immunity and Tai Chi & qigong ... Also, see "covid 19"
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In addition to the below IMMUNITY research, be sure to view our "COVID 19" page.

Tai Chi for the elderly patients with COVID-19 in recovery period [UPCOMING STUDY]
Background:  Tai Chi has a positive impact on heart function, blood pressure, lung function, immunity, etc. It can enhance cardiopulmonary function, increase the elasticity of blood vessels, and improve the body's self-regulation function. For the elder patients with COVID-19, Tai Chi has outstanding merits.
Conclusion:  The conclusion of this study will provide evidence to prove the safety and effectiveness of Tai Chi on elderly COVID-19 patients during the recovery period.
-- NIH (National Institutes of Health)


TAI CHI BOOSTS IMMUNITY
The Chinese exercise practice of Tai-Chi can significantly boost the body's immune system response to virus infection and may, in particular, help ward off painful shingles outbreaks in older people, a new study has found.
-- ABC NEWS


QIGONG BOOSTS IMMUNITY
qigong may give your immune system a little extra help. A review of several studies found that qigong had a noticeable impact on immune functioning. It increased levels of certain immune cells in people who practiced it regularly
-- CLEVELAND CLINIC .ORG



Several studies evaluated the effect of Tai Chi in patients with a variety of physical conditions including cancer.
They concluded that daily practice has been linked to stimulating the immune system ... ... practitioners of Chinese Medicine have treated most human ailments – whether physical, mental or emotional – as imbalances and interruptions of qi.

For example, an excessive flow of qi might result in high blood pressure. A deficiency of qi might result in anemia or auto-immune diseases.
-- PANCAN (Pancreatic Cancer News)



The Effects of Tai Chi Chih on Immunity and Sleep ...
Tai Chi Chih not only calms the mind but also promotes healthy aging by improving viral immunity and sleep quality. The study conducted by Dr. Michael R​. Irwin ...
-- EXPLORE INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE / UCLA



Studying the brains of tai chi masters may shed light on diseases of the young and the symptoms of the old ... in a joint Stanford University-Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital study that examined the ability of tai chi masters to control normally autonomous functions through concentration ...

[TAI CHI] is widely recognized for its contribution to general health and wellness. Medical research has linked it with improvements in a range of mental and physical measures, from cognition to cardiovascular and immune function... tai chi effectively lowers the rate of “oxidative stress,” a process described ... in a recent interview as “rusting, like the Tin-man in the Wizard of Oz” (Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center 2011).

Oxidative stress is a significant metric for characterizing the extent of aging in a person’s body
-- STANFORD CENTER on LONGEVITY



Regular tai chi chuan exercise enhances functional mobility and CD4CD25 regulatory T cells
In this study, a regular programme of TCC lasting 60 minutes three times a week for 12 weeks significantly enhanced functional mobility and increased regulatory T cells and the regulatory mediators TGFβ and IL10. This research is the first to show that regular optimal exercise can increase regulatory T cells and augment regulatory T cell mediators in middle aged adults. Further studies to optimise the intensity and duration of TCC for better functional mobility and immunity regulation are needed ...

Now we see that TCC may increase TGFβ production. This suggests that a TCC programme may improve mucosal defence leading to a lower risk of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders in adults. It is not clear why regular TCC for 12 weeks decreased monocytes in this study. This warrants further investigation ...
-- NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)



Practicing Tai Chi Boosts Immune System In Older Adults
The 25-week study, which involved a group of 112 adults ranging in age from 59 to 86, showed that practicing tai chi chih alone boosted immunity to a level comparable to having received the standard vaccine against the shingles-causing varicella zoster virus. When tai chi chih was combined with the vaccine, immunity reached a level normally seen in middle age. The report appears in the April issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, currently online.
-- SCIENCE NEWS




Practicing Tai Chi boosts immunity to shingles virus
Researchers found that prior to the vaccine only the Tai Chi group showed an increased shingles immunity. After the vaccine, both groups showed a boost in immunity levels but the Tai Chi group's increase was almost double that of the control group -- in fact, the Tai Chi group's shingles immunity was as good as those of adults 30 years younger.
-- Boston Globe, Boston.com, April 2007


A 2012 University of Wisconsin, Madison, study found that mindful meditation can cut your chances of catching a cold by 40 to 50%. Fifty-one people using mindfulness techniques logged 13 fewer illnesses and 51 fewer sick days than a control group during one cold and flu season.
A University of Virginia study found that their varsity swim team swimmers got 70% fewer respiratory infections when practicing Qigong at least once a week, compared to swimmers who used it less.
-- Prevention Magazine's Winter/2012 Issue.



