Tai Chi May Prevent Shingles

Giving new meaning to the term martial art, recent research suggests that people who regularly practice tai chi are less likely to suffer outbreaks of shingles, the irritating skin rash that afflicts more than a million Americans. The Washington Post reports on a UCLA study that involved 112 healthy adults, ages 59 to 86, who have had previous cases of chickenpox. Half
of the study group took tai chi classes three times a week for three months and
the rest attended health education classes where they were taught good
diet habits and stress management. Then both groups were vaccinated
with a chickenpox vaccine. Researchers took periodic blood tests before
and after vaccination to determine their level of immunity against
shingles. After six months, the Post reports, the tai chi group had nearly twice the level of immunity against shingles than the education group. Wait, there’s more. Those
who performed tai chi before vaccination had an immune response that
was similar to what a vaccine would produce in a younger population.
Tai chi combined with the vaccine showed a 40 percent increase in
immunity than the vaccine alone, researchers found. Read more in the Washington Post.