Your Health

By Janice M. Horowitz

GOOD NEWS

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU Nobody is saying drinking beer will cure what ails you, but surprisingly, researchers have discovered that the hops in beer contain potent antioxidants known as flavonoids. These free-radical fighters were already known to be present in red wine, but it seems beer might be an even better source. Alas, achieving maximum health benefits would require a bit more chugging than most folks would like--up to hundreds of pints daily. The solution? Researchers hope ultimately to capture the brew's benefits in a pill.

GLOWING GRAY MATTER Having the Alzheimer's gene takes its toll--even when the memory is still intact. A special MRI shows that asymptomatic folks who are at genetic risk for Alzheimer's work harder to answer easy mental tests than other people. How can doctors tell? On the MRI, the area of the brain responsible for thinking lights up more than other areas. The tool may one day be used as a kind of mental stress test to detect Alzheimer's earlier, much as a treadmill tests for heart disease today.

BAD NEWS

THE MISSING WINK Men, feeling tired all the time? A report shows that the amount of time guys spend in deep sleep declines with age, so that by 50--much younger than expected--some men spend no time at all in slow-wave sleep, the most restful stage. Less restful sleep may lead to that other indignity of aging: the middle-age paunch. That's because the body needs slow-wave sleep in order to produce a growth hormone linked to lean tissue. That's enough to keep a guy awake at night.

COLA CRAZY Though the soft-drink industry pooh-poohs the findings, a small study shows most cola drinkers can't taste the difference between caffeinated and caffeine-free products. Why care? Cola makers have contended they add caffeine to impart a bitter but pleasing flavor. The study's authors claim they do so to get cola fans hooked.

--By Janice M. Horowitz

Sources--Good News: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (9/00); New England Journal of Medicine (8/17/00). Bad News: Journal of the American Medical Association (8/16/00); Archives of Family Medicine (8/00)