The Benefits Of A Spa

A week at a health spa may feel like a decadent indulgence, but research shows that a spa retreat is not only relaxing and nourishing, it can significantly improve physical and emotional wellness.

A study from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, evaluated the health of 15 people before and after their visit to We Care Spa, a health and wellness spa in Desert Hot Springs, Calif. The researchers found that the program helped to improve the participants’ health.

“Programs such as these have never before been formally evaluated for their safety and physiological effects,” says Andrew Newberg, M.D., director of research at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine.

The week-long program included diet modification, meditation, colonic hydrotherapy, yoga and a juice-fast cleansing diet of approximately 800 calories per day. Stress management was provided through daily structured meditation (and the yoga programs) as well as time for personal meditation encouraging deep breathing, heightened awareness and a calming effect.

An evaluation of the results showed that undergoing a spa program resulted in a weight decline of an average of 6.8 pounds; a 7.7 percent decrease in diastolic blood pressure; a decrease in mercury, sodium and chloride levels; and a 5.2 percent decline in total cholesterol and mean BMI. Cholesterol decline seemed to be curiously associated with a decline in HDLs, the good-for-you high density lipoproteins, which is of some concern (though they remained within a desirable range). Hemoglobin increased 5.9 percent.