Health & Science

Wine, the antidote to a grilled steak

A glass or two of red wine appears to promote longevity, and new research reveals why. When the stomach and intestines digest the fat in meats such as beef and turkey, toxic chemicals are released that can cause cancer, inflammation, and heart disease. But when you drink red wine with your dinner, those chemicals are neutralized by antioxidants called polyphenols. In a study on rats, scientists at Hebrew University in Jerusalem fed some of the animals ground meat, and fed others the same meat infused with red-wine extract. Subsequent tests revealed that the wine-dosed rats had lower levels of the fat-derived toxins. “Diets high in fat and red meat are contributory risk factors,” the study’s authors write in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. But if you do indulge in a grilled porterhouse now and then, you can reduce the risk with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. The study helps to explain the so-called French paradox—the relatively low heart-disease rate among wine-drinking Frenchmen and -women, despite diets high in cheese, butter, meat, and other forms of fat.

Rx for men: More sex

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

If men want to keep having sex into old age, their best bet is to have lots of sex right now, says a new study. Finnish researchers found that the more sex men have in middle age, the more likely they are to keep their erectile function as they get older. Men who don’t have intercourse at least once a week are four times as likely to suffer from ED (erectile dysfunction) than guys who get it on three times a week. Researcher Juha Koskimaki tells CBSnews.com that the male reproductive system is similar to a muscle or to aerobic capacity: If you don’t use it, you’re bound to lose it. “Regular sexual activity preserves potency in a similar fashion as physical exercise maintains functional capacity,’’ he says.

Love really is blind

When you’re in love, you walk around in a haze, blind to other potential mates, says a new study. In fact, for people who are already settled in a loving relationship, an attractive member of the opposite sex is repellant, not alluring. Researchers at Florida State University found that while single people were naturally attentive at the sight of an attractive face, people in loving relationships became uncomfortable and looked away. This reflex, which happens before the conscious brain can process an image, is probably an evolutionary adaptation that promotes pair bonding, psychologist Joseph Forgas tells New Scientist. “What these studies suggest is that romantic love serves a very important function, tempering our natural desire to pay attention to, and to continuously seek out, the best available mate.”

Feeling anxious all the time

Most people who suffer a bout of depression eventually recover and move on with their lives. But anxiety is very different, a new study of ­­­­­rhesus monkeys suggests. Monkeys with anxiety or severe shyness, researchers found, don’t have cycles during which they’re less anxious and more anxious. Instead, their hypervigilance and constant worrying appears to be more of a personality trait than a transient disorder. Researchers found that some of the monkeys they studied routinely produced more stress hormones than the other monkeys, even when they were in safe, nonthreatening situations. Brain scans revealed an unusual level of activity in the amygdala, the brain region that regulates emotion and reactions to stress triggers. “The brain machinery underlying the stress response seems to be always on in these individuals, even in situations that others perceive as safe and secure,’’ Dr. Ned Kalin tells The Washington Post. Because rhesus monkeys are so genetically similar to humans, researchers believe that some people are biologically predisposed to be anxious.

The heat waves of tomorrow

Think this summer’s been sweltering? Your grandchildren will scoff at this century’s idea of “hot.” In the warmest months of the year 2100, a new computer study of climate changes predicts, a 100-degree day will be a relief. The current record temperatures for Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Kansas City are 105 degrees, 112 degrees, and 109 degrees, respectively. In a few decades, says study author Andreas Sterl, such temperatures will seem “lovely and cool.’’ During 22nd-century heat waves, which will last longer than they do today, temperatures in the same three cities will skyrocket to 110 degrees, 117 degrees, and 116 degrees. Cities closer to the equator will fare even worse: Delhi should see 120 degrees, and Baghdad will reach 122 degrees. Such temperatures can be very dangerous; in 1995, when Chicago’s temperature shot up to 106 degrees, 600 people perished. The death tolls from heat waves could be significantly higher in the years ahead, environmental health expert Dr. Jonathan Patz tells the Associated Press. “Extreme temperature puts a huge demand on the body, especially anyone with heart problems. The elderly are the most vulnerable because they don’t sense temperature as well.’’