Your Health: Sep. 20, 1999

GOOD NEWS

THE GREAT GRAPE There’s little dispute that red wine can help keep a heart healthy. Now it’s increasingly clear that grape juice may do the trick too. Purple grape juice–not the white kind–seems to offset damaging effects of LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol and keep blood vessels elastic in adults who drink about 12 oz. a day. The fruit juice contains the same beneficial flavonoids–aromatic micronutrients–found in red wine.

GET MOVING Here’s yet another reason to exercise. A report on 60,000 women shows that exercise can help maintain gallbladder health. Engaging in moderate activity at least two hours a week–walking, dancing or aerobics–can cut the odds of developing painful gallstones by a third.

BAD NEWS

HEADS UP! Several reports warn that concussions from sports are far more prevalent than once thought. About 63,000 occur annually among U.S. high school students, mostly during football games. And given the number of headers in soccer, it’s no surprise that Dutch researchers report that 50% of all soccer players suffer concussions. What’s more, a U.S. study of college football players found that two or more concussions can impair intellectual performance. Tip to parents and coaches: not only blackouts but also dizziness and confusion are signs of a concussion.

AIR RAID Mosquitoes carrying St. Louis encephalitis besieged New York City last week, infecting up to 60 people and causing three deaths. What’s puzzling–and frightening–is how the mosquito-borne virus got to Gotham; until now, it’s been found mostly in the South and West. To battle the bugs, New York has been aerial-spraying malathion, using bug repellent and keeping windows shut.

–By Janice M. Horowitz

Sources–Good News: Circulation (9/7/99), New England Journal of Medicine (9/9/99); Bad News: Journal of the American Medical Association (7/8/99), New York City dept. of health