Your Health: Jul. 2, 2001

GOOD NEWS

FORTIFYING RESULTS Just two years after folic acid, a B vitamin, was added to many grain products in the U.S., certain birth defects of the brain and spine are down 19%. Enriched food provides about a quarter of the 400 micrograms a day that experts say women of childbearing age need. The rest can come from supplements, hyperfortified cereals and leafy green vegetables.

MELLOW YELLOW Long thought to help prevent blindness, a golden-hued antioxidant called lutein may also be good for the heart. In a study of 480 healthy men and women, those whose blood contained high levels of the pigment, found in dark green leafy vegetables, were less likely to develop clogged arteries, which often trigger heart attacks and strokes.

BAD NEWS

BUDGET BLOWOUT The tab for treating and preventing HIV/AIDS in the world's poorest countries could run as high as $9.2 billion a year, according to the latest U.N. figures. Current expenditure? About $1.8 billion. At least $4 billion is needed in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 20% of the adult population is infected.

COFFEE CONFUSION In a 10-year study of more than 61,000 women, Swedish researchers concluded that coffee does not protect against colorectal cancer. (Nor does it promote the condition.) Earlier, smaller studies, which suggested that subjects who drank four or more cups a day reduced their risk by up to 24%, may have been "premature."

--By Amanda Bower

Sources: Good News--Journal of the A.M.A. (6/20/01); Circulation (6/19/01). Bad News--Science (6/22/01); Gut (7/01)