Fertility drugs

Just thinking about a workout apparently can make you stronger.

That's the finding of researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, who tested whether an imaginary workout could build strength.

. "As reported in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, researchers divided 30 young adults into three groups. One imagined using the little finger muscle, one imagined using the elbow muscle, and the third did no imaginary exercises. The "mental workouts" lasted 15 minutes a day, five days a week for 12 days.

‘Turns out pinky and elbow strength did increase, by 35 percent and 13 percent respectively.

• -Researchers recorded signals in the brain during the exercises,  which suggests strength gain came from improvements in the brain's ; ability to signal muscle.

A few alcoholic drinks a day might reduce the risk of dementia,' according to a Dutch study in the medical journal The Lancet.

Some 8,000 people older than 54 were followed for several years. During this period, 197 people developed dementia, mostly from Alzheimer'sdisease.

After adjusting for age, smoking and other factors, researchers found that drinking one to three alcoholic beverages daily was associated with a 42 peri cent lower dementia risk.; The type of alcohol didn't matter.

Women who've taken fertility drugs can breathe a sigh of relief; the largest study on the topic to date found no link between the drugs and ovarian cancer. :.

" The research, which appeared in the American Journal of Epidemiology, helps put to rest questions surrounding the safety of such drugs.

The study of nearly 13,000 women did, however, unearth _ some troubling hews for women with fertility woes. Those who spent more than five years trying to con-. ceive-—regardless of whether they were taking fertility drugs—had a 2-.-7-times higher risk for ovarian cancer than those who took less than a year to get pregnant.

Oh, the irony. Not only is this American Heart Month. It's also National; SnackFood Month. Keeping all of that in mind, : Shap e m agazine n arrowed down the best and worst in the snack food aisle.

i ..A few examples: A single-serving package of Mallomars contains a respectable 2.5 grams of fat and 60 calories. A comparable portion of; Chips Ahoy weighs in at 8 grams of fat and 160 calories.

 DoritosSD's crunched the competition. ^Al-ounce fserving \vill ^costyou 130 M calories and 5 grams of fat. Lay's Sour Gream & Onion Potato Chips have just 30 more calories, but more than twice as much fat, totaling 11 grams.