All concepts, explanations, trials, and studies have been
re-written in plain English and may contain errors. I am
not a doctor
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Keep The Faith And Keep Your Health

March 29, 2002 - For 20 years, Jeff Levin PhD, has been
collecting data to see if there's a link between faith
and health. His conclusion : "About 80 to 90% of these
studies show there is something positive going on."
	Other researchers include Dr. Harold Koenig from
Duke University Medical Center, who says : "Our studies
show those who benefit most are those who both attend
religious services and practice personal belief at home,
such as reading religious literature and prayer."
	According to his research as director of the
Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health,
Dr. Koenig - who leads seminars for Harvard Medical
School - has found :

People who regularly attend church services, pray
individually, and read the Bible, are 40% less likely to
have high diastolic blood pressure than people who rarely
do these things.
	People who attend religious services regularly
may have stronger immune systems. Those who rarely attend
church or synagogue have the highest levels of
interleukin-6, indicating a weakened or overactive immune
system.
	People who attend church regularly are
hospitalized less often and leave the hospital sooner than
people who rarely participate in religious services.
	The deeper a person's religious faith, the less
likely he is to be crippled by depression during and after
hospitalization for physical illness. People who attend
church at least once a week are only 1/3 as likely to
abuse alcohol or smoke cigarettes as those not
participating in religious activities.
	Religious youth show much lower levels of drug and
alcohol abuse, premature sex, and crime than non-religious
youth. They also are less likely to become suicidal.
	Levin has been funded from many sources, including
the National Institutes of Health. He finds that faith is
a very potent source of well-being. "The big challenge for
us is to answer the why question, what does all of this
mean?"
	In his recently published book, Levin examined
more than 200 studies on faith and health. Among the
common links are :

People (on average) who are more religious tend to have
healthier life styles. Attending church, mosque, or
synagogue provides a positive social structure. They
receive support from the people they attend services
with.
	Practicing prayer, meditation, or public worship
services encourages positive emotions. Research suggests
that our emotions can lead to psychological changes that
benefit our health. New research on optimism and hope
suggests a positive effect that promotes healing.
	The studies Levin looked at involved a wide range
of ages, ethnic backgrounds and religious ties. They
involved a variety of research methods. Levin and Koenig
are part of a growing movement to measure the impact of
religion on health.
	A recent Columbia University report concluded
that people with religious faith are much less likely to
abuse alcohol and illegal drugs than non-believers.
	Last year, the Harvard Divinity School launched
"The Religion Health and Healing" initiative to study
links between healing and religion in various world
cultures.
	The university's Pluralism Project has joined
with Boston Medical Center's Healing Landscape project
to explore religious healing in an American city.
	Research supports a connection between faith and
physical health. However, the evidence is even stronger
for the benefits of faith on emotional and mental health,
says Dr. Koenig. For most people, faith's power involves
a healing of the spirit and of relationships with others,
he says. In fact, illness tends to bring spirituality to
the surface.
	"As people become sicker and struggle with
suffering they can become more deeply spiritual," Dr.
Koenig says. This may be because without faith, illness
and suffering has no meaning for patients and their loved
ones, Dr. Koenig says. "It gives these difficult
conditions a sense of purpose, that somehow a good thing
can result ; that God can transform this horrible
situation into something good, or it can benefit those
around them."
	The research suggests that intensity of belief
and practice is a key characteristic in the relationship
between health and spirituality. The stronger a person's
belief AND the more regular their participation in
religious ceremonies and practices, the better they tend
to do in health and psychological well being.
	Obviously, non-religious people can also be
healthy. "There are unquestionably people who do not
practice religion and are perfectly healthy and get along
just fine. There are also people who are very religious
and suffer illnesses," Levin says.
	However, with research definitely documenting a
health benefit for members of religious groups, Levin
concludes : "Spirituality in the broadest sense can be a
powerful resource in the lives of those who participate
in spiritual activities on a regular basis."

By Rhonda B. Graham
From John Hopkins InteliHealth News Service