GOOD NEWS

Lower cholesterol

Grapefruit, especially the deep red variety, can help reduce cholesterol in people. The researchers tested 57 patients who had undergone coronary bypass surgery and had found that Zocor, or simvastatin, was ineffective. They divided them randomly into three groups. Each group consumed the same diet, except that one ate red grapefruits daily, the second ate blond grapefruits, and the third ate no grapefruits. After one month, antioxidant activity in both blond and red groups was increased compared with the group that ate no grapefruit. But the group that ate red grapefruit every day also had significantly decreased blood levels of triglycerides. The findings will be published in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.

Baby protectors

Two additional months of full breast-feeding may make a big difference in the number of upper respiratory infections a child suffers. A study published in Pediatrics suggests that babies whose mothers stopped breast-feeding them between the ages of four and six months had a risk of recurrent middle ear infections. The longer the duration of breast-feeding, the greater the protection, and the protective effect endured until the children were two. The effect was independent of other facts that are known to be associated with respiratory disease.

BAD NEWS

Coffee trouble

A genetic mutation that slows the rate that the body metabolises caffeine increases individuals’ risk of having a heart attack if they drink too much coffee, investigators report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Caffeine is metabolised primarily in the liver by the enzyme cytochrome. Mutation in the gene that codes for this enzyme alters the rate of caffeine metabolism. Results of the research conducted shows that only carriers of the gene mutation for slow caffeine metabolism were at increased risk of heart attack associated with drinking coffee.

Peanut allergy

People with peanut allergies should be careful about kissing partners who have eaten peanuts or peanut butter, according to a new study. The findings, presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s annual meeting in Miami Beach, involved 10 people and found that the peanut allergen was detectable in a majority of subjects after eating, but left the saliva after several hours.