Eight weeks of an integrated approach to yoga therapy decreases climacteric symptoms, perceived stress, and neuroticism in perimenopausal women better than physical exercise.

6 months practice of yoga may help in improving cholesterol level, serum TSH, may also help in reducing the thyroxine requirement in female patients suffering from hypothyroidism. However, further randomized controlled studies need to be conducted to confirm the present finding.

Diabetes mellitus is a multifactorial metabolic disorder which requires lifestyle interventions for its management. A number of controlled yoga trials in last few years have observed lifestyle interventions especially yoga to be efficacious in the management of diabetes. The aim of this study is to systematically review the research conducted in the field to understand the effectiveness of yoga on diabetes mellitus. A systematic search was done using search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CAMbase, PsycINFO and IndMED. A total of 212 articles were selected, of which 166 were excluded and 46 controlled trials (CTs) were included in the review. Among the 46 CTs, 31 studies were categorized based on the primary outcome variables, 10 were based on the secondary outcome variables and 5 studies were control studies. Risk of bias assessment was conducted on all the studies. The review demonstrates significant improvement due to yoga practice in the primary outcome measures such as blood glucose levels along with secondary outcome measures such as cardiac autonomic variables, lipid profile, liver enzymes, respiratory variables, quality of life, anxiety and depression. Thus yoga has not only been found to be beneficial for improved glycaemic control, but also for the wide variety of symptoms associated with the diabetes. Despite this evidence, it is worth mentioning that further gold standard randomized controlled trials are warranted with more specific sets of practice, to prescribe yoga especially as an alternative treatment for the management of diabetes.

Background The ongoing novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a significant mortality rate of 3–5%. The principal causes of multiorgan failure and death are cytokine release syndrome and immune dysfunction. Stress, anxiety, and depression has been aggravated by the pandemic and its resultant restrictions in day-to-day life which may contribute to immune dysregulation. Thus, immunity strengthening and the prevention of cytokine release syndrome are important for preventing and minimizing mortality in COVID-19 patients. However, despite a few specific remedies that now exist for the SARS-CoV-2virus, the principal modes of prevention include vaccination, masking, and holistic healing methods, such as yoga. Currently, extensive research is being conducted to better understand the neuroendocrinoimmunological mechanisms by which yoga alleviates stress and inflammation. This review article explores the anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating potentials of yoga, along with its role in reducing risk for immune dysfunction and impaired mental health. Methods We conducted this narrative review from published literature in MEDLINE, EMBASE, COCHRANE databases. Screening was performed for titles and abstracts by two independent review authors; potentially eligible citations were retrieved for full-text review. References of included articles and articles of major non-indexed peer reviewed journals were searched for relevance by two independent review authors. A third review author checked the excluded records. All disagreements were resolved through discussion amongst review authors or through adjudication by a fourth review author. Abstracts, editorials, conference proceedings and clinical trial registrations were excluded. Observations Yoga is a nonpharmacological, cost-effective, and safe intervention associated with several health benefits. Originating in ancient India, this vast discipline consists of postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), meditation (dhyana/dharana), and relaxation. Studies have demonstrated yoga’s ability to bolster innate immunity and to inhibit cytokine release syndrome. As an intervention, yoga has been shown to improve mental health, as it alleviates anxiety, depression, and stress and enhances mindfulness, self-control, and self-regulation. Yoga has been correlated with numerous cardioprotective effects, which also may play a role in COVID-19 by preventing lung and cardiac injury. Conclusion and relevance This review paves the path for further research on yoga as a potential intervention for enhancing innate immunity and mental health and thus its role in prevention and adjunctive treatment in COVID-19.

Background: Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. Its prevention and regulation depends on dietary pattern and lifestyle. There are numerous studies which have been conducted to elucidate the relationship between type of diet consumption and sugar levels. The objective of this study was to enumerate the distribution of the staple food consumed in seven zones across India and their association with sugar levels. Methodology: A pan-India multicentered screening, covering the 63 districts, 29 states, and 4 union territories per populations, was undertaken. A specially designed questionnaire was administered for data collection, which comprised specific questions for diet 17,280 sample was analyzed across seven zones of India. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS; 21.0) software was used to analyze the data. Results: The survey suggested that rice and wheat are the major staple food consumed across different regions of India. In Jammu, North, East, South, and central zones, consumption of rice was more than wheat. However, in North and West zones, consumption of wheat was observed to be more than rice. Mean values of fasting blood sugar (FBS), postprandial blood sugar (PPBS) were high in the group consuming Bajra (128.3 & 160.5). Similarly, FBS mean was less in group consuming rice (114.6), and PPBS was low in group consuming ragi (149.2). Conclusion: Staple food has significant effect on FBS, PPBS and glycated haemoglobin cholesterol levels and anthropometric measurements.