By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com
January 13, 2006
Transcendental meditation can reduce cholesterol buildup and your risk of heart attack and stroke. That's the conclusion of an article published in the American Heart Association journal, Stroke. An earlier study found that TM reduces the death rate among the elderly
Doctors studied 60 African Americans at risk for heart trouble because they had high blood pressure. Half did TM for seven months, the other half an educational program.
Doctors measured the cholesterol buildup in a major neck artery with an ultrasound before and after the seven months.
Guess what? TM really worked. It cut the plaques a lot, as much as a cholesterol-lowering pill or intensive lifestyle changes. Apparently, while people meditated their bodies healed themselves and opened up their arteries.
So, lead a healthy life. Exercise, diet, control your blood pressure, don't smoke ... and ask your doctor about the benefits of transcendental meditation.
