• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Alyssa Luck

Alyssa Luck

  • About Me
  • The IBD Index
  • Functional Orthodontics
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Contact Me
  • Show Search
Hide Search

MBSR

Meditation and Mindfulness for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease

Alyssa Luck · Mar 14, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Summary: Meditation and mindfulness are becoming increasingly popular in the health sphere, and rightly so – ample evidence indicates that these practices are extremely beneficial for health. However, as far as their practical efficacy in managing IBD, the jury is still out. Clinical trials in IBD have fairly consistently shown improvements in overall quality of life, but thus far haven’t demonstrated improvements in flare rate or severity. That said, trials in a variety of patient populations have shown that mindfulness appears to down-regulate NF-κB activity, reflecting an overall less inflammatory gene expression profile. Other evidence supports the idea that mindfulness markedly changes how the central nervous system physiologically responds to stressors, including down-regulation of sympathetic nervous system and HPA-axis activity. Taken together, it appears likely that mindfulness could confer more measurable benefits with regards to inflammation and disease progression in IBD over the long term.

This article is part of the IBD Index. Last updated on March 14, 2022.

Mind-body medicine is currently an area of particular research focus for me, so you can expect this post to be expanded and updated in the near future! Follow me on Instagram for personal content related to mind-body medicine, as well as snippets of interesting research that might not make it into a blog post.

Mindfulness is one of those golden health practices that I call “no brainers” – in other words, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. At the outset, I can say that I’d recommend some type of mindfulness practice to every person with IBD, almost without exception (and anyone who knows me knows that I’m not usually in the business of recommending things).

So if you want to learn more, read on. Otherwise, save your time and go meditate!

[Read more…] about Meditation and Mindfulness for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease

Primary Sidebar

 

Hi! I’m Alyssa. I like thunderstorms and cats, hate wearing shoes, and I get really nerdy about gut bacteria. This is me in Bali with a monkey on my shoulder. And this is my blog, where I muse about health-related topics and document my relentless self-guinea pigging (in the realms of gut health and orthodontics, mostly). I created the IBD Index to help people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease discover their next health breakthrough. If you want to know more about me, click here!

Recent Posts

  • Brain Retraining for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease
  • Dynamic Neural Retraining System: Can DNRS Work for IBD?
  • Ketone Supplements for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease
  • About Alyssa: Background, Biases, and Philosophy on Health and Disease
  • My IBD Story: Ulcerative Colitis, Restrictive Diets, Surgery, and Ongoing Exploration

Recent Comments

  • Alyssa Luck on Can L-Glutamine Cause Brain Fog? {Monday Musings}
  • Katy on Can L-Glutamine Cause Brain Fog? {Monday Musings}
  • Alyssa Luck on CBCT Results: An Update on Implants [AGGA/CAB Update]
  • Paul on CBCT Results: An Update on Implants [AGGA/CAB Update]
  • Alyssa Luck on The DNA Appliance Has Arrived! (APE Diary #6)

Archives

Copyright © 2022 · Monochrome Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in