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[img]Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/img]The video is in English.Product DescriptionPhysician and tai chi expert Paul Lam has created a 77-minute tai chi workout with movements specifically chosen for those with both Type I and Type II diabetes. In the seven-minute introduction, Australian medical experts explain the disease and endorse tai chi, with its gentle combination of muscle-strengthening and relaxation exercises, as ideal for diabetic patients. Then Lam and his assistants begin a program of warm-ups, stretches, and qigong movements designed to improve energy along the meridians affected by diabetes. (Lam explains meridians as part of the Chinese concept of Qi–“life energy”–and how they affect the body.) They follow with both basic and advanced dance-like movements, which have such delightful monikers as “fair lady working at the shuttle” and “waving hands in the cloud.” Lam includes a separate demonstration without instruction for those who master the movements and want a fluid routine to follow. –Kimberly HeinrichsFrom The Official website of Tai Chi for Diabetes: http://www.taichifordiabetes.com/Benefits of Practising Tai Chi for Diabetes:    *      To improve health and quality of life for people with diabetes    *      To prevent people from developing diabetes    *      A gentle and relaxing exercise to enjoy and improve the condition    *      An excellent introduction to tai chi to gain the many health benefits of tai chi.Chinese Traditional Medicine and the Power of QiQi is the life energy inside a person. The concept of qi is fundamental in most eastern cultures. In fact, Chinese traditional medicine is based on this concept. Designed to cultivate and enhance qi, tai chi encourages gentle and slow movements which stretch one’s meridians (energy channels along which qi travels) and keeps them strong and supple. The rhythmic movement of the muscle and joints pump energy through the whole body.According to traditional Chinese medicine, diabetes is a deficiency of moisture and essence (yin) of the lung, spleen and kidney meridians . Enhancing qi in the appropriate meridians (reference 9) will therefore improve diabetes. Does Tai Chi really aid people who suffer from diabetes or prevent diabetes?Below, I’m going to give some conflicting accounts. Basically all the accounts acknowledge this fact:There are two studies done so far, with the first study done in Taiwan and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and the second study done later in China in 2008. Both studies are also done in the structure of western scientific research methods.Pro stance on Tai Chi helps with diabetes:From http://www.diabeteswellbeing.com/tai-chi-and-diabetes.htmlWhy Tai Chi and Diabetes Health are Getting AttentionThe first study was done in Taiwan and was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The researched used thirty type 2 diabetics and thirty non-diabetic patients. The participants performed tai chi exercises for 12 weeks. The scientists found that the diabetic patients experienced a significant reduction in A1c levels and increased their immune system functioning. The second study, conducted in China, was published in Medicine and Sport Science. This 2008 study was smaller, only twelve type 2 diabetes participants, and was performed over 8 weeks. Nonetheless, after only 8 weeks, blood glucose levels decreased. Further, insulin receptivity increased, meaning insulin resistance was decreased. These results are pretty remarkable linking tai chi and diabetes health.As always, scientists are quick to warn that large scale studies have not been conducted, so any health benefits cannot be concluded beyond a “shadow of a doubt” (my own technical term). Nonetheless, the growing body of research results strongly suggests that the benefits of tai chi are not just run of the mill.Documented benefits include increased blood glucose control, flexibility, balance, insulin receptivity, stress reduction, and cardiovascular function just to name a few. Besides Yoga, very few forms of exercise have nearly as much scientific proof touting their benefits. One added bonus is that tai chi can also be done almost anywhere, including your local park!From http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/102256.phpType 2 diabetes is a form of diabetes that usually sets in later in life. It is associated with chronic inflammation cause by increase glucose levels in the blood, known as hyperglycemia. When there is excess blood sugar, it can combine with hemogloben, the oxygen transporter in the red blood cell, it can become glycated hemogloben. This can be used to indicate the levels of excess sugars.In the immune system, helper T cells prompt stimulus of other immune system cells, altering the immune response. They respond to specific antigens, producing interleukins and other important signaling chemicals. As a result, they are essential for the cell mediated immune response .In a first study, the investigators sought to analyze the impact of a 12 week Tai Chi Chuan exercise program on helper T cell activity in 30 patients with type 2 diabetes, and contrast this with 30 healthy people of the same age.After 12 weeks in the exercise program, the levels of glycated hemoglobin levels fell significantly, from 7.59% to 7.16% in diabetic patients, a significant difference. Interleukin-12, which boosts the immune response, increased in level; interleukin-4, which lessens the immune response, declined. In conjunction, T cell activity also significantly increased.According to these responses, it is possible that Tai Chi can prompt a declination in blood glucose levels, perhaps by improving blood glucose metabolism, prompting a decrease in the inflammatory response. In an alternative explanation also suggested by the authors, the exercise may boost levels of fitness along with a feeling of well being — this in turn may boost the health of the immune system.A second study in the same issue, investigators focused on adults with metabolic syndrome. This is a group of symptoms including hypertension and high blood glucose which are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.A 12 week program of Tai Chi and Qigong was administered to 13 patients with metabolic syndrome for up to 1.5 hours up to 3 times a week, while being encouraged to perform the exercises outside of the classes.At the end of 12 weeks, they had lost an average of 3 kg in weight and had dropped waist size by almost 3 cm. Additionally, the blood pressures of the subjects fell significantly more than exercise alone can account for, according to the authors. Insulin resistance also fell, indicating a decreased predisposition for type 2 diabetes. Participants additionally claimed to sleep better, have more energy, feel less pain, and have fewer cravings for food while participating in the program.Notably, three patients no longer met the criteria for metabolic syndrome after this test.Anti stance on Tai Chi helps with diabetes:From http://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/04April/Pages/DoesTaiChichopdiab…Where did the story come from?S-H Yeh and colleagues from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung Medical Center, Taiwan, carried out the research. The study was funded by grants from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and the National Science Council, Taiwan. It