Your Health

By Janice M. Horowitz

GOOD NEWS FOR EARS

Kids will love this. Eating sweets may ward off ear infections--if the sweet contains a sugar substitute called xylitol. In a Finnish study, children given chewing gum with xylitol had 40% fewer ear infections. Xylitol, it turns out, is a powerful antimicrobial. It is used in small quantities to help sweeten Trident Advantage, Breath Assure and other sugarless gums.

BAD NEWS ON FERTILITY

Alcohol may put women in the mood, but it won't help them conceive. A study of 100 women shows that even relatively modest amounts--one drink a week or less--can reduce a woman's odds of conceiving that month by 40%. Add a cup or more of coffee every day, and the chances drop even further.

GOOD NEWS ON AIDS

The new AIDS drugs are paying off, at least in the U.S. The number of Americans who died last year from AIDS dropped by nearly half, to 16,865--the lowest level since 1987. Once the leading cause of death in young adults, AIDS is now No. 5. But the epidemic is far from over. The number of new HIV infections is holding steady at 40,000 a year, and researchers report a surge in unsafe sex practices.

BAD NEWS ON LOW-BACK PAIN

All those visits to the chiropractor or physical therapist for low-back pain may not be worth it. Patients who seek treatment feel only marginally better than those who simply read a $1 pamphlet on back pain. And they're just as likely to have their pain return.

--By Janice M. Horowitz

Sources: Pediatrics; Fertility and Sterility; U.S. National Centers for Health Statistics; New England Journal of Medicine