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Carvings June 15, 2025

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In the news

Wither goest Ozempic?

            Ozempic and Wegovy, made by the same company, are the trade names of the GLP-1 drugs known as semaglutides. Although they are chemically identical, the dosage, the packaging and their intended uses are different. Such is the way of marketing!

            These medications are intended to improve the health of obese, diabetic persons. They have several actions, including decreasing the appetite, providing a feeling of fullness, slowing digestion, decreasing glucose production in the liver and increasing the release of insulin. Ozempic is intended to slow the progress of type 2 diabetes while Wegovy is designed to aid in weight management, i.e., weight loss. 

            In clinical trials they were helpful in managing both problems, although the regimen used also included reducing calories and increasing physical activity, fundamental measures in any weight loss program.

            Patients taking Wegovy lost 15 percent of their body weight in a 16-month trial period. Those taking Ozempic lost 7 percent. If we can assume that the average weight of the participants was approximately 225 pounds, both groups would still have been overweight or obese at the end of the trial. To be sure, even such modest weight loss is beneficial in managing type 2 diabetes and in lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, among study subjects, those taking these drugs showed a significant decrease in cardiovascular disease, and in slowing of the progression of kidney disease.

            Is this the best solution to the national epidemics of obesity (42 percent) and type 2 diabetes (12 percent). Consider the following challenges.

            The cost of Ozempic is nearly $1000 per month; Wegovy costs about $1350. Few patients will pay that much because of insurance, or pricing plans offered by the company.

            This is a weekly injection, not a pill. Side effects are not common, most being in the range of ten percent or less, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation. Infrequent but serious side effects include inflammation of the pancreas and gallbladder; allergies, temporary hair loss, vision problems and mood changes have been reported.

            Losing weight is frustratingly difficult, as most overweight persons are aware. Drugs are convenient; lifestyle changes are not. Some of the current generation of weight-challenged persons may find some success with prescription drugs. The long-term hope is that coming generations will be encouraged to avoid excess weight gain in the first place, but that will probably require draconian governmental intervention. The combined cost of obesity and diabetes is more than a half-trillion dollars annually. I’ll discuss what might be a real solution in a coming post.

Lifestyle

Preventing falls: things we overlook

            Falls, especially among the older generation, are a serious problem, often resulting in death. The frailty that accompanies aging is only part of the problem and one that can be postponed for decades if we are committed to a lifetime of regular, moderately intense physical activity. In addition, there are some steps, especially as we get older, that will lower our risk.

            How safe is your flooring? Secure or remove loose rugs.

            Some shoes don’t belong in your wardrobe. Get rid of those that are too slippery (smooth leather soles) or too clingy (crepe soles).

            Bare feet and socks increase the risk of falls.

            Improve lighting with night lights and lighting strips. They are cheap insurance.

            Move frequently used kitchen items to a lower shelf. And never stand on a chair!

            If you wear bifocals or transitional lenses you just might have to move more deliberately.

            Face it! You can’t hold your liquor like you did at 20. Adjust.

            On a new medication? Be extra careful. Some cause dizziness.

            It’s worth getting a consultation on fall prevention from an occupational therapist. Discuss this with your physician. Things like grab bars in the shower can be literal lifesavers. And they increase resale value!

Carvings June 1, 2025

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In the news

Kiddie canaries in the coal mine

            For those of you who have come to believe that vitamin D is my favorite vitamin, you are correct. Month after month, there is more data showing that this micronutrient has more functions within the body than had been thought only a few years ago. One reason for my constant referral to vitamin D in my blogs is that deficiency is a serious problem. This is highlighted by a study from the University of Florida.

          The crux of the article is that fractures in children who are deficient in vitamin D take much longer to heal. But there is another very serious implication that is not addressed by the authors of the article: those whose bone health is poor and who are significantly deficient in vitamin D as children face the strong likelihood that they will develop osteoporosis at a relatively young age.

          For several reasons, osteoporosis will be Third Epidemic of this century; obesity and type two diabetes are the first and second, respectively. Although figures vary depending on the demographic group and research population studied, approximately one-half of Americans are deficient in vitamin D. But there is more to bone health, including adequate amounts of omega-3 fats, vitamins A, C and K, and exercise. In regard to the last, physical activity continues to decline among youngsters, and the recent surge in electric bikes, scooters and skateboards can only make things worse.

          The Florida study attributes the slow healing of bone fractures in children to low levels of vitamin D. I believe that the problem is far more complex. A thorough analysis of these children’s lifestyle would probably uncover other nutritional deficiencies, and a lack of exercise as well.

