Health Highlights: Jan. 6, 2009

Jan. 7 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

56 Substances That Interact With E.D. Drugs Listed

Certain anti-angina drugs, blood pressure medicines, grapefruit juice and the herbal supplement St. John's wort are among the substances that could negatively interact with popular erectile dysfunction (E.D.) drugs, the consumer group Public Citizen said Monday in releasing a list of 56 such substances.

The substances were analyzed when taken with the E.D. drugs Viagra, Cialis or Levitra, Public Citizen said in a news release. The substances are capable of causing either:

• A life-threatening drop in blood pressure,
• An overdose of the E.D. drugs because the other substances prevent the body from ridding itself of the E.D. drugs,
• Or reducing the effectiveness of the E.D. drugs by speeding up the body's metabolism.

E.D. drugs cause the blood vessels to dilate, and this process can be magnified when taken with blood pressure medicines such as Flomax or Cardura. Men who take hypertension medicines should avoid the E.D. drugs, the consumer group said.

The complete list of substances is available at Public Citizen's worstpills.org Web site.

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Health Clubs Roll Out Welcome Mats

Gym memberships in the United States were down 3 percent in 2007, due to the sagging economy, according to the Los Angeles Times. But the good news -- it's getting cheaper to keep New Year's resolutions to get into shape.

The economic downturn has would-be exercisers cutting back on extra costs, fitness centers, health clubs and gyms across the country. So the facilities are offering an array of reduced-price deals for new, current and former members looking to tone up, the newspaper reported.

Bally Total Fitness, for example, is offering a free guest pass for two weeks, while Gold's Gym is offering free enrollment. The Times said that even specialty outfit L.A. Boxing is trying to punch-in new members with a 30-day money-back guarantee.