| Ayurveda a positive hope for HIV+ patients | An ongoing study by the KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India to find out the efficacy of ayurvedic drugs in improving the life expectancy of HIV positive patients has yielded some positive results.
The Medicine Department of the hospital has been studying the potency of an ayurvedic drug on 700 HIV patients since April last year. After little more than a year, the institute found a significant boost in the count of CD4 cells in these patients, and that it could probably push the initiation of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), known to have many side effects, by a few years.
The count of CD4 cells is directly proportional to the health of a person for these cells are the most important part of one's immune system. Anyone with less CD4 count is more prone to ailments as the body's defence mechanism starts giving way. The ART for HIV patients is started only after the CD4 count falls below 250.
After administering the ayurvedic drug, the doctors found that the CD4 count in patients on an average went up from 448 to 546 within six months and up to 590 in a year's time. Besides, many patients had weight gains, increase in haemoglobin count and a sense of well-being.
However, the study solely focused on CD4 cells and did not check if the drug could bring down the viral load in a patient. Another hitch remains that ayurvedic drugs cannot be consumed simultaneously with the ART drugs.
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| Vegetables cut down diabetes risk | A new study says, eating leafy vegetables like broccoli, spinach, sprouts and cabbage can reduce by 14 percent your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The vegetables are a rich source of anti-oxidants and magnesium, linked to lower levels of diabetes.
Regularly sampling salads, including spinach could help reduce diabetes risk, the study has shown.
University of Leicester researchers reviewed six studies based on 223,000 people and compared intake of green leafy vegetables. They found those who consumed more than one serving daily had a lower risk of diabetes than people who barely ate any.
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| Eating berries protect brain against ageing | Eating berries helps in protecting the brain against ageing and memory loss. Strawberries, blackberries and blueberries are rich in compounds called polyphenolics, which help the brain carry out its functions.
Taking fruits with deep orange, red or blue pigments can even reverse brainpower loss; according to a new study. The natural compound called polyphenolics found in fruits, vegetables and nuts have an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect that may protect against age-associated decline.
Polyphenolics help microglia, which cleanse toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other symptoms of mental decline. Besides, "the microglia become over-activated and actually begin to damage healthy cells in the brain.
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| Grapefruit helps in treating diabetes | Grapefruit has shown promise in the treatment of diabetes due to presence of antioxidants in it. Naringenin, which gives grapefruit its bitter taste, can do the same job as two separate drugs used in managing Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes occurs when the body is unable to produce enough insulin to properly regulate blood-sugar levels. Naringenin helps to increase the body's sensitivity to insulin. It also helps sufferers maintain a healthy weight, which is a vital part of diabetes treatment.
The blood is flushed with sugars after a meal, causing the liver to create fatty acids, or lipids, for long-term storage. Weight gain puts diabetics at risk of health problems and reduces the effectiveness of insulin.
Scientists found that naringenin makes the liver burn fat instead of storing it. Its effect mimics the action of fenofibrate and rosiglitazone, two lipid-lowering drugs used to control Type-2 diabetes.
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| Broccoli may help to prevent Crohn's disease | Eating broccoli and plantain can help fight Crohn's disease, an inflammatory disease of the intestines that affects any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus.
A research team from Liverpool University has found that certain types of soluble fibre can help prevent bacteria from sticking to the gut's walls, and hence reduce the progress of the disease.
Researches found soluble fibre from plantain and broccoli - dubbed a "superfood" for its abilities to fight cancer and prevent furring of arteries - had a marked effect.
Bananas, from the same family and more commonly available, were also likely to be beneficial. However, it contained less soluble fibre so people would have to consume more.
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Ayurvedic Drug Index 
