Yoga found to boost health in heart patients

According to a study, an eight-week regimen of yoga proved safe for patients with chronic heart failure and helped reduce signs of inflammation. Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, US, who measured the effects of an eight-week yoga regimen on 19 heart patients found the exercise routine reduced markers of inflammation associated with heart failure while also improving exercise tolerance and quality of life. The study found significant differences in biological markers in the blood between patients who completed the yoga therapy and those who received standard medical therapy. Patients on the yoga therapy completed the regimen without any complications and saw a 26 per cent decrease in symptoms on a standard assessment that measures the quality of life in heart patients, compared to a three per cent decrease of the patients on the medical therapy alone. 

Grapes may help lower blood pressure
Grapes helped lower blood pressure and improve heart function in lab rats fed an an otherwise salty diet, a US research indicates. The findings, published in the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, may help people with high blood pressure, the researchers said. Researchers examined the effects of ordinary grapes on rats that develop high blood pressure when fed a salty diet. Some of the rats ate a diet containing a powder from red, green and purple table grapes and a high-salt diet. Others were fed the grape powder and a low-salt diet. The powder, which contained the same nutrients in fresh grapes, allowed the scientists to measure the rats’ intake carefully. After 18 weeks, the rats that ate the grape-enriched diet had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation throughout their bodies, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than rats that ate a salty diet without grapes.

Headache, arthritis pills reduce Parkinson’s risk
A study by the University of California states that over-the-counter painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen can reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease. The researchers studied 579 men and women from California, half of whom had Parkinson’s disease. They were asked if they had taken aspirin or ibuprofen once a week or more at any point in their life for at least a month. Those who took two or more pills a week for at least one month were considered regular users. The researchers found that regular users of such drugs, which ease the pain of arthritis and headaches, were much less likely to have Parkinson’s than non-users or sporadic users. Women who took aspirin regularly lowered their risk of Parkinson’s disease by 40 per cent.