Your Health

By Janice M. Horowitz

GOOD NEWS

TRANSMISSION TROUBLE Pregnant women who are infected with HIV can cut in half their risk of transmitting the AIDS virus to their newborns by having a C-section. If women are also taking anti-AIDS drugs, their risk is reduced even more--87%. Part of the reason may be that babies are less exposed to HIV during a caesarean--which, though bloody, is quick--than during the many hours of labor that can accompany a vaginal delivery.

BONING UP Eating calcium-rich foods is not the only way to prevent osteoporosis. Fruits and vegetables seem to help too. Data on elderly folks show that those who eat the most fruits and veggies have the strongest bones. Fresh produce contains high levels of magnesium and potassium, which are found in healthy bones and may help prevent calcium from leaching out.

BAD NEWS

TESTING THE WATERS Don't assume bottled water is always cleaner or safer than tap, warns an environmental advocacy group. The Natural Resources Defense Council tested 1,000 samples of 103 brands and found that while the quality of most samples was fine, at least a third had levels of bacteria and chemicals that exceeded the industry's own purity guidelines. Nearly a quarter violated California's stringent standards for chemicals such as arsenic. The industry stands by its brands; so, it seems, does the government. Federal agencies, says the NRDC, don't test bottled water as frequently as they test what comes from the tap.

REALITY CHECK Young boys tend to overestimate how well they're doing in school compared with how their teachers rate them. Girls, on the other hand, tend to underestimate their performance. Why care? Kids of either sex who underrate themselves may suffer from depression.

--By Janice M. Horowitz

Sources--Good News: New England Journal of Medicine (4/1/99); American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (4/99). Bad News: Natural Resources Defense Council, Child Development (3/99)