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It's interesting from my perspective to see how the TM movement uses rasayanas and tries to justify their use through biochemical approaches and simple meditation. These are interesting, but the yogas for long-life and the techniques for bringing these rarified pranas into the central channel are simply not taught in TM, the TMSP or various other TMO methods. So while it is interesting to read of the positive effects--probably not much different from vitamins, I doubt we'll ever see long life-extension from mere use of these products without the proper methods to utlilize them.
Utilized properly and with the right techniques, life can be extended quite significantly.
On Aug 4, 2006, at 12:15 PM, Rick Archer wrote: Rick
Below is an excerpt from a book on complementary cancer care I'm writing the index for. This is an excerpt from the chapter on Ayur Veda. It is written by an MD and it's an interesting discussion, very positive.
These are first pass proofs so there are going to be typos throughout and there are noticeable formatting tags contained as well.
I also included the section on ojas.
You can post this on FFLife only please take out the line about the morons (like Sparaig). You can also use my name, it's okay with me.
Ken Hassman
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Ayurv Vedic Medicine
Ayurv Veda, the traditional medicine of India, offers several modalities that may be helpful in cancer prevention and cancer care. These modalities include Transcendental Mediation (TM; through postulated effects on reducing cancer-causing free radicals), Ayurv Vedic mModulation of physiologic processes such as digestion, and the use of complex herbal preparations, called rasayanas, among other techniques.
<H1>Free Radicals, Cancer, and Transcendental Mediation
The use of Transcendental Meditation (TM) in anxiety reduction may have broader health implications. Effects of TM on free radicals and cancer have also emerged in various studies.
Many think of oxygen as the most benign element imaginable, but in fact, it has a dark side. Various metabolic processes create highly reactive forms of oxygen and other molecules; these are known as ‘free radicals’. These unstable molecules damage other molecules. Although free radicals serve as part of our defense against invading pathogens, they also can cause extensive injury to cells, including DNA, and lead to the development of cancer.
Free- radical damage has been implicated in up to 80% of all human disease, including cancer. More generally, free radicals may cause much of the general deterioration of mind and body associated with aging.
Researchers have identified a number of factors that generate excess free radicals, including mental stress, pollution, excessive sun exposure, overexertion, radiation, chemotherapy, and ingestion of alcohol, tobacco, meat, and smoked, barbecued, or processed foods. Many of these are also regarded as cancer risk factors. Reducing these factors may reduce the level of free radicals, also called ‘oxidants’, and thus reduce cancer. Because Since Transcendental Mediation is effective in reducing stress, it might be expected to influence free radical generation through various mechanisms.
The term “stress refers” means not only environmental challenges themselves, but also how the body reacts to them. The stress syndrome, or fight-or-flight response, was designed to deal with prehistoric emergencies, which were of short duration and called for quick reactions. It serves us poorly in the post-industrial age, where most of our emergencies are slow-burn aggravations and anxieties—– traffic jams or irate bosses who plague day-to-day existence. The body reacts to these with neuro-chemical “overkill”. And many of the specific processes involved— – the generation of cortisol and, other stress-related chemicals, and even the basic increase in energy involved in the stress response— – greatly increase free- radical production. In a variety of ways, stress causes the body to produce its own toxic substances, free radicals.
Transcendental Meditation, with its ability to counter stress, reduces free- radical production. A study done by Sharma at Ohio State, with Schneider and other collaborators at Maharishi University of Management, compared elderly long-term mediators to age-matched controls matched for age. The researchers examined lipid peroxides, which are cellular constituents that have been damaged by free radicals, and in turn can cause a great deal of damage of their own. They are used to assess free- radical levels, because it is assumed that if lipid peroxide levels are high (the result of free radical damage to lipids), free- radical levels must be high. TM mediators showed significantly lower levels of lipid peroxides. Those between ages 60 and 69 showed 14.5% lower levels, and those between ages 70 and 79 showed 16.5% lower. This magnitude of reduction is significant. A certain level of free radicals is necessary for the body’s self-defense, and the body’s own antioxidant and repair mechanisms can handle excess free radicals up to a certain point.
