Smart Ways to Stay Well

Medical Test O’s

Ovarian cancer is scary, but for women with no special risk factors, screening may do more harm than good. In a recent study, those who had annual transvaginal ultrasounds and testing for the protein CA-125 were no less likely to die from the cancer than women not offered the tests. But the screened women did undergo many unneeded procedures. Out of 39,105 patients, there were 3,285 false positives, resulting in 1,080 surgeries (163 women had at least one serious complication). You shouldn’t ignore symptoms like bloating, but don’t let fear guide screening decisions, says study leader.

Good to Know

The largest, most recent study on cell phone safety (3.21 million adults followed for 18 years) found no overall link between long-term use and brain or nervous system tumors.

Winter Cold, Meet Your Match

While a recent roundup of more than 30 research studies concluded that taking vitamin C supplements doesn’t decrease the number of colds people are hit with, a new study from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that getting the nutrient from food helps a lot: Women whose diets included more than 200 mg of vitamin C per day had a 49% lower chance of coming down with a cold or the flu than those who consumed less than 100 mg. reaching the virus-fighting level is as easy as having a smoothie made with 1 cup of frozen strawberries for breakfast (61 mg), three red pepper rings in a lunchtime turkey wrap (38 mg), and a cup of cooked broccoli at dinner (101 mg).

Better Family Breakfasts, But … All of General Mills’ cereals – which include children’s favorites like Lucky Charms and Trix – now contain more whole grain than any other ingredient. While they still have some refined grains (rather than being 100% whole grain), it’s a step in the more nutritious direction. Speaking of which: Now that the manufacturer has upped the whole grains, could it lower the sugar? These cereals, like so many other kids’ standbys, still don’t get a “top of the morning” on that score.