Good news, acupuncture fans: It really does help relieve stress. And now, a new study is giving a closer look at why.

The body secretes an assortment of hormones into the bloodstream as a reaction to stress, which the researchers were then able to measure in the rats. They assessed blood hormone levels secreted by the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland — together these are known as the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. They also measured a peptide involved in creatures’ “fight or flight” responses, called NPY.

Researchers discovered that the “…electronic acupuncture blocks the chronic, stress-induced elevations of the HPA axis hormones and the sympathetic NPY pathway,” Eshkevari said in the statement.

Since stress has been linked with detrimental health effects including  heart disease and even brain shrinkage it’s important to study any measures to combat its detrimental nature.

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full article – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/16/acupuncture-could-help-prevent-stress_n_2883996.html