A number of studies, using different approaches, have found Transcendental Meditation to influence processes associated with cancer and aging. The first study on this topic was done by Wallace, a pioneer of meditation research. He used the Adult Growth Examination, a test derived in part from the United States National Health Survey, standardized using a carefully selected representative cross-sample of several thousand adults, and validated in various studies in North America. The examination measures basic functions— - including near-point vision, auditory discrimination, and blood pressure— – that typically decline with age. This test helped lead to the concept of biological age as distinct from chronological age. Biological age measures age in terms of physical function; chronological age measurers age in terms of years. George Bernard Shaw died at the age of 94 years as the result of injuries sustained when he fell from a tree he was pruning. He probably had a biological age much younger than his chronological age up until his final days.
Dr Wallace applied the test to 73 people between the ages of 40 and 64 years who practice Transcendental Meditation. His study statistically controlled for the effects of diet and exercise. As compared to normal values established over many years, those who had practiced Transcendental Meditation for up to 5 years had an average biological age 5 years younger than their chronological age. Those who had meditated for more than 5 years had an average biological age 12 years younger.
Wallace’s study has since been corroborated by other studies. In a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Glaser looked at hormonal markers of aging, such as a reduction in hormone secretion. Richard Cutler has theorized that reduced hormonal secretions may be because ofdue to cell dysdifferentiation (cells “‘forget”’ what they are specialized to do, and behave in a more general manner), and that this is caused by free- radical damage. A similar process occurspertains within carcinogens (Cutler, 1985).
Glaser tested this by looking at one of the body’s most significant hormones— – dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). In a young adult, DHEA-S is the most abundant hormone in the body, but the levels decline rapidly with age. Men who maintain relatively high levels of DHEA-S have been shown to have less atherosclerosis and heart disease, and lower mortality rate from all causes. Women with high levels of DHEA-S are known to have less breast cancer and osteoporosis. Whereas the stress hormone cortisol leads to the breakdown of muscle (to provide fuel for energy), DHEA-S leads to the build-up of muscle tissue. Influenced by DHEA-S , the body continues to build, instead of wasting.
The study compared DHEA-S levels in the blood of 423 people who practiced Transcendental Meditation to the levels of 1,253 who did not. The ages ranged from 20 to 81 years. Results were gathered in 5-year age ranges. The effects of diet, obesity, and exercise were statistically ruled out. The results were consistent with Wallace’s study. Depending on the age range, people who practiced Transcendental Mediation had levels of DHAEA-S that were as high as members of the control group who were 5 to 10 years younger (Glaser et al., 1992).
Also relevant is the finding that TM practitioners had a significantly lower blood erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) than matched controls— – which included a large group of vegetarian monks and nuns practicing a meditative life-style and a group of Seventh- Day Adventists. ESR rates are correlated with aging and premature mortality.
Another corroboration of Wallace’s study came from a Harvard University study of 77 elderly nursing home residents. This study, conducted by psychologists Alexander and Langer, compared three types of meditation and relaxation techniques— – TM, ‘mindfulness training,’ and ‘mental relaxation’, a meditation technique loosely modeled on Transcendental Meditation. The study, which lasted 3 years altogether, showed that residents in the Transcendental Meditation group had the greatest reductions in stress. The Transcendental Meditation group also had a significantly higher survival rate: they were the only group in which no one died during the study, although the average mortality rate in non-participating residents during those 3 years was more than one-third (Alexander, Langer, Davies, Chandler, & Newman et al., 1989).
Some years later, the researchers did a follow- up study of the above groups, and found that the results held. After 8 years, the Transcendental Meditation group’s mean survival time was 65% higher than that of the other groups combined; after 15 years, it was 22% higher. Mortality showed a similar pattern: the TM group had distinct decreases compared to the other groups.
<H1>Clinical Results
Studies on specific cancer and other health risk factors— – such as cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, and smoking— – have shown Transcendental Meditation to have significant benefits.
