An interesting new study from Mount Sinai, the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard Medical School researchers measured the “resort vacation effect” compared with the “meditation effect.” Studying participants over a six-day stay at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, half experienced a regular resort vacation there, while half also did a meditation program (designed by Deepak Chopra, MD). The findings: both groups showed large, immediate changes in genetic expression associated with stress and immune pathways; however, the meditation retreat, for those who already meditated regularly, was also associated with antiviral activity.
Must-Reads from the Wellness World (Week of September 6, 2016)
“Childhood Obesity: UK Plan Attacked as ‘Weak’ and ‘Watered Down’” – BBC News, August 18, 2016
A debate is raging in the UK about the government’s policies aimed at tackling child obesity.
Tourism Winners and Losers and the Obsession with Safety
There is now tangible evidence that the impact of terrorism on tourism is not as transient and limited as it used to be. Countries and destinations perceived as “safe” are benefitting significantly as a result. To give an example, the June occupancy rate in Paris hotels fell by 14 percent on a yearly basis, while the number of foreign visitors to Spain has risen by 12 percent in the first quarter of this year.
MARKET INSIGHT: Healthier Eating Habits Rewriting the Food Industry
A big issue to watch is the extent to which changing/healthier eating habits will affect the future of the food industry – an issue that we’ve addressed on several occasions in the Wellness edition of The Monthly Barometer.
Purple Spots on Michael Phelps? Cupping Has an Olympic Moment
When the world puzzled over the purple circles on the body of Olympic gold medalist swimmer, Michael Phelps, the ancient Chinese healing practice of cupping experienced a major Olympic moment. What is cupping? What’s the medical evidence for it? What do experts say?
Study: Ordering/Choosing Food Before Eating Means Lower-Calorie Diet
New Carnegie Mellon University experiments revealed that, when a solid gap existed between when people ordered their food and when they planned to eat it, they opted for significantly lower calorie meals. Interestingly, it wasn’t being hungry in the moment that made the “no willpower” difference, but seemed to be that when one orders meals/food in advance that one can better weigh the longer term costs/benefits.