Lifestyle

“I’m doing everything right! Why do I have osteoporosis?”

          I have heard this lament several times during my nearly twenty-years’ speaking on matters of health and fitness, mostly to senior organizations. The complaints have usually come from slender women who state that they exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, take vitamins regularly and ensure an adequate calcium intake, often with the help of a supplement.

          My answer is not a comforting one for them. After assuring them that they are now following the proper course to maintain good bone health, I point out that building a strong skeleton depends on regular, moderately intense physical activity during the “bone-building window” from ages roughly 5 to 25, and that they were probably not aware of that during those years. A good diet, as noted above, also matters, but the prime determinant of bone health is moderately intense exercise throughout life, even past retirement age.

          Approximately 20 percent of women over the age of fifty have osteoporosis, compared to 4 percent of men. That figure for men is misleading and it is going to rise significantly in the coming decades. Generally speaking, boys are physically more active during the critical bone-building window, and a man’s occupation involves greater physical activity – until recently. Today a man’s thumb is more likely to be injured by repetitive stress from using a keyboard than from pounding a hammer; construction workers’ cordless power tools have replaced manual screwdrivers, handsaws and drills. Modern males make little use of their muscles and they will pay the price when they reach middle age.

          Although it’s possible to regain some bone mass at any age, it takes more effort than most persons are aware. Persons of every age (nonagenarians included) should engage in resistance exercise (barbells, dumbbells, machines, elastic bands) at least three times weekly. The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is poor in bone-building nutrients. Those are the hard facts.

         

Carvings May 1, 2025

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Your brain on eggs. What does it mean for Alzheimer’s Disease?

            Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has become a severe burden in the U.S., both financially and emotionally. Six million Americans already suffer from the condition and it is projected to more than double by 2050. It is not only because our population is aging. In my opinion, our diet plays a major role in the development of this debilitating disease. 

            Caveat: this blog addresses only a single nutrient. Many other factors, nutritional, inflammatory, toxicological and social are part of the picture. However, the one discussed here is entirely under our control.

            According to the Framingham Study, a research program that was instituted more than 75 years ago by Harvard Medical School and that carries a stellar reputation in tracking the dietary and lifestyle habits of generations of participants, a low intake of dietary choline is associated with an increased risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease. It is one of many recent studies that have noted that inverse association. Further, it is becoming evident that the current DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) for choline “may not be optimal for proper brain health and cognition”. (Ref.: Velaquez R et al., Choline as a prevention for Alzheimer’s Disease, Aging 2020 Vol. 12, No 3, p. 2026-270).

            In July 2024 the Rush Memory and Aging Project, involving more than 1,000 subjects, reported that a modest intake of two eggs per week was associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, and at autopsy, AD patients with a higher egg intake showed fewer changes in the brain than are typical of that disease.

            Although choline is present in many common foods, especially poultry, fish, red meat, eggs, liver, cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, etc.), nuts and seeds, the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is lacking in almost all of these foods except for red meat. Taking a vitamin supplement won’t help; among several whose labels I examined, none lists choline in the list of ingredients. A solution appears to be the Mediterranean Diet, which includes the best sources of choline and many other nutrients.

            Eggs to the rescue! As noted in recent posts, eggs are among the healthiest foods and contain a generous amount of choline. Cholesterol is a non-issue. Eating two or three eggs every day will not raise your blood cholesterol by a single milligram, unless you eat them with “egg helpers” such as bacon, sausage, ham, hash browns, etc., all of which contain saturated fat, the real cholesterol-drivers. Eggs are excellent sources of protein and vitamins A, B complex, D and E, and several important but lesser-known nutrients.

            The recommendation of the month: Include a veggie omelet in your meal plan at least twice a week. Frozen mixed vegetables make it really easy. Be sure to add a tablespoon of olive oil to the mix. And leave those egg-helpers on the supermarket shelf!

Carvings April 17, 2025

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In the news

Synergistic supplements

            I have long argued that a high dose of a single supplement – vitamin, mineral or other – is not a solution to any health problem. Most if not all nutrients interact with each other like the instruments in a symphony orchestra and taking a large amount of any nutrient causes imbalance which can be harmful. On the other hand, we must ensure that our diet includes optimal amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

            Omega-3 fatty acids are absolutely essential for virtually every cell in the body. They are vital for normal development and function of the heart, brain, eye and skeleton. Numerous studies link omega-3 deficiency with behavior disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder, and other neuropsychiatric problems.

