Ullagaddi, R. · Journal of Neonatal Surgery · 2025
A narrative review describes emerging clinical studies showing drops in cortisol, C-reactive protein, and subjective stress after EFT, and proposes this reflects reduced HPA-axis activation and lower inflammatory/oxidative load, while calling for larger biomarker-driven studies.
Cortisol and CRP are both drawn from blood, not something a person can talk themselves into changing. This review's core claim, that tapping calms the HPA stress axis and lowers inflammatory load, is worth taking seriously precisely because it rests on that kind of hard, lab-measured evidence rather than mood surveys, even though this particular paper is a synthesis rather than a new experiment.
If the biological story here holds up across more direct trials, it points toward a free, self-taught technique people could use at home to help manage chronic stress load and its downstream inflammatory effects, without needing a clinician to draw blood or administer treatment first.
This review is essentially a hypothesis waiting for a dedicated trial: track cortisol and CRP together, before and after a course of tapping, in people with elevated chronic stress or low-grade inflammation, and see whether the two markers move in the same direction on the timeline the review predicts. Pairing this with a wearable for HRV would help map whether any CRP/cortisol drop is accompanied by improved autonomic tone, building out the full stress-to-inflammation cascade with real numbers instead of theory.
| Design | Review |
|---|---|
| Population | general population (narrative review of biochemical mechanisms) |
| Outcome measures | cortisol, C-reactive protein (CRP) |
| Journal | Journal of Neonatal Surgery |
| Year | 2025 |
| Country | Unknown |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Review or meta-analysis |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Ullagaddi, R. (2025). Emotional Freedom Techniques: A Pathway to Stress Relief and Body Detox. Journal of Neonatal Surgery.
This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Stress & Cortisol · How It Works (Biology)
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