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Vegetarian Times, February 1996 Issue 221
 MEDICINE New evidence that Transcendental Meditation (TM)is just as effective as prescription drugs for treating high blood pressurehas convinced the government to fund two long-term, multimillion dollarstudies of the technique, slated for completion before the year 2000. Researcherssay these findings, combined with other non-toxic methods, may forever changethe way doctors treat heart disease. A study published in the November issue of thejournal Hypertension found that TM was twice as effective at reducing bloodpressure as progressive muscle relaxation, a common stress reduction techniquepracticed in the West, and equal to results obtained with medication. Theresearch monitored 127 older African-American patients at a clinic in Oakland,Calif. Subjects were taught to practice TM -- a state of restful alertnesswhich is the most popular form of meditation in the West -- twice dailyfor 20 minutes. The findings so impressed the National Institutesof Health that it gave the researchers $1.4 million to conduct a similarlong-term trial, the results of which are due in early 1997. A related studylooking at the possibility that TM can actually reverse heart disease isslated for comple tion in 1999. And this month, the American Journal ofHealth Promotion will publish a study concluding that TM reduced the healthcarecosts of insurance enrollees who practiced TM in Quebec by up to 7 percenteach year. Together, this body of evidence will likely goa long way in reducing the need for medication to treat heart disease. "Ifind that people prefer not to take medication, because [it] can cause sleepdisorders and sexual dysfunction, and [patients] don't like the cost,"says Robert Schneider, M.D., one of the researchers. In contrast, people tend to enjoy TM. When resultsfrom the original trial were announced, a group of elderly patients fromthe Oakland clinic showed up at the press conference and presented the clinic'sdirector with a petition demanding that the TM program continue. Although no one is certain how TM affects hypertension,practitioners believe it improves the overall functioning of the body. Asa side benefit, individual aspects of physiological functioning, includingthe circulatory system, improve. The implications of this new information, alongwith powerful evidence that diet and exercise can be used to control orreverse heart disease, will make individuals feel they have more controlover their own treatments, Schneider says. "They will be able to helpthemselves holistically without relying on the partial, sometimes toxicapproaches of modern medicine." Reprinted with permission of VegetarianTimes, 4 High Ridge Park, Stamford, CT 06905 Scientific chart and summary of research study on the Transcendental Meditation program and hypertension (high blood pressure). Scientific chart and summary of research study on the Transcendental Meditation program and stress and anxiety. Watch a video about the Transcendental Meditation program online! |
