Mind-body practices lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes

Mind-body practices are highly effective at reducing blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, new research reveals.

Yoga and meditation are increasingly popular tools for promoting health and combating diseases, including type 2 diabetes.

According to new research conducted by a team from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, some mind-body practices can be nearly as effective as commonly prescribed drugs at reducing blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Chief author Fatimata Sanogo said: “The most surprising finding was the magnitude of the benefit these practices provide. We expected there to be a benefit, but never anticipated it would be this large.”

The team analysed data from randomised controlled trials conducted across the globe between 1993 and 2022.

They found 28 trials in which people with type 2 diabetes began a mind-body practice in addition to receiving medication and compared their results with people who only received medication to reduce their blood sugar levels.

This study, the first to analyse a range of mind-body practices including meditation, qigong, yoga and mindfulness-based stress reduction and their effect on blood glucose levels, revealed that all mind-body practices led to significant reductions in blood sugar levels.

Taken as a whole, the mind-body practices averaged an 84 per cent reduction in haemoglobin A1c, a measure of the average blood glucose level for the past three months.

Yoga, the most-studied modality, provided the largest benefit, about a one per cent reduction in haemoglobin A1c.

The authors noted that a 1 per cent reduction is particularly notable because metformin, the most prescribed diabetes drug, reduces haemoglobin A1c in people with type 2 diabetes by 1.1 per cent on average.

Dr Richard M. Watanabe said: “What is important about this study is that the effect is very strong and that it is on top of the standard of care.”

The research suggests that mind-body practices could be used as a both as a complementary nonpharmacological treatment for people with type 2 diabetes and possibly as a preventive measure as well.

New effective methods for keeping type 2 diabetes under control are needed, since only about half of people with type 2 diabetes succeed at reducing their blood sugar levels to the target level of 7 per cent haemoglobin A1c.

The studies came from different countries, further suggesting that mind-body practices could benefit people with type 2 diabetes worldwide.

Sanogo said: “This could be an important tool for many people because type 2 diabetes is a major chronic health problem, and we are not doing a good enough job at controlling it.

“Although this study does not address it as a preventive measure, it does suggest it could help people who are pre-diabetic reduce their risk for future type 2 diabetes.”

This study was published recently in the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine.

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