Meditation prevents aging, disease and cancer.

[budo]

Reduction of stress encourages the growth of telomere, which allows cells to continue dividing. Our cells divide and grow, a telomere – a small DNA cap at the end of each chromosome - protects our dna from damage. The enzyme Telomerase, repairs the telomeres and ‘keeps DNA young'.

Several new telomerase-based drugs have entered Phase II and III clinical trials. And there is a very real race for the ultimate anti-aging pill.

"Current research reveals stressed people have shorter telomeres. Shorter telomeres appear to predispose us to disease and cancer and lead to shorter lives. Yet astonishingly, it has been discovered meditation appears to stall the process."

source: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/passionateeyeshowcase/2010/immortal/

Another thing to note, is Epigenetics, the layer that controls your genes, control which genes to turn on or off. A healthy lifestyle turns on the good genes and turns off the bad genes which helps defeat disease. Also, your gene activation combination was passed down to you by your parents and you will pass it on to your kids. This means if your parents smoked and had a bad life style, a lot of their bad genes were activated resulting in disease, this configuration was passed on to you, however if you exercise and eat well, you can deactivate those bad genes and turn on the good genes and pass that on to your children. You could reverse the damage caused by your family tree.

source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genes/issa.html

[bodom]

Yes, according to the Buddha and his great disciples, meditation can put and end to these sufferings once and for all...

The Blessed One said this: "This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four frames of reference.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html

[Individual]

Reduction of stress encourages the growth of telomere, which allows cells to continue dividing. Our cells divide and grow, a telomere – a small DNA cap at the end of each chromosome - protects our dna from damage. The enzyme Telomerase, repairs the telomeres and ‘keeps DNA young'.

Several new telomerase-based drugs have entered Phase II and III clinical trials. And there is a very real race for the ultimate anti-aging pill.

"Current research reveals stressed people have shorter telomeres. Shorter telomeres appear to predispose us to disease and cancer and lead to shorter lives. Yet astonishingly, it has been discovered meditation appears to stall the process."

source: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/passionateeyeshowcase/2010/immortal/

DNA replication, aging, and cancer are all complex. They involve a lot of stuff interacting. I don't know if this is the case for telomeres specifically, but it is possible that if cancer cells had these very same organelles, that it could function in the stability of a cancer tumor also?

If meditation was the cure for cancer, well, don't you think scientists would've discovered that already? Why do Buddhist monks ever get cancer?

Meditation might help, though!

Another thing to note, is Epigenetics, the layer that controls your genes, control which genes to turn on or off. A healthy lifestyle turns on the good genes and turns off the bad genes which helps defeat disease. Also, your gene activation combination was passed down to you by your parents and you will pass it on to your kids. This means if your parents smoked and had a bad life style, a lot of their bad genes were activated resulting in disease, this configuration was passed on to you, however if you exercise and eat well, you can deactivate those bad genes and turn on the good genes and pass that on to your children. You could reverse the damage caused by your family tree.

source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genes/issa.html

As I understand it, this stuff is also pseudoscience.

The news doesn't tend to be too reliable sometimes when it comes to science.

You should seek info which invalidates what you know in order to learn; not seek info to confirm what you already know.

[clw_uk]

Another thing to note, is Epigenetics, the layer that controls your genes, control which genes to turn on or off. A healthy lifestyle turns on the good genes and turns off the bad genes which helps defeat disease. Also, your gene activation combination was passed down to you by your parents and you will pass it on to your kids. This means if your parents smoked and had a bad life style, a lot of their bad genes were activated resulting in disease, this configuration was passed on to you, however if you exercise and eat well, you can deactivate those bad genes and turn on the good genes and pass that on to your children. You could reverse the damage caused by your family tree.

Wouldn't this contradict the non heritability of acquired characteristics?


Epigenetic mechanisms effect the way genes are expressed, not the underlying DNA.

[nathan]

...and hair loss, unwanted hair growth, flatulence and rejection by members of the opposite sex.

[clw_uk]

...and hair loss, unwanted hair growth, flatulence and rejection by members of the opposite sex.

Huh?

[meindzai]

"When you gotta go you gotta go." - The Buddha (very roughly translated)

We all die. But of course it's always nice to know that meditation can have these side benefits. I think there is a dhammic lesson to these news stories we get once and awhile. That is that they show some relationship to the mind and body, so that purifying the mind can purify the body. Though the Buddha was not one to make extreme or fantastic claims about this, as often yogis would claim that some sort of yoga or another would lead to immortality, and then proceed to kick the bucket.

-M

[nathan]

...and hair loss, unwanted hair growth, flatulence and rejection by members of the opposite sex.

Huh?

You mean you haven't noticed? Must not be meditating enough.

[clw_uk]

...and hair loss, unwanted hair growth, flatulence and rejection by members of the opposite sex.

Huh?

You mean you haven't noticed? Must not be meditating enough.

Sorry still dont get what your getting at