Illustration by Ingo Fast
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Health Research
By Melissa Gotthardt, January & February 2007
Keep up with the latest studies
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Future jock Exercise won’t just make you buff now—it may keep you alive later. Italians in their 70s and 80s who’d engaged in vigorous activity earlier in life scored better on fitness tests than those who had not been as active, a National Institute on Aging study shows. And poor test scores translated to an 80 percent higher risk of death. Says study author Kushang Patel, Ph.D., the years from 40 to 60 are critical for preparing to fight chronic disease.
Wake-up call Careful with those natural sleep remedies: a watchdog facility tested 16 supplements containing the herbal sleep aid valerian, and most failed. ConsumerLab.com found that ten of the aids tested had low potency or contamination. Vitamin World Valerian Root and Pharmanex NightTime Formula both passed the tests.
Extra credit Taking aspirin, ibuprofen, or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) daily could prevent or delay prostate enlargement, according to a Mayo Clinic study. Men on such drugs—even low-dose aspirin for heart protection—had a lower risk of the swelling known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, and its urinary symptoms. But the drugs are not advised for prostate protection alone.
Sweet relief The sugar substitute aspartame (NutraSweet) is in everything from cough syrup to soda, but if you were concerned about rumors that it causes cancer, you can relax. The large-scale NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study found that those who drink beverages with aspartame have no greater risk of brain cancer, lymphoma, or leukemia than those who do not.
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