Stress relief through yoga and tai chi

Q: Lately my blood pressure has been really high, so I started taking medication. But I think the cause is stress, since my diet is good and I work out regularly. What else can I do to lower my blood pressure and maybe even stop taking the meds? — Kevin H., Davenport, Louisiana

A: If you’re open to new ideas, let us introduce you to some ancient arts that have astoundingly groundbreaking benefits: yoga, meditation and tai chi.

An interesting new study in Frontiers of Immunology looked at 18 different studies that covered about 850 subjects over 11 years and found that mind-body interventions “reverse the molecular reactions in our DNA which cause ill-health and depression.”

Seems mind-body interventions are turning genes on and off, and that affects the biological makeup of the body, the brain and the immune system. It also reduces chronic inflammation associated with stress.

So if you want to reverse your feelings of stress, anger, insomnia, frustration and body-related discomfort like muscle- and headache, check out the meditation guides at sharecare.com and find a local tai chi or yoga instructor.

Q: I keep hearing about the goodness of vitamin D, but what should I eat more of? Are supplements useful? — Katie G., Boston

A: There are two important forms of vitamin D — ergocalciferol (vitamin D-2), which is made by plants, and cholecalciferol (vitamin D-3), which is made by your skin in response to exposure to sunlight. (D-3 is first converted by the liver and then the kidneys before becoming biologically active calcitriol in your body.) A new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says D-3 is what you want to make sure you get enough of.

The researchers say: “Those who consume D-3 through fish (we like salmon and ocean trout) or vitamin D-3-containing supplements are twice as likely to raise their vitamin D status than when consuming vitamin D-2 rich foods such as mushrooms, vitamin D-2-fortified bread or vitamin D-2 supplements.”

Your move: Get 10 minutes of exposure to sunlight daily without sunscreen; then put it on! Enjoy D-3packin’ foods like fermented soy and supplemented functional foods like almond and walnut milk. Aim to get the recommended

600 IU of vitamin D-3 a day: Most of you will need a D-3 supplement. Your goal is to reach a blood level of 35-80 ng/ml; ask your doc for a blood test.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare. com.