I'll drink to that!

Last week i was talking to my brother who had been sick for almost three weeks. Towards the end of the conversation, i said, "Man, you just need to drink more alcohol!" We both laughed, but i was somewhat serious (of course, humor is humor because of the element of truth within). He does drink, in moderation of course. Yet, i'm beginning to wonder...Do we drink enough? I mean that in all seriousness. There are WEEKS that go by when i don't have a drop, sure we keep it handy and break a bottle of vino open when friends come for dinner or what have you. But daily, measured doses of wine, beer, or the beautiful nectar of the Bacchus...single malt.

I am a HUGE proponent of the health benefits of daily, MODERATED consumption of alcohol. Telling people for years that a good dark beer...(ahhhhh Beamish!) has as many antioxidants in it as any red wine, which has been long proven to have many desirable health benefits for the circadian partaker.

This morning i open my email INBOX and what to my wandering eyes should appear? But TWO links from two different friends of the SAME article in Yahoo news. I checked the history of the emails and they hadn't sent it to each other and then FW'ed it on to me, but sent it to me independently. So, i concluded, this must be something VERY important! Here's the ARTICLE. It's a short, very informative read. Which prompted me to do a little more research, so i performed a couple Googles and had hours of reading! But i'll only include one more article for your benefit and hopefully it will stimulate you to do your own further research on the healthy benefits of daily moderated alcohol intake.

This is an excerpt taken from a "report on the health and preventative benefits of Grape Seed Extract"

Since much of the content below is from medical journals, which can be tedious reading for most of us, I'd like to summarize the benefits of grape seed extract (GSE) here. The benefits of GSE can be summarized in five different categories:

The first category is protection against pollution and environmental toxins. As nature's most potent antioxidant, GSE helps to reduce and prevent free radical damage. It also reduces the rate of aging and wrinkling of the skin, and reduces the risk of cancer.

The second category involves age-related illnesses. GSE improves joint flexibility and prostate function, reduces mental aging and enhances energy.

Thirdly, GSE benefits auto immune diseases by enhancing the immune system, reducing inflammation, helping to control allergic responses and balancing the breakdown of proteins.

Fourth, GSE benefits nutritional deficiencies by reducing fatigue, improving visual acuity, reducing the frequency and severity of colds and enhancing the benefits of vitamins.

Finally, probably the most significant benefit of GSE is its protection against cardiovascular disease. GSE not only reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, but also helps improve peripheral and central circulation, reduces varicose veins, repairs artery and vascular lining and aids in resistance to bruising.


If i was to tell you that since you are somewhat overweight (as i am) and some daily excersize (with an elevated heart rate from 20-40 minutes) would certainly help you feel better and increase your survival rate on this planet, you would have no problems with that wholeheartedly agreeing with my statement. Yet, if i followed the excersize regimen with, "You know...you should also have a glass of Shiraz (Syrah for you purists), or two, with your meal every evening." What would your reaction be to that? OK, i know some of you people are going to pull out the..."Well, i don't really like wine." Please, you get the point. If you do any research AT ALL, you'll see over and over that the Western European diet if LADEN in fat and cholesterol and all the "bad things" the "dieticians" here scream about. Yet, their general longevity rate is still beyond the typical Americans. Why is that? Because alcohol is not the Devil there. The Prohibitionists, long dead, are still killing people by the millions.


Thus endeth the lesson.