buddhism-based walking meditation exercise (WM) training program, the participants performed walking on the treadmill while concentrating on foot stepping by voiced "Budd" and "Dha" with each footstep that contacted the floor to practice mindfulness while walking.

    Both arms in this trial improved. After 12 weeks, maximal oxygen consumption increased and fasting blood glucose level decreased significantly in both groups. In contrast, walking meditation exceeded simple treadmill exercise in other areas. There were significant decreases in HbA1c and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure only in the WM group. Again, arterial stiffness was improved only in the WM group and blood cortisol levels were reduced only in the WM group.

    Brain Aging
    Another area, one that concerns all of us who are getting a bit older, is brain aging. Observational studies and a number of studies have indicated that meditation can exert a positive influence, yet the question of "how" remains poorly determined. Does it involve telomeres, inflammation, stress regulation, macroscopic brain anatomy or other mechanisms? Answers suitable to the Western allopathic medical model only now are beginning to be uncovered.

    A review published in 2017 attempts to survey the relevant issues.11 It judges that "preliminary evidence for possible age-defying effects of meditation mostly stems from cross-sectional studies and/or from using indirect markers associated with aging. In contrast, controlled longitudinal studies between meditation and diminished brain aging are still missing." Nevertheless, "[w]ithout a doubt, the accumulating scientific evidence is very encouraging, especially given that meditation is relatively easy to integrate in everyone's every-day life."

    Conclusions
    A philosophical person—a lover of wisdom—indulges his appetites neither too much nor too little, but just enough to lay them to sleep and prevent them from interfering with higher activities. He collects himself in meditation to pursue spiritual investigations, seeking and discovering unrealized realities of the past, present, and future. Through identifying with his Higher Self in meditation he avoids being the victim of fantastic and uncivilized vagaries and most effectively attains Truth.

    Plato, Commonwealth 9, 571d12

    We tend to think of meditation as an "Eastern" tradition, but, in fact, very similar practices existed in the ancient Greco-Roman world until the closure of the Platonic Academy in 529 AD by Justinian I. A major goal of meditation is to attain inner balance neither by indulging the passions nor by stifling them. Many different techniques exist. Overall, the goal of classic meditation exercises was and remains spiritual benefit. Modern research has discovered that even those not directly interested in religious or philosophical paths can obtain quite real and tangible benefits from meditative practices. These benefits include stress reduction, a balancing of blood pressure and blood sugar and, perhaps, greater longevity.

    References:

    1. Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, Morrow JD, Cawthon RM. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004 Dec 7;101(49):17312–5.
    2. McEwen BS, Seeman T. Protective and damaging effects of mediators of stress. Elaborating and testing the concepts of allostasis and allostatic load. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999;896:30–47.
    3. McEwen BS. Central effects of stress hormones in health and disease: Understanding the protective and damaging effects of stress and stress mediators. Eur J Pharmacol. 2008 Apr 7;583(2–3):174–85.
    4. Marchant J. Can Meditation Help Prevent the Effects of Aging? July 1, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140701-canmeditation- delay-ageing
    5. Epel E, Daubenmier J, Moskowitz JT, Folkman S, Blackburn E. Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mindfulness, and telomeres. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Aug;1172:34–53.
    6. Marchant (op. cit.)
    7. Hughes JW, Fresco DM, Myerscough R, van Dulmen MH, Carlson LE, Josephson R. Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for prehypertension. Psychosom Med. 2013 Oct;75(8):721–8.
    8. Younge JO, Leening MJ, Tiemeier H, Franco OH, Kiefte-de Jong J, Hofman A, Roos-Hesselink JW, Hunink MG. Association Between Mind-Body Practice and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: The Rotterdam Study. Psychosom Med. 2015 Sep;77(7):775–83.
    9. The Endocrine Society. "Stress reduction may reduce fasting glucose in overweight and obese women." ScienceDaily, 6 March 2015. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150306181815.htm
    10. Gainey A, Himathongkam T, Tanaka H, Suksom D. Effects of Buddhist walking meditation on glycemic control and vascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes. Complement Ther Med. 2016 Jun;26:92–7.
    11. Kurth F, Cherbuin N, Luders E. Promising Links between Meditation and Reduced (Brain) Aging: An Attempt to Bridge Some Gaps between the Alleged Fountain of Youth and the Youth of the Field. Front Psychol. 2017 May 30;8:860.
    12. An admittedly idiosyncratic, yet helpful translation found at http://www.hermes-press.com/meditation0.htm