Your Health

By Janice M. Horowitz

GOOD NEWS

CLINK! Here's something to toast on New Year's: a major study shows that besides warding off heart disease, moderate amounts of alcohol may reduce the risk of stroke. The likelihood of suffering a stroke dropped 20% in men who drank anywhere from one glass a week to one glass a day. Any kind of alcohol works, but don't go overboard. Excessive booze--more than a few drinks a day--raises blood pressure, which dramatically heightens your risk of stroke.

GUT REACTION All kinds of fiber can help prevent colon cancer, but now a preliminary report on pigs suggests that one type--wheat bran--may do an especially good job. Researchers fattened up some 20 hogs on a typical American diet--feed containing the same nutrients found in burgers, fries and other fatty Happy Meal fare. The pigs were also given fiber from potatoes and corn, but some got an extra sprinkle of wheat. These were the lucky pigs. In the lower part of their bowel (where most tumors occur), the pigs had more butyrate, a substance that prevents early cellular damage. For human porkers, about 1 oz. of wheat bran a day may have the same effect.

BAD NEWS

GERD THYSELF An upset stomach may not be the only thing to worry about when taking aspirin or ibuprofen. The so-called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories may be linked to a severe form of heartburn called gastroesophageal-reflux disorder, or GERD. Researchers found that the chances of getting GERD doubled among 12,500 Medicaid patients who took the painkillers routinely. Before starting a regimen of aspirin or the like, check with your doctor.

E-GAD! A preliminary but intriguing study suggests a link between gamma tocopherol, a component of some vitamin E pills, and developing arthritis of the knee, shown at right. Gamma tocopherol tends to be found in newer E supplements--those that boast of "mixed tocopherols." Standard capsules contain only alpha tocopherols, which, say researchers, will leave your knees alone.

--By Janice M. Horowitz

Sources: Good News: New England Journal of Medicine (11/18/99); Gut (11/99). Bad News: American College of Rheumatology; American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists