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A new study finds that women who had stopped being religiously active were more than three times more likely to have suffered generalized anxiety and alcohol abuse/dependence than women who reported always having been active.

“One’s lifetime pattern of religious service attendance can be related to psychiatric illness,” says Temple University’s Joanna Maselko, Sc.D., an assistant professor of public health and co-author of the study, which appears in the January issue of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Conversely, men who stopped being religiously active were less likely to suffer major depression when compared to men who had always been religiously active.

Maselko offers one possible explanation for the gender differences in the relationship between religious activity and mental health. “Women are simply more integrated into the social networks of their religious communities. When they stop attending religious services, they lose access to that network and all its potential benefits. Men may not be as integrated into the religious community in the first place and so may not suffer the negative consequences of leaving,” Maselko said.

The study expands on previous research in the field by analyzing the relationship between mental health — anxiety, depression and alcohol dependence or abuse — and spirituality using current and past levels, said Maselko, who conducted the research when she was at Harvard University.

In the study sample, comprising 718 adults, a majority of men and women changed their level of religious activity between childhood and adulthood, which was critical information for the researchers. “A person’s current level of spirituality is only part of the story. We can only get a better understanding of the relationship between health and spirituality by knowing a person’s lifetime religious history,” Maselko said.

Out of the 278 women in the group, 39 percent (N=109) had always been religiously active and 51 percent (N=141) had not been active since childhood. About 7 percent of the women who have always been religiously active met the criteria for generalized anxiety disorder compared to 21 percent of women who had stopped being religiously active.

“Everyone has some spirituality, whether it is an active part of their life or not; whether they are agnostic or atheist or just ‘non-practicing.’ These choices potentially have health implications, similar to the way that one’s social networks do,” Maselko said.

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Type 2 diabetes has long been associated with obesity. The more overweight the population becomes, the more cases of Type 2 diabetes there are diagnosed. Obesity is an inflammatory condition and researchers have linked inflammation to the development of diabetes. This link means that if the inflammation is treated, Type 2 diabetes could be a thing of the past, even for obese individuals.

At the root of the diabetes / inflammation link is the fact that diabetes is an autoimmune disease. It essentially fights the immune system or causes it to malfunction. Inflammation is an immune reaction that attempts to protect the cells of the body while healing occurs. When the body is constantly inflamed, insulin resistance can occur thus leading to Type 2 diabetes.

Fighting the Inflammation One Step at a Time

For patients with Type 2 diabetes who are overweight, the first line of defense is losing those extra pounds. The inflammation associated with obesity, and being overweight, is reversible. Once the weight is lost, the body stops being inflamed and the insulin resistance will subside. Weight loss, however, takes time and dedication. Reversing the inflammation, even a small amount, can lead to dramatic changes in health and well-being.

Diabetes is associated with fatigue, excessive urination, overeating, infections, changes in mood, blurred vision, blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and nerve damage. The inflammation causing the diabetes needs to be rectified quickly in order to reduce the chance of suffering from any of these side effects or symptoms related to adult onset diabetes. The most natural way to reduce internal inflammation, aside from weight loss, is the use of antioxidants.

Finding the Best Antioxidants to Reduce Inflammation

Free radicals are the reason antioxidants exist. When the body is inflamed, the cells are unable to rejuvenate and reproduce. As oxygen exchange occurs, free radicals are created and the damaged cells are unable to fight off the fast replication of these stress causing molecules. Free radicals are simply molecules that are missing an electron. In order to survive, they steal an electron from another cell and the cycle of reproduction starts. One cell steals an electron and then another cell needs an electron.

Antioxidants supply extra electrons the body can use to stop the oxidative stress associated with free radical replication. In terms of diabetes, this is important because the result is a reduction in inflammation. Oxidative stress in the body can result in an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants. The build-up of oxidants can lead to acute and / or chronic inflammation. Thus, a strong antioxidant is needed to fight free radicals and repair the cells so the inflammation contributing to Type 2 diabetes can be resolved.

One of the most acclaimed antioxidants is found in the Nopal cactus. There are 24 betalains which are considered some of the best antioxidants known to man when used individually. The Nopal cactus is the only substance on Earth that contains all 24 betalains. Fighting off free radicals with 24 antioxidants grown to work together is one option for naturally reducing the inflammation associated with diabetes.

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