Tai chi is found to augment the immune response
Tai chi alone induced an increase in varicella cell-mediated immunity that was comparable in magnitude with that induced by the varicella vaccine alone. The combination of tai chi and vaccine resulted in a substantially higher cell-mediated immunity than the vaccine alone.
Entire article at "Tai Chi Research"



Tai chi boosts your immune system
(T-Cell count DOUBLED)
The ancient martial art of tai chi could substantially boost the body's immune system. Medisch Dossier (volume 6, number 7), a Dutch medical newsletter, reports on a study where a group of older men and women (average age of 70) practiced tai chi three days a week for 45 minutes. After fifteen weeks they not only felt healthier, but had twice the number of immune cells or so-called T-cells “with memories”, which are specially equipped to knock out the virus that causes shingles—an affliction in many older people.
- Ode Magazine



A new study indicates that Tai Chi practiced three times per week may boost people resistence to viruses by 50%. This study was regarding the shingles virus in particular but the researchers believe Tai Chi may have a powerful effect in raising resistence to other types of infection as well.
VIDEO AT DRKOOP.COM



Tai Chi had a significant effect on functional mobility and beliefs about the health benefits of exercise. Total white blood cell and red blood cell count did not change, but a significant decrease in monocyte count occurred. A significant increase in the ratio of T helper to suppressor cells (CD4:CD8) was found, along with a significant increase in CD4CD25 regulatory T cells.
-- British Journal of Sports Medicine, 40, 239-43



IMMUNE SYSTEM: A study conducted in China indicates that T'ai Chi may increase the number of T lymphocytes in the body. Also know as T-Cells, these lymphocytes help the immune system destroy bacteria and possibly even tumor cells
-- Prevention Magazine V. 42, May 90, p.14-15


Immune System Improvement:
Regular Tai Chi Chuan exercise improves T cell helper function of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with an increase in T-bet transcription factor and IL-12 production.
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of a 12-week course of Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) exercise on T cell helper (Th) reaction in patients with type 2 DM.
CONCLUSIONS: A 12-week TCC exercise programme decreases HbA1c levels along with an increase in the Th1 reaction. A combination of TCC with medication may provide an even better improvement in both metabolism and immunity of patients with type 2 DM.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18385192



Tai Chi had a significant effect on functional mobility and beliefs about the health benefits of exercise. Total white blood cell and red blood cell count did not change, but a significant decrease in monocyte count occurred. A significant increase in the ratio of T helper to suppressor cells (CD4:CD8) was found, along with a significant increase in CD4CD25 regulatory T cells.
-- British Journal of Sports Medicine, 40, 239-43


IMMUNE SYSTEM: A study conducted in China indicates that T'ai Chi may increase the number of T lymphocytes in the body. Also know as T-Cells, these lymphocytes help the immune system destroy bacteria and possibly even tumor cells
-- Prevention Magazine V. 42, May 90, p.14-15


Tai chi boosts your immune system (T-Cell count DOUBLED)
The ancient martial art of tai chi could substantially boost the body's immune system. Medisch Dossier (volume 6, number 7), a Dutch medical newsletter, reports on a study where a group of older men and women (average age of 70) practiced tai chi three days a week for 45 minutes. After fifteen weeks they not only felt healthier, but had twice the number of immune cells or so-called T-cells “with memories”, which are specially equipped to knock out the virus that causes shingles—an affliction in many older people.
- Ode Magazine



Practicing Tai Chi Boosts Immune System in Older Adults, UCLA Study Shows
The 25-week study, which involved a group of 112 adults ranging in age from 59 to 86, showed that practicing tai chi chih alone boosted immunity to a level comparable to having received the standard vaccine against the shingles-causing varicella zoster virus.

The findings demonstrate that tai chi chih can produce a clinically relevant boost in shingles immunity and add to the benefit of the shingles vaccine in older adults.

These are exciting findings, because the positive results of this study also have implications for other infectious diseases, like influenza and pneumonia," said Irwin, who is also director of the UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology.

