Kirtan Helps Fight Alzheimer's

                A three month course in yoga and meditation, particularly the age-old Indian practice of Kirtan, may help boost memory and fight Alzheimer’s, American scientists have said. A team of neuroscientists from UCLA have found that yoga and meditation help minimize cognitive and emotional problems that often precede Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The researchers also discovered that they were even more effective than the memory enhancement exercises considered the gold standard for managing mild cognitive impairment.

Potatoes Up Risk of Hypertension

                Eating four or more servings of boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes, as well as French fries, a week may increase your risk of high blood pressure. Replacing one serving a day of potatoes with one serving of a non-starchy vegetable is associated with a lower risk of developing hypertension. Researchers followed over 187,000 men and women from three large US studies for over 20 years to arrive at the conclusion.

                Dietary intake, including the frequency of potato consumption, was assessed using a questionnaire. Hypertension was reported by participants based on diagnosis by a health professional, researcher said. After taking into account several other risk factors for hypertension, researchers found that four or more servings a week of baked, boiled or mashed potatoes was associated with an increased risk of hypertension.

                However, consumption of potato chips (crisps) was associated with no increased risk, researchers said. According to them, potatoes have a high glycaemic index compared with other vegetables, and can thus trigger a sharp rise in blood sugar levels, which could be one explanation for the findings.