was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal.What kind of scientific study was this?The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week programme of tai chi on the immune systems of people with diabetes.The research paper described this as a case-control study, but it was actually an uncontrolled study in people with diabetes. The ‘control group’ without diabetes that the researchers included was unnecessary for the question of the study, i.e. is tai chi beneficial for diabetes. Furthermore, the researchers did not compare any changes between the groups that happened over the study period. The exception to this was a comparison of the change in the groups’ BMI, though this was not a primary outcome of their study Essentially, they have studied the effect of tai chi in people with diabetes and separately in people without diabetes.The researchers posted a recruitment notice in diabetic clinics and community culture centres in Kaohsiung County, Taiwan. From those who responded, they excluded people who had cancer and were being treated with chemotherapy, people with autoimmune disease on immunosuppressant drugs, or those on steroids, as these things could all affect the body’s immune system. They selected 30 people with type 2 diabetes and 30 age-matched controls without the disease.Before starting the study, all participants had fasting blood sugar taken, as well as HbA1C (a more reliable marker of stability of blood sugar levels over time), and levels of various substances in the body which reflect the function of the immune system. All participants then completed a 12-week exercise programme, during which they learned to perform 37 standardised exercises from ”an expert [tai chi] master with 31 years of experience who conducted all treatment sessions” three times per week. At completion of the 12 weeks, the researchers took more blood samples and, in each of the groups, compared the fasting glucose, HbA1C and immune parameters with levels at the beginning of the study.What were the results of the study?At the beginning of the study, both groups were similar (matched) in terms of age, sex, education and BMI. However, as could be expected, people with diabetes had higher blood glucose and HbA1c levels than controls.After the tai chi course, the group with diabetes showed a barely significant reduction in HbA1c levels and a non-significant reduction in fasting blood sugar levels. The research paper does not say that the researchers compared the effect of tai chi in the diabetic group with the control group.When the researchers looked at the levels of the immune markers that were tested, the marker IL-12 (involved in the body’s resistance against infections) was found to have increased significantly in diabetics but not in non-diabetics after tai chi.The researchers also found that levels of a certain transcription factor (involved in the transfer of genetic material) increased following exercise in diabetics. The clinical significance of this is unclear.What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?The authors conclude that a 12-week exercise programme of tai chi decreased HbA1C levels and caused an increase in a certain immune reaction. They say: ”A combination of [tai chi]with medication may provide an even better improvement in both metabolism and immunity of patients with type 2 diabetes.”What does the NHS Knowledge Service make of this study?This study cannot prove that tai chi benefits diabetics. It has several important limitations.    * The study design is not a reliable one. The best way to answer this question would be to randomise diabetics to tai chi training or a control condition and compare the effects in both groups. If this was not possible for these researchers, i.e. randomisation was too expensive, they could have compared people with diabetes who practised tai chi with diabetics who did not. As it stands, the use of a control group seems superfluous as they were not actually compared to the diabetic group for anything other than BMI.    * The study did not show any significant benefits of tai chi on the blood sugar levels of diabetics. The differences found in certain immune markers are not related to the diabetes disease process. Therefore, it is also not possible to say whether this slight increase in levels would cause any meaningful change in immunity, in those with diabetes or without.    * The study was carried out in Taiwan and the results may not be applicable to different populations in other countries. Possible psychosocial influences include differences in the practice of tai chi between practitioners in different countries, particularly as the sessions were guided by an expert in the field. Also, the belief that relaxing martial arts exercises and meditation can be of benefit to health may be different between Taiwanese people and people from other countries, which could have an effect on success. As the participants responded to recruitment posters for a tai chi programme to improve immunity, they would have been aware of the nature of the study so may have been more likely to believe that the exercise programme would help them.    * All the people with diabetes were taking their prescribed medication during the study so it is impossible to distinguish between the effects of these drugs and the tai chi through a study designed in this way.This study does not demonstrate that tai chi is beneficial to diabetics. However, any form of exercise that the individual finds increases their health, fitness and energy levels can only be a good thing.Conclusion:For those who feel the above is too much heavy reading, the conclusion of these conflicting accounts is this:1. There are 2 scientific studies done. The first is done in Taiwan and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and the second later in China. These studies are only on Tai Chi’s association with Type II Diabetes.2. The researchers in both studies agreed that Tai Chi generally helps with improving Type II Diabetes. They have even hypothesized how Tai Chi aids people with Diabetes by showing how certain Diabetic indicators are improved over time.3. The National Health Service in UK (NHS) refutes the validity of both studies and cites certain problems in their methodologies which result in the results being dubious. However, the NHS does admit that Tai Chi as a form of exercise is always beneficial to general health maintainence.4. It should be noted that there are very few alternative therapies which received such involved participation by the scientific and medical community. Among those few others are Yoga and Buteyko Breathing. While the NHS does not believe that the above 2 studies prove a definite connection that Tai Chi aids with Diabetes, it does not say that Tai Chi is ineffective in improving the condition of Diabetics either. NHS simply states that the above 2 studies are not comprehensive enough and the possibility exists that in the future Tai Chi may really be proven to aid with diabetes. That means more scientific studies will have to be done, which is often the case as the first few favourable studies will receive more attention from other researchers.5. I believe that both the researchers who believe, and the critics such as NHS will agree on one thing at least – that Tai Chi as an alternative therapy for Diabetes should not replace medication and become the sole therapy. Those who do so are really doing at their own risk.