How meditating could help fight cancer and COVID-19

By Tom Campbell via SWNS

Meditating can boost the immune system, helping to fight off cancer and viruses like COVID-19, scientists claim.

But the catch is that you might need to do it for 10 hours a day, for more than a week, to get the maximum benefit.

Meditation and yoga programs, known as Inner Engineering practices, dramatically boost the body's immune system if practiced intensely for more than a week, according to a new study.

Meditation retreats have become increasingly popular over the past few years as more people look to take a break from their busy schedules and spend time alone with their thoughts.

But while the positive effects of meditation are well documented, far less is known about how it affects biological processes at the molecular level.

Now, scientists in the United States found spending a week in silence could have genetic benefits and help combat life-threatening diseases.

While meditating for hours on end over eight days boosted people's immune system, following a vegan diet and getting enough sleep did not have the same effect, the researchers say.

Author Dr. Vijayendran Chandran at the University of Florida began practicing meditation for 21 minutes a day after his wife suggested he give it a chance.

Dr. Chandran said: "I tried it and it worked really well.

"I just felt great."

The study involved 106 people who embarked on a meditation retreat at the Isha Institute of Inner-Sciences in McMinnville, Tennessee, in April 2018.

During the tightly controlled retreat, participants remained silent for eight days, meditated for more than 10 hours, ate vegan meals and followed a regular sleep schedule.

Blood samples were collected five to eight weeks beforehand, immediately before and after the retreat, as well as three months later.

Genetic differences between samples taken before and after the intense meditation retreat were discovered by the researchers.

Some 220 genes linked to the body's immune system were more active after participants attended the Inner Engineering meditation retreat.

This included 68 genes associated with interferon signaling, which helps the body combat viruses and cancer.

Dr. Chandran said: “What we found was that multiple genes related to the immune system were dramatically activated when you do Inner Engineering practices."

The retreat's immune boost was primarily due to meditation rather than diet, sleep or gender differences, the researchers found.

Dr. Chandran said: "This is the first time anyone has shown that meditation can boost your interferon signaling.

"It demonstrates a way to voluntarily influence the immune system without pharmaceuticals."

Recent studies have also found interferon signaling imbalances in patients with severe COVID-19 and multiple sclerosis (MS).

The researchers compared participants' interferon gene activity with COVID-19 patients and found stark differences.

Mediation activated 97 percent of the virus-fighting interferon genes, compared to 76 percent in mild COVID-19 patients and 31 percent in severe cases.

Likewise, meditation proved to be more beneficial than traditional interferon treatments given to MS patients.

Dr. Chandran said: "Taken together, the findings support the idea that meditation contributes to potentially improving multiple health conditions."

Further research on the benefits of intense meditation is needed, the researchers caution, including replicating the findings in randomized clinical trials.

Dr. Chandran said: "It could also be helpful to determine if a less intense meditation regimen in the long term might produce similar beneficial immune-system effects."

The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.