The Wellness Benefits of Meditation

The Huffington Post reports a scientific study which credibly demonstrates the many benefits of meditation. In the course of three month, meditators had improved vision, cognition, and psychological well-being. Even more impressively, the meditation led to anti-aging benefits, with resistance to aging at the cellular level.

The scientists emphasize that meditation does not lead directly to cellular health and longevity. Instead, the practice appears to give people an increased sense of meaning and purpose in life, which in turn leads to an increased sense of control over their lives and to less negative emotion. This cascade of emotional and psychological changes is what regulates the levels of telomerase, the anti-aging enzyme.

It's well known that stress -- and distress -- lead to poor health, including a decline of telomerase and its healing properties. What hasn't been known -- and what these studies are beginning to document -- is the exact order of psychological and physiological events in this chain and, what's more, that this chain of events can be reversed.

According to Wray Herbert, the author of this piece, "Positivity appears to be the link between meditative practice and a variety of health benefits."

What Makes You Happy?

"Live long and prosper" is a phrase all Star Trek fans know as a Vulcan greeting. 

So, does this mean you have to prosper in order to live long? Recent studies seem to support this idea. For instance, 

According to the findings, patients with the highest incomes had only 35% of the risk of dying during the study period as those in the lowest income group. In addition, those in the highest education group had only 26% of the risk of death during the study period, compared with those in the lowest education bracket.

Read more: http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2011/2/9/universal-access-to-care-does-not-fully-eliminate-disparities-study-finds.aspx#ixzz1DbwUD7N9

 How does happiness fit in? Are rich people happier as well as healthier? According to a recent Gallup report, they are.

But is it the chicken or the egg? Are rich people happier because they're healthier? Do poor people get sick because they can't afford to eat well and work out at costly gyms?

We invite you to share your thoughts!

Free Care Does Not Guarantee Health

Is it enough to have health insurance, no matter how much it costs, even if it's free? Is good health guaranteed when you have access to health care- doctors, drugs, and hospitals?

According to a study in Health Affairs, it's not enough.

People of high income and education live healthier and longer than people of low socioeconomic status. What do you think is the reason for that?

This should make Judge Vinson and all the anti-mandate folks happy.

Reduce stress to prevent second heart attack

Here's something interesting that your intuition may have told you: 

Reduce stress to prevent second heart attack 
 
At the beginning of February, which is American Heart Month in the US and Heart Month in Canada, a new report shows how stress management, along with physical activity and healthy eating, serves as a lifestyle choice that may prevent heart disease. 
 
STUDY: In Sweden, 362 men and women discharged from the hospital after a coronary heart disease event within the previous 12 months participated in a randomized controlled clinical trial. About half (170 people) received traditional care and 192 patients received traditional care plus cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The CBT therapy-consisting of education, self-monitoring, skills training, cognitive restructuring and spiritual development-was delivered in 20 two-hour sessions over one year. 
 
FINDINGS: During an average 94 months of follow-up, people in the CBT group had a 41% lower rate of both fatal and non-fatal heart events, 45% fewer recurrent heart attacks and a non-significantly lower rate of death (28%) than patients in the traditional care group. Attending a higher proportion of the therapy sessions was associated with a further reduction in risk. 

COMMENT: "These results imply that, to affect cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease end points, the interventions need to be long-term (possibly six to 12 months), be conducted in groups and include specific techniques for altering behavior," the authors wrote.... "This demonstrates the potential efficacy of adding CBT to secondary preventive programs after acute myocardial infarction [heart attack] for better patient adherence to treatment and better outcome." 

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 171[2]:134-140 (January 24, 2011)