Liquor and Longevity
I may live forever.
That’s the cheerfully ambivalent conclusion I’ve reached after reading the latest article on wine and health. I get those “Wine and Healthy Living” tips sent to my inbox all the time, and I smile as I consume my chosen fruit o’ the vine with dinner. “Wine is good for you! It’s good for your heart!” I already knew that, of course, but these scientists mean “heart” in a more literal way – as in unclogged arteries. A small portion of wine every day has potential heart benefits. It may even help with dementia, diabetes and recovery from a stroke.
What a deal, eh? Drink wine, get healthier.
Mind you, I’m always a wee bit skeptical of these studies. At the same time, I thoroughly enjoy learning of them. And I’ve just learned of my favorite study yet, published in the European Heart Journal (and, not surprisingly, the work of Danish researchers. Oh how I love Denmark, that thoroughly progressive bastion of civilization!).
It appears, contrary to my youthful, priggish belief, that exercise and alcohol DO mix. The normal prescription for good health -- eating right and exercising regularly -- is augmented by adding a splash of alcohol to one’s regimen.
Seriously. Alcohol and exercise both help increase HDL, the “good” cholesterol that assists in ridding the blood vessels of fatty deposits. Practiced together, exercise and drinking alcohol compound the health benefits. To sum up, moderate drinkers of the slacker variety get some health benefits, as do non-drinking exercisers. You’re at the highest risk for heart disease if you’re a teetotaling sloth. . . . but if you’re smart enough to drink in moderation AND work out, your risk of heart disease is cut in half. Also you’ll look better and people will like you more.
Start your road to optimal health at the trailhead marked “Promising Reds.” Begin with the 2005 Seghesio Sangiovese, a velvety rich bottling that puts other Sangioveses to shame (or at least makes them taste thin and overly austere by contrast). At Cellar Rat for $25, which is about what Seghesio will charge you at the winery, but without the shipping charges.
The Seghesio Rockpile Zinfandel 2005 is delicious as well, but only available to the select few who receive regular shipments from this peerless Zinmaker. And it’s more like $36. Just grab the Sonoma bluecap Zin, Seghesio’s cheapie wine, whenever you see it. $16 to $20, and commonly listed on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the Year. The 2006, which I had recently at Pot Pie, was at least as good as the much-praised 2005.
After several nights of that, you might try improving your odds of good health with a sampling of the Villa Antinori Toscana 2005, currently on the shelves at Costco for about $17 -- and a real deal at Garozzo’s at $30. Costco also has the always-reliable Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva, around $14.
A perfectly lovely way to improve one’s health in the depths of a Kansas City winter is to pull out one of the last, rare ’97 Tomassi Ripassos; take it over to a friend’s house; and have it with lasagna, crusty bread with olive tapenade, and Haagen –Dazs low-fat berry yogurt. Screw the snow!
Yep, I may live forever, sipping and running, lifting weights and tippling, hefting cats and enjoying a judicious glass of vino. Given that Sylvester Stallone just made another Rambo movie at 61 (20 years after the last Rambo escapade), I gotta figure the buffed-up actor for a wine drinker.
Men, of course, are advised to limit their alcohol intake to two drinks a day. Women (damn the unfairness of it all!) should partake of only one smallish glass. All the more reason to make it a very GOOD glass. Because life really IS too short.
That’s the cheerfully ambivalent conclusion I’ve reached after reading the latest article on wine and health. I get those “Wine and Healthy Living” tips sent to my inbox all the time, and I smile as I consume my chosen fruit o’ the vine with dinner. “Wine is good for you! It’s good for your heart!” I already knew that, of course, but these scientists mean “heart” in a more literal way – as in unclogged arteries. A small portion of wine every day has potential heart benefits. It may even help with dementia, diabetes and recovery from a stroke.
What a deal, eh? Drink wine, get healthier.
Mind you, I’m always a wee bit skeptical of these studies. At the same time, I thoroughly enjoy learning of them. And I’ve just learned of my favorite study yet, published in the European Heart Journal (and, not surprisingly, the work of Danish researchers. Oh how I love Denmark, that thoroughly progressive bastion of civilization!).
It appears, contrary to my youthful, priggish belief, that exercise and alcohol DO mix. The normal prescription for good health -- eating right and exercising regularly -- is augmented by adding a splash of alcohol to one’s regimen.
Seriously. Alcohol and exercise both help increase HDL, the “good” cholesterol that assists in ridding the blood vessels of fatty deposits. Practiced together, exercise and drinking alcohol compound the health benefits. To sum up, moderate drinkers of the slacker variety get some health benefits, as do non-drinking exercisers. You’re at the highest risk for heart disease if you’re a teetotaling sloth. . . . but if you’re smart enough to drink in moderation AND work out, your risk of heart disease is cut in half. Also you’ll look better and people will like you more.
Start your road to optimal health at the trailhead marked “Promising Reds.” Begin with the 2005 Seghesio Sangiovese, a velvety rich bottling that puts other Sangioveses to shame (or at least makes them taste thin and overly austere by contrast). At Cellar Rat for $25, which is about what Seghesio will charge you at the winery, but without the shipping charges.
The Seghesio Rockpile Zinfandel 2005 is delicious as well, but only available to the select few who receive regular shipments from this peerless Zinmaker. And it’s more like $36. Just grab the Sonoma bluecap Zin, Seghesio’s cheapie wine, whenever you see it. $16 to $20, and commonly listed on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the Year. The 2006, which I had recently at Pot Pie, was at least as good as the much-praised 2005.
After several nights of that, you might try improving your odds of good health with a sampling of the Villa Antinori Toscana 2005, currently on the shelves at Costco for about $17 -- and a real deal at Garozzo’s at $30. Costco also has the always-reliable Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva, around $14.
A perfectly lovely way to improve one’s health in the depths of a Kansas City winter is to pull out one of the last, rare ’97 Tomassi Ripassos; take it over to a friend’s house; and have it with lasagna, crusty bread with olive tapenade, and Haagen –Dazs low-fat berry yogurt. Screw the snow!
Yep, I may live forever, sipping and running, lifting weights and tippling, hefting cats and enjoying a judicious glass of vino. Given that Sylvester Stallone just made another Rambo movie at 61 (20 years after the last Rambo escapade), I gotta figure the buffed-up actor for a wine drinker.
Men, of course, are advised to limit their alcohol intake to two drinks a day. Women (damn the unfairness of it all!) should partake of only one smallish glass. All the more reason to make it a very GOOD glass. Because life really IS too short.
posted by Winetaster | 1:16 PM
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