In the process of almost casually glancing at the status of the growing legions of health food fans, I stumbled upon a one-page article in the April 8th issue of TIME magazine entitled, "The Curious Case of Kava." The first paragraph states that "In sleepless, stress-rattled America, consumers spend more than $50 million on kava �kava drinks, kava drops, kava capsules, kava candy and kava tea." Suddenly, the article points out, users of the popular leaf do not feel so comfortable.

"Reports of liver damage have been piling up in Europe and the U.S.�including the case of a previously healthy 45-year-old American woman who took kava and suddenly needed a liver transplant."

Sales of the herb have been halted in France and Switzerland and suspended in Britain, while Germany plans to require prescriptions.

Meanwhile, on the positive side of our palates, the February 1st issue of THE JEWISH PRESS contains a short article which begins with the following bold challenge: "Want to improve your health? Lower your cholesterol and reduce your blood pressure? Reduce your risk of heart disease and certain nutrition-related cancers? Then add more olive oil to your diet." Olive oil, of course, is rich in potent antioxidants which are known to combat colon, breast and prostate cancer, coronary heart disease and aging. Some claims have been made that it decreases the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. The article describes people from the Mediterranean region as "some of the healthiest in the world. Their life expectancy is unusually high, while their rates of chronic heart disease and other diet-related diseases are exceptionally low."

Back in March, 1987, U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT ran a half-page article entitled: "When being a vegetable doesn�t mean a thing," by Dr. Bernard Horn. He began by quoting a bulletin from the Center for Science in the Public Interest entitled: "Misleading 100 percent of the Time."

"Food producers," it said, "like Keebler and Nabisco use palm and coconut oil, then label their crackers �made with 100% vegetable oil." He points out that some cookies, such as Hydrox, contain palm oil, "one of the most harmful fats in the human diet." He singles out coconut, palm and perm-kernel oils as the most saturated fats on the market.

"Where beef tallow," he writes, "is only 52 percent saturated, coconut oil is 92 percent saturated. And studies have shown that the fatty acids in these three oils are an invitation to heart disease.

"More shocking," he concludes, "is the fact that all infant formulas prescribed and sold in this country�including the expensive predigested ones used for very sick babies�contains one or more of these very harmful fats. It is no wonder that hardening of the arteries and heart diseases are becoming more prevalent each year in younger and younger children."

SAVE THE CHILDREN!