Not too long ago I started to become a bit more conscious of my diet. I felt that just relying on my 5-a-day was probably not the best course of action and so I set about finding new foods and drinks that would help to improve my health. Whilst souring various books and websites, I stumbled across an article about a study by David Sinclair of the Harvard Medical School. This was a particularly exciting study as it was about the benefits of red wine. The results were very surprising. Sinclair says he usually focuses on ameliorating one disease at the time. As I don’t speak Harvard I had to look this up – but basically instead of fighting just one disease, the study showed that red wine could boost your chances of a healthy life over a wide area. But it has one drawback, which reminded me of an old joke. I’ll tell you that later. Now let’s have a look at the study. I have no doubt that the team at Harvard is at the forefront in their field but if, like me, you stumbled over the word ‘ameliorating’ then we will put the report in a simple, ordinary Joe speak. Red wine is red because they use the skins of red grapes. Red grape skins happened to contain something called Resveratrol. It has been proven that Resveratrol gives stronger bones, healthier hearts, fewer cataracts and better balance and co-ordination. However, you may find that drinking two bottles of red wine may not help your balance and co-ordination – so it must be taken in moderation I’m afraid! A glass (or two!) of red wine should make us healthier, then. In terms of easy diets to follow, this one has to be the best, right? Unfortunately, like all good things there is a downside. Whilst the tests show that red wine will make you healthier, it will not make you live longer. So far the study had been on mice and not humans, after all the Harvard team is probably Ivy League not Igor league – let’s leave the human experiments to mad scientists in Gothic castles. However, the evidence is compelling. You may not live longer but your life will be healthier, which reminds me again of that joke. A man is told by his doctor that he has only 6 months to live. The man pleads with him asking is there anything he can do about it? The doctor replies “Give up alcohol, sex, tobacco, meat, caffeine, TV and any form of excitement.” The man asks, “Will this make me live longer?” “No, it will just make you think you have lived longer.” The joke may not have raised a smile but it does raise a serious question – quality or quantity. We all want a long life but would we swap our human life for, say a long life but in a unthinking life form? – a tree for example. I guess not many would. What I’m trying to say is that Less is More. This does not mean that we advocate a short life filled only with pleasure and fueled with drink and drugs like some tragic rock star. No, rather we believe that less effort can sometimes produce greater results. Those Harvard guys maybe on to something, then. A glass of red wine a day will make us healthier. Now that’s what I call dieting for men! Lol (Laurence) Cohen is the founder and guiding light of the Picture of Health Clubs. His dedication to change his life for the better, combined with a study of the human physiology and stretching, have made him perfectly placed to promote the Picture of Health Clubs message to unwind body and mind. For more easy diets to follow, please visit thePicture of Health Clubs blog. Or, check out the book here
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