According to a study out of Brown University, researchers evaluated the link between mindfulness, cardiovascular health and healthy glucose levels. This isn’t just practicing mindfulness once a week, it is what is known as dispositional or “everyday” mindfulness or the inherent trait of being aware of one’s present thoughts and feelings.
The researchers studied the connection between this and cardiovascular health in a study comprised of 399 people. The association is linked to the thought that people practicing higher degrees of mindfulness may be better able to motivate themselves to exercise article, to resist cravings for high-fat, high-sugar treats, and to stick with diet and exercise regimens recommended by their doctors.
Mindful people are less likely to be obese according to the study. They are also more likely to feel in control.
“This study demonstrated a significant association of dispositional mindfulness with glucose regulation, and provided novel evidence that obesity and sense of control may serve as potential mediators of this association,” wrote one researcher. “As mindfulness is likely a modifiable trait, this study provides preliminary evidence for a fairly novel and modifiable potential determinant of diabetes risk.”
For me, the state of mindfulness is our natural set-point. I believe we are naturally designed to be innately aware of not only our thoughts and feelings, but also to trust our intuition in knowing what those thoughts and feelings mean. When we are mindful of the messages our thoughts, feelings, and body are sending us, then we are empowered and prepared to make choices required to achieve and maintain health. These may be lifestyle choices pertaining to our physical health, such as eating food to nourish your individual biological needs, or choices to improve emotional well-being such as replacing fearful thoughts with an optimistic outlook. When we practice mindfulness, we are paying attention to a holistic self. We cannot separate who we are in our internal landscape from our physical selves, nor can we separate our physical selves from the macro environment in which we live. Healing is not a goal or an end; it is a continuum reaching from consciousness in every direction where we are not victims, but custodians of our health, mind and body.
For more information, read the full study.
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.
References:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160223132541.htm