T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Diabetic Health

Regular readers will know that I am a great fan of t’ai chi ch’uan and qigong. I have been recommending them to people for years and even taught it for a while.

I have also been very interested in metabolic problems, particularly insulin resistance and diabetes.

So I was intrigued to see a study  from Taiwan that was just sent to me.

The trial involved thirty-two people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who participated in three hour-long tai chi sessions once a week for 12 weeks. The conclusions were that practicing t’ai chi might help improve one component of immune function and also improve the control of blood glucose.

The researchers found statistically significant reductions in levels of glycosylated (glycated) hemoglobin in the blood of participants, indicating improved long-term blood glucose control. Glycosylated hemoglobin or HbA1c reflects the average blood glucose over the last 8-12 weeks, implying that the improvement must have been quite swift.

They also found increased numbers of regulatory and killer T cells. This may be important: people with diabetes are at considerably increased risk of getting infections.

It is even more impressive that the study was published in the journal Diabetes Care, that is known for its exacting standards.

If you or a loved one has diabetes, you may want to think about taking up t'ai chi.

Good luck!