The study divided individuals into two groups. Half took tai chi chih classes three times a week for 16 weeks, while the other half attended health education classes [classes lasted 40 minutes, a set of 20 tai chi exercises] — including advice on stress management, diet and sleep habits — for the same amount of time and did not practice tai chi chih. After 16 weeks, both groups received a dose of the shingles vaccine Varivax. At the end of the 25-week period, the tai chi chih group achieved a level of immunity two times greater than the health education group. The tai chi chih group also showed significant improvements in physical functioning, vitality, mental health and reduction of bodily pain.
-- UCLA NEWSROOM.ucla.edu


A 2012 University of Wisconsin, Madison, study found that mindful meditation can cut your chances of catching a cold by 40 to 50%. Fifty-one people using mindfulness techniques logged 13 fewer illnesses and 51 fewer sick days than a control group during one cold and flu season.

A University of Virginia study found that their varsity swim team swimmers got 70% fewer respiratory infections when practicing Qigong at least once a week, compared to swimmers who used it less.
-- Prevention Magazine's Winter/2012 Issue.



Tai Chi Boosts Immunity, Improves Physical Health in Seniors
In what is believed to be the first study of its kind conducted in the United States, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have shown that behavioral interventions and integrative exercise programs such as tai chi can have a direct, positive effect on the immune system in older adults. Published in the September/October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, the study found that prolonged use of a specific form of tai chi appeared to boost the immune system's response to a common virus, and could help ward off outbreaks of a painful, debilitating skin condition that occurs in the elderly population.

In the TCC group, there was a "robust increase" levels of memory T-cells in the blood. On average, the scientists found "a nearly 50 percent increase" of varicella virus responder cells in TCC patients from the start of the study to the one-week post-TCC period. On a patient-by-patient basis, levels of memory T-cells increased in nine TCC patients, remained unchanged in seven patients and decreased in one patient. In the control group, memory T-cell levels increased in three patients, were unchanged in eight patients and decreased in five patients.
-- ACUPUNCTURE TODAY, Nov. 11, 2003



T-Cell Production:
A study conducted in China indicates that T'ai Chi may increase the number of T lymphocytes in the body. Also know as T-Cells, these lymphocytes help the immune system destroy bacteria and possibly even tumor cells.
Prevention Magazine, 1990, Vol 42, May Issue, Pages 14-15

 


FIND MUCH MORE RESEARCH AT THE "QIGONG INSTITUTE DATABASE"
Since 1984, collecting breaking medical/science research on Qigong, Tai Chi, Yoga, and Mind-Body Education
Click here  for Qigong Institute Database...




YOGA RESEARCH ...
Effect of integrated yoga practices on immune responses in examination stress – A preliminary study
Stress is often associated with an increased occurrence of autonomic, cardiovascular, and immune system pathology.
-- NIH (National Institutes of Health)


Yoga and immune system functioning: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Beyond this, yoga practice may exert further beneficial effects by enhancing cell-mediated and mucosal immunity.
-- NIH (National Institutes of Health)


Yoga could slow the harmful effects of stress and inflammation
Stress accounts for between 60% and 80% of visits to primary care doctors. Chronic stress has been linked to accelerated biological aging, and increased chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, ...
Studying yoga’s effects on stress ... In an exploratory study published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, researchers found that 12 weeks of yoga slowed cellular aging.
-- HARVARD HEALTH PUBLISHING




MINDFULNESS / MEDITATION RESEARCH ...
Mindfulness meditation and the immune system: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials ...
In conclusion, across 20 RCTs and more than 1600 participants, we found tentative evidence that mindfulness meditation modulates some select immune parameters in a manner that suggests a more salutogenic immune profile. Specifically, mindfulness mediation appears to be associated with reductions in proinflammatory processes, increases in cell-mediated defense parameters, and increases in enzyme activity that guards against cell aging.
-- NIH (National Institutes of Health)


How Mindfulness Training Can Boost Your Immune System ...
There are now copious amounts of evidence that training the immune system through stress reduction can be done through practicing what some have called mind-body medicine. Under this heading are a number of techniques that can, when practiced over time, have calming effects for the mind and spirit as well as anti-inflammatory effects ...
-- Cleveland Clinic



* NOTE: World Tai Chi & Qigong Day advises consulting your physician before beginning any new exercise, herbal, diet, or health program. The research listed here is meant to stimulate a discussion between you and your physician, health insurance carrier, etc., not as medical advise. Research and comments provided here are hoped to stimulate a more robust discussion of powerful natural mind/body health tools. Popular media, health media, and government must increase attention to stunning emerging research, including the UCLA study indicating Tai Chi participants enjoyed a 50% increase in immune system resistance to viral infection.

To learn more about tai chi & qigong medical research, see the below book,
"the complete idiot's guide to tai chi & qigong,", and also
"Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi," and
"The way of qigong: the art and science of chinese energy healing."