Your Health

Good News
APPLE A DAY No one would confuse a glass of apple juice with Pinot Noir, but apple growers would have you believe they're the same, at least in one respect: their ability to reduce the risk of heart disease. A study funded by the apple industry suggests that 12 oz. of apple juice a day may help delay the formation of artery-clogging plaque. Reason: apple juice, like wine, is packed with powerful antioxidants known as flavonoids. The similarities stop there.

THE RAP ON PAP Women whose Pap smears aren't quite normal, but not abnormal either, are usually advised to do one of two things: get a follow-up Pap in six months or undergo an expensive procedure called a colposcopy, in which the cervix is closely examined and usually biopsied. Now researchers report on a third alternative. In a major study, they found that testing for the human papilloma virus in women with equivocal Paps quickly and accurately identifies which women are most likely to have precancerous or cancerous lesions upon biopsy, sparing half of them the need to undergo one.

THE SLOW BURN By now most of us have heard that moderate alcohol consumption--about a drink a day--can lower the risk of heart disease. Now researchers say the risk is reduced even further in men who carry a gene that slows the rate at which alcohol is metabolized. The longer alcohol stays in the bloodstream, the more it can exert such beneficial effects as raising levels of good, HDL cholesterol. Who has the gene? Mostly white guys; 1 in 6 is thought to carry it.

Bad News
SODDEN CYCLISTS Drinking and driving is dangerous enough, but a new study shows that 1 out of 3 fatally injured bicyclists had an elevated blood alcohol level. The average level was 0.18 g/dl, twice the legal limit for drivers in most states. And though inebriated riders need the most protection, only 5% of them bother to wear a helmet. What's next, designated cyclists?

Sources: Good News--Journal of Medicinal Food (winter); Journal of National Cancer Institute (2/21); New England Journal of Medicine (2/22). Bad News--JAMA (2/21)