Your Health

By Janice M. Horowitz

GOOD NEWS

ORGANIC UPDATE Confused about exactly what the "Certified Organic" label means? No wonder. Today there are more meanings of the word organic than there are decent ways to prepare tofu. But the USDA has stepped in with a tough-minded new proposal for a national organic-food standard. Besides banning hormones, pesticides and antibiotics, the guideline would prohibit food irradiation, genetically engineered ingredients and the use of sewage sludge for fertilizer in organic foods. A formal ruling is expected to take effect by year's end.

BRAINY BABIES Here's a novel idea for raising SAT scores. Researchers find that adding two essential fatty acids--docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic (AA)--to baby formula can significantly boost an infant's intelligence as measured by the Bayley Scale of Infant Development. Both DHA and AA are believed to play a role in the development of the nervous system and are naturally present in mother's milk. They are routinely added to formula in Europe and Asia, but not in the U.S. At least not yet.

BAD NEWS

ALPHA TROUBLE A massive trial on 42,500 patients with high blood pressure was abruptly interrupted last week when researchers realized that the hypertension drug Cardura--one of the so-called alpha blockers--was linked to 25% more cardiovascular complications than diuretics, the decades-old alternative. Patients on Cardura were also twice as likely to be hospitalized for congestive heart failure. If you're one of the 1 million Americans who take an alpha blocker, ask your doctor about switching.

MAGNETIC CHARGE Though testimonials abound about the power of magnets to relieve pain, a small pilot study suggests that they may not relieve anything but your wallet. Patients wore either a real magnet or a fake--neither the subjects nor the researchers knew which--every other day for six hours. After a week, there was no statistically significant difference in pain or range of motion between the two groups. But don't demagnetize yet. Longer and larger studies are still needed.

--By Janice M. Horowitz

Sources: Good News--USDA; Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. Bad News--New England Journal of Medicine (3/9/00); Journal of the AMA (3/8/00)