In order to observe the effects of ancient qigong for health care and longevity on the levels of blood sugar, blood-lipid and related serum insulin, we choose 50 cases over 55 years old and keeping on qigong exercises. The determinations which we made included fasting blood sugar, quantitative determination of fasting serum insulin, blood-lipid and high density lipoprotein (EDL), before and after one year's qigong exercises, compared with these determinations individually and managed by statistics. The results showed as following:
1. We determined fasting blood sugar in 55 cases before qigong exercises. These cases were divided into 3 groups according to their blood sugar level.
(1) Increasing blood sugar group: 10 cases with FBS>110 mg%, the highest value with 248 mg%. One year after qigong exercises, 7 cases had been followup, FBS decreased to normal limitation (p< O.01) in 5 cases and they didn't take any drugs for reducing blood sugar and kept usual diet habits. The fluctuation of weights of their bodies was between 2 Kg.
(2) Decreasing blood sugar group: 7 cases with FBS<75 mg%, the lowest value was 57 mg%. After qigong exercises, FBS in raised to normal limitation in 6 cases, only one case still lower than normal (p<0.01).
(3) Normal blood sugar group: 33 cases with FBS 75-110 mg%. After qigong exercises, the values of blood sugar closed to low limitation had been increased to normal limitation. These results above showed this kind of qigong has a fine adjusting function of bidirectional regulation for blood sugar.
2. Serum insulin (IRI) test
(1) Increasing blood sugar group: altogether 10 cases, 6 cases with FBI>140 mg%, 4 cases with a little low (1O-12 g%) of normal limitation, the rest with a little increased over normal limitation, the rest 4 cases were normal.
(2) Low blood sugar group: altogether 7 cases, their II were all higher than normal (20-29 g%).
(3) Normal blood sugar group: altogether 33 cases, 22 cases II were higher than normal (22-28 g%), 11 cases were normal. The blood sugar of all these three groups reduced to the middle level of normal limitation after qigong exercises. There were obvious differences in low and normal groups (p<0.05, p<0.01). It is demonstrated that this kind of qigong had the function of making the increased serum to normal.
3. Blood-lipid
Values of cholesterol were obvious higher than normal in both increased and low blood sugar groups before qigong exercises it was more obvious in low blood sugar group. Values of triglyceride were increased in 3 groups, it was more obvious in increasing blood sugar group. -lipoprotein increased in the increasing blood sugar group only. After qigong exercises 3 targets of lipoprotein decreased obviously. It showed that hyperlipoprotein was remarkably decreased as high blood sugar decreased after qigong exercises.
4. HDL showed obviously increased after qigong exercises (p<0.01 ).
The report observed that the elevation of fasting blood sugar is more common in old people, and companies with increasing bloodlipid, and increasing serum mostly. This is one of the main dangerous factors to the old people with complicated arteriosclerosis. Doing qigong exercises demonstrated the function of bidirectional regulation in adjusting blood sugar and blood-lipid and the function of decreasing the increased serum insulin. It showed that doing qigong had the adjusting function of metabolism of sugar and lipid. It might be related to the reducing of biological effects of insulin for compensative elevation of insulin level in senile. The regulation of blood sugar level after doing Qigong might be completed through promoting sensation and biological effects of insulin. The mechanism should be further studied. Qigong exercises provided a new prospect for the rehabilitation of II type diabetics.
