Researchers at the medical departments of Ben-Gurion University and the Soroka Medical Center in Israel found that a short dip in Dead Sea waters leads to a decrease in the levels of sugar in the blood and could improve the medical condition of diabetics.

The research measured the effects of the salt water by immersing the research subjects in a covered swimming pool under moderated temperature (53 degrees Celsius) for 20 minutes. The 41 subjects were aged 56-81 and suffering from type 2 diabete for less than 20 years. Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced.

After a one-time dip in the highly salted water, the researchers found a decline of 5.31 percent in sugar levels. A parallel test carried out with regular water did not produce that decline in blood glucose levels.

Moreover, in a control group of six healthy subjects, the researchers did not find any significant change in sugar levels between the dips in the regular and dead sea-like water .

The researchers also found that beyond the decrease in sugar levels, other blood indices were not adversely affected, including insulin and cortisone hormone levels and c-peptide, indicating the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin. The new research was carried out at the ZMD Medical Center of Lot Hotel in the Dead Sea and its findings are being published this month in the Israeli medical journal Harefua.

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To read the full article in Hebrew, click here.

Via www.haaretz.co.il

Photo by Broya