“Hippie” Treatment WORKS for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is nothing like osteoarthritis (OA).
OA is a wear-and-tear condition where the joints are ground down over time. But RA is an autoimmune disease where your body attacks your joints.
The pain and inflammation can FEEL much the same, but the cause is different.
Because of that, the treatments should be different, too.
And now, researchers recently identified a solution that targets the root cause of RA.
If you lived through the 60s… it’s liable to make you laugh.
Yoga used to have a stigma attached to it. It was said to be “just for hippies” who wanted to get in touch with their “inner selves.”
But in recent years, yoga has begun to shed that reputation. It has become more widely accepted as a valuable form of exercise for anyone.
Plus, studies link it to better sleep, lower stress levels, improved strength, enhanced flexibility, and better balance.
Yoga is an IDEAL exercise because it can be tailored to anyone’s ability. It can even be done sitting down! (Search YouTube for free videos to help you get started.)
Now, a study has shown that yoga is especially beneficial for folks suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
In the randomized, controlled trial, researchers analyzed the impact of yoga on 64 RA patients who were also taking standard drug therapy.
Compared to the group that wasn’t doing yoga, the yoga group experienced…
- Decreased RA severity
- Normalized inflammation biomarkers (signs of inflammation in the body)
- Controlled Th17/Treg cell homeostasis (linked to inflammation and autoimmune disease)
- Reduced rate of immunological aging (age-related immune system slowing)
- Improved methylation levels (switches genes on and off and repairs DNA)
- Improved global hydroxyl methylation levels (controls gene expression)
- Improved HDAC1 levels that regulate gene expression patterns
That’s a LOT of science-speak that you might not be familiar with, but here’s what it all boils down to:
Yoga strikes at the HEART of RA by reducing systemic AND local inflammation.
And as a result, the volunteers experienced a SIGNIFICANT decrease in RA severity.
It’s time to put any remaining stigma about yoga to bed once and for all—and roll out that yoga mat instead.
Whether you have RA or not, you’ll be glad you did.
P.S. 10-second test reveals SCARY risk.
SOURCE:
Gautam, S., et al. “Yoga maintains Th17/Treg cell homeostasis and reduces the rate of T cell aging in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial.” Sci Rep 13, 14924 (2023). doi. org/10.1038/s41598-023-42231-w