Transcendental MeditationM is known to reduce the cancer risk factors of smoking and alcohol as well as other types of substance abuse. A special 1994 double issue of Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly contained 17 articles on the effectiveness of TM in this area. One article was a meta-analysis of 19 studies on TM and substance abuse. Among those studies that looked at TM and substance abuse in the general population, this meta-analysis found the effect size for the TM groups to be 0.42 for alcohol and 0.74 for drug abuse (note that an effect size of 0.20 is considered small, one of 0.50 isto be medium, and one of 0.80 is to be large). In populations being treated for substance abuse, the effect size for TM was greater: 1.35 for alcohol and 1.16 for illicit drugs. To get a sense of how significant these numbers are, note that a meta-analysis of the popular DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, which is used in high schools around the country, found an effect size of only 0.06 (Ennett et al., 1994). A meta-analysis also looked at 143 adolescent drug prevention programs, and found their average effect size to be only 0.17 for alcohol and 0.21 for drugs.
TM, which produces a “fourth state” of consciousness, reduces stress and anxiety much more effectively than any other techniques tested to date. Many researchers feel that meditation is simply relaxation, but the data indicates that a fourth state of consciousness reduces anxiety two to four times better than physical relaxation techniques. Similarly, the Transcendental Meditation group in the Alexander and Langer experiment with the elderly had the highest survival rate of three groups doing meditation techniques, and the greatest reduction of stress
Ayurv Vedic practitioners recommend TM as an adjunct to whatever other measures they prescribe. TM is not all one would prescribe in every case, and is not necessarily what is needed to cure a specific complaint, but as a general health measure, both in the preventive and the caring stages. The possible influences of transcendental meditation on the limbic system of the brain are shown by the connections illustrated in Figure 16-1.
[Insert Figure 16-1 about here]
<H1>Diet and Digestion
Another important factor in Ayurv Veda is a substance called ojas. Ojas is the end- product of perfect digestion and metabolism, but it has a more profound status. It is also said to stand as a “‘lamp at the door”’ between consciousness and matter, connecting them and thus ensuring that the sequence of natural law is expressed properly in the body. It is also said to nourish and sustain the various tissues of the body.
Ojas is said to pervade the body. According to Charaka, when the quantity of ojas diminishes too much, life itself is threatened (Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana, XVII, 74). When ojas is present in abundance, it gives strength, immunity, contentment, and good digestion. It is said to be the most important biochemical substances mediating the influence of consciousness on the body.
All Ayurvedic treatment is designed to increase aspects considered central to avoid reducing ojas; both aspects are considered central to restoring health and to preventing cancer and other illness.
Factors said to increase ojas, and that are to be maximized, include the following:
<BL>
- Consciousness. The main factor determining ojas production is one’s level of consciousness. As the inner Self becomes more and more “‘awake’,” one result is said to be that more ojas is spontaneously produced. This may in part reflect the principle that growing to enlightenment means growing in inner happiness. Happiness is the most effective means of producing ojas.
- Good digestion and balanced diet. MAV’s advice on diet aimed to improve ojas production, for ojas is held to be the end- product of perfect digestion and metabolism.
Two additional points are relevant. The first is that some foods directly increase ojas, whereasile others decrease it. Charaka describes the qualities of ojas, and says that foods with those qualities, such as milk, ghee, and rice, increase ojas. Foods with the opposite qualities, such as alcohol, decrease the amount and quality of ojas. The second point is that for ojas production what one eats is important is not only what one eats, but also how one prepares and eats it is also significant. Food taken in an atmosphere of warmth, upliftment, and congeniality increase ojas. This reflects the factors said to increase ojas:
<BL>
- Positivity in feelings, speech, and behavior. Love, joy, and appreciation produce more ojas and, therefore, better immunity. This ties in well with current findings in mind/body medicine, relative to cancer, and may provide a way of understanding such findings.
- Panchakarma, or Ayurvedic purification therapy, which removes impurities from the shrotas, the physiological channels in the body. This is said to improve the cells’ ability to take up and receive ojas, thus helping rejuvenate the body.
- Rasayanas, special Ayurvedic herbal and mineral substances. Rasayanas have been defined as “‘that which causes ojas to be produced all over’.”
