There are many conditions caused by inflammation which, in turn, causes pain. Subsequently, we take painkillers. However, a study has shown that a sense of awe is as powerful as drugs for reducing inflammation.
Spiritual feelings, or a sense of awe, when we look at beautiful scenery or hear uplifting music, cause a powerful anti-flammatory response in our body that is every bit as powerful as drugs.
This sense of the ‘other’ boosts the immune system and lowers levels of cytokines, which are the proteins that trigger inflammation in the body. Inflammation is associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, as well as clinical depression.
One of the researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, psychologist Dacher Keltner, said: “Awe, wonder and beauty promote healthier levels of cytokines and this suggests that the things we do to experience these emotions, such as a walk in nature, losing oneself in music or beholding art, has a direct influence on health and life expectancy.”
To assess the impact of positive emotions on inflammation, the researchers recruited 200 young adults who, on one given day, reported how often they experienced amusement, awe, compassion, contentment, joy, love and pride. Those with the most experiences also had the lowest levels of interleukin-6, which is a cytokine biomarker of inflammation (Emotion, 2015).
Asthma attacks are usually controlled by using drugs and by avoiding allergens. However, there is another way: topping up your vitamin D intake by catching some sunshine. Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that boosting our levels of vitamin D can help to control the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.
This discovery was made after they had analysed the medical records of nearly four million adults to identify those patients with doctor-diagnosed asthma and asthma-related attacks.
In this asthma cohort, around 308,000 patients had a least one vitamin D measurement. The researchers also took into account the classical predictors of asthma, such as obesity, smoking and other chronic diseases.
Look at your lifestyle choices and make changes that can suit your long-term health and happiness
After comparing these patients’ records, the researchers discovered that levels of vitamin D were an important factor in determining whether an asthma patient would suffer from ‘uncontrolled asthma’, defined as having been prescribed at least five rescue inhalers, one prescription of oral corticosteroids or visiting a doctor for asthma at least four times in a year. Those with the lowest levels of vitamin D were 25 per cent more likely than other asthmatics to have had at least one recent attack.
Sunbathing is the cheapest and most effective way to top up the levels of vitamin D. However, people need to be careful not to overdo it, as they could increase the risk of skin cancer. So exposure at the safest time of day and following all the usual precautions is necessary.
Researchers say that other ways include regularly taking vitamin D supplements and adding more vitamin D-rich foods such as fish (preferably oily fish), tofu, certain types of mushrooms, dairy or dairy alternatives, eggs or cod liver oil to the diet. Whichever way it is obtained, vitamin D is an important but overlooked factor in asthma and one that both doctors and patients need to be aware of (Allergy, 2014).
Cholesterol lowering statin drugs save around 750 lives a year in the UK, a new study suggests. However, exercising and eating a healthy diet could save around six times that number and prevent 4,600 deaths from heart disease.
Researchers from several public health centres in the UK and one in Vancouver, Canada, say that much more effort needs to be made to encourage people to adopt healthier lifestyles, while putting restrictions on the marketing of junk food and heavier taxes on sugary drinks. Government subsidies for healthier foods should also be introduced.
Their research looked at the true benefits of statin drugs and healthy lifestyles. Official figures from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) suggest that statin drugs could save 50,000 lives a year if every man over the age of 60 and every woman of 65 took them.
However, researchers say that statins would still only have a marginal effect, saving just 750 lives a year, not to mention the side effects of the drugs. Instead, better lifestyle choices could save 4,600 lives a year in the UK alone. They analysed the rate of death from coronary heart disease between 2000 and 2007, during which time the number of deaths fell by 38,000.
Of those, 20,400 lives were saved because of reductions in blood pressure and total cholesterol, but only 1,800 were attributable to statins. The vast majority were the result of healthier lifestyle choices (BMJ Open, 2015).
So, look at your lifestyle choices and make changes that can suit your long-term health and happiness.
kathryn@maltanet.net