A new trial finds that a Panchakarma-based Ayurvedic intervention can improve levels of inflammation, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease risk.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, revealed that this Ayurvedic-based well-being program led to decreases in 12 specific cell-membrane chemicals that correlate with serum cholesterol.
These chemicals are also inversely related to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, according to the study team, and the findings suggest that this treatment could be beneficial in reducing diabetes risk.
Ayurvedic medicine is a form of Indian holistic treatment which has previously been linked to having positive treatment outcomes for people with diabetes.
Panchakarma, a fivefold treatment plan, is part of Ayurveda, and is used for detoxifying the body and strengthening the immune system.
In this controlled clinical trial, 119 healthy male and female participants aged between 30 and 80 years underwent the Panchakarma intervention. Over six days, they ate a vegetarian diet, did meditation and yoga and received massage.
The researchers compared several markers of the intervention group and a control group before and after the six-day testing period.
“It appears that a one-week Panchakarma program can significantly alter the metabolic profile of the person undergoing it,” said Deepak Chopra, MD, an expert in the field of mind-body healing and world-renowned speaker and author on the subject of alternative medicine.
“As part of our strategy to create a framework for whole systems biology research, our next step will be to correlate these changes with both gene expression and psychological health.”
Because the trial had a very short duration, Chopra’s team suggested that the serum profile changes were most likely due to the vegetarian diet, and further studies are needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind the findings.
The study appears online in Scientific Reports.