Factors that diminish ojas, and that should be avoided, are as follows:
<BL>
- Negative emotions.
- Stress.
- Hurrying.
- Excessive exercise (t. The right amount of exercise varies for different individuals. The weak feeling one gets from too much exercise is said to reflect, in part, the reduction of ojas),
- Fasting (m. Moderate fasting is sometimes used in special supervised situations in Ayurv-Veda, but excess fasting can weaken the body by emaciating the bodily tissues and reducing the ojas thatwhich nourishes them).
- Rough or very light diet.
- Overexposure to wind and sun.
- Staying awake through much of the night.
- Excessive loss of bodily fluids (such as blood).
- Overindulgence in sexual activity.
- Injury or trauma to the body.
- Alcoholic beverages.
Ojas is a substance said to have a profound influence on the quality of mental and emotional life as well as physical health. This emphasis is in line with recent understandings of the biochemical mediation of emotion and its effect on the body.
The limbic area of the brain (the physiological seat of emotions), which correlates with deep emotional states, surrounds the hypothalamus, which has often been called the “‘brain’s brain’,” and is the body’s central regulatory switchboard. The hypothalamus regulates temperature, thirst, hunger, blood sugar levels, growth, sleeping, and waking, and emotions such as anger and happiness. Situated just below the hypothalamus is the pituitary gland, the body’s master gland, which emits secretions that control the activity of many other glands in the body. Taken together, these three elements— – the limbic area, hypothalamus, and pituitary —– form the ‘limbic system’, which alters with every alteration in emotions, creating a new mix of molecules thatwhich transform the functioning of the body.
The hypothalamus is affeimpacted by stimuli from a number of sources: the five senses,; the immune system,; cognitive information,; and, above all, emotion. Stimuli coming from the limbic region of the brain cause the hypothalamus to release a wide variety of neuropeptides. These neuropeptides, in turn, stimulate specific hormones from the pituitary gland and, this specific activity in all endocrine glands, including the thymus and adrenal glands. This new combination of chemical messengers changes the operation and make-up of the body, especially the metabolic system and the immune system.
Through the action of the limbic system, particular psychological and emotional states take on molecular form. When you watch an ‘action movie’, you may begin to feel a nervous stomach and sweaty palms. Specific chemical messengers have been released. The body has been changed by what it is seeing on the screen. The emotions raised by the movie correlate with activity in the limbic system.
In this sense, the body “metabolizes” the emotional content of every experience it has. Happiness registering in the limbic region stimulates one cascade of chemicals from the hypothalamus and pituitary, with corresponding physiological changes everywhere in the body. Sadness creates another cascade, and in turn another physiology.
The hypothalamus can also communicate with the body directly. It modulates the activity of the autonomic nervous system. And Nneuropeptides produced by the hypothalamus act on the pituitary and other areas. In fact, there are receptors for them on cells throughout the body. An action movie can create a nervous stomach because the digestive tract has receptors for stress/-response neuropeptides.
More significantly, these receptors have been found on immune system lymphocytes (fast-reacting immune system cells) all over the body (Faith et al., 199X). Apparently, lymphocytes can tune in to the molecular messages created by thought and feelings. Moreover On the other hand, chemicals created by the lymphocytes, such as interleukins, have receptors in the hypothalamic region of the brain. Thus, chemical messages from the immune system can modulate nervous system functioning and mental states. There is a two-way communication network between the brain and the immune system. A growing body of data also suggests that neurotransmitters produced by the autonomic nervous system can communicate directly with the immune system and modify its functioning. Is there a more broad analogy between modern findings regarding neruo-immuno-modulators and the Ayurvedia? One hypothesis is that ojas might be equivalent to neuropeptides from the hypothalamus, which has identical effects as described.
We previously discussed Transcendental Meditation in terms of stress reduction, brain-wave coherence, free radicals transcendental experience of the unified field. Transcendental MeditationM also can be said to have an influence through the limbic system. Instead of metabolizing “stress,” the limbic system during Transcendental Meditation metabolizes “peace and contentment.”. This would lead to a better character of neurochemical influence throughout the body, thus producing better health and lower cancer risk.
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