            Vitamin D also has numerous roles, especially in maintaining a vigorous immune system. The deficiency of this vitamin in childhood results in rickets, a softening of the bones, often accompanied by serious brain damage. It is one of the many nutrients that are essential in preventing osteoporosis in older persons.

            Both of these nutrients are lacking in most Americans. An astonishing 95 percent of children and more than 65 percent of adults have an inadequate dietary intake of omega-3s. More than half of adolescents and adults have inadequate levels of vitamin D, especially in the northern latitudes. These two nutrients together act in the synthesis of serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates executive function and social behavior.

            Psychiatric disorders in our young population have reached levels that threaten to overwhelm our healthcare system. Children’s hospitals throughout the country find themselves unable to cope with what is clearly an epidemic. Nutrition alone will not stem the tide but it clearly is one factor that is within our ability to improve. Perhaps we should start with some strategy to get our kids to bolster their diet with these synergistic supplements. 

Lifestyle

            We are about to see an assault on highly processed foods, which now account for 60 to 90 (!) percent of the Standard American Diet (SAD – a perfect acronym) There is more to this picture than the addition of dozens of chemicals that make non-nutritious foods so attractive and addictive. In the course of altering the basic ingredients, the manufacture of these products results in the loss of important vitamins, minerals and fiber. Sometimes these are added back in, of course. That may not be enough, as reported in data from the UK’s National Health Service, showing a surge in hospital admissions due to vitamin deficiencies.

            All three leading causes of death, heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes, are unequivocally associated with (a) a high intake of highly processed foods and (b) the lack of whole foods, such as whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Highly processed foods include our favorite processed meats: cold cuts, hot dogs, bacon and sausage. We might add a warning from a 2009 article in the British Journal of Psychiatry: Persons who ate whole foods had a 26% lower risk of depression; those who ate processed food had a 58% higher risk. (Akbaraly TN et al., Dietary pattern and depressive symptoms in middle age, Br J Psychiatry 2009 Nov;195(5):408-13)

Carvings April 1, 2025

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No April Fool: It’s time to put an end to nutritional pornography.

            In a few months we will reach the end of the first quarter of the 21st century with no end in sight of the three epidemics that threaten to overwhelm our health system and our economy: obesity, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. The first two were almost non-existent at the beginning of the preceding century. The obesity rate in 1900 was approximately 5 percent; it is now 42 percent. Diabetes was almost entirely type 1, the juvenile form, a totally different disease from type 2 diabetes. The latter now affects 12.2 percent of the general population, more than one-third of people over the age of 65 and increasing numbers of children below the age of 18, some as young as six years! Type 2 diabetes was so uncommon in the pre-World War One era that it wasn’t clearly distinguished from type 1 diabetes until the 1950s.

Osteoporosis, the Third Epidemic, is going to crash down on us with a vengeance in about 30 years, as today’s young people fail to build a strong skeleton during the bone-building window between ages five and twenty-five. They transport themselves on electric bikes, scooters and skateboards, and replace childhood sports and games with screen-watching, eliminating the muscle stresses that nature intended to form a strong skeleton.  

            Someone recently sent me an insightful post: “Ninety percent of today’s supermarket food didn’t exist a hundred years ago. Neither did ninety percent of today’s diseases. Think about that.”

            Government edicts will determine what supermarkets will offer us in the coming decade. Trans fats have already been outlawed. Food coloring restrictions are imminent; the sugar content of processed foods is probably next; saturated fat and salt mandates will reach us in a few short years. SNAP (welfare) recipients are not allowed to use those funds to purchase alcohol or tobacco. It’s likely that they will see junk food added to that list during the current administration. Legislation is pending now in Tennessee to disallow the purchase of candy and soft drinks with SNAP funds. Other states will follow suit, and so will the federal government.

Carvings March 15, 2025

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What’s all this about vitamin A and measles?

            The measles outbreak that began a few weeks ago is one of the largest in recent years, and so far it has claimed the lives of two persons, one a child. Neither victim had received the measles vaccine. Media stories about vitamin A are confusing, if not misleading, so let’s clarify things.

            Vitamin A is essential to maintain the integrity of the skin, eyes and immune system. Many common foods contain vitamin A or its precursor, beta-carotene. The former can be toxic when taken chronically in high doses but the latter almost never is.

            Before we had a measles vaccine in the mid-1960s, few children escaped this illness. About one child in a thousand died from the disease and about one in five hundred suffered from devastating inflammation of the brain. Approximately half of the children who were apparently spared such serious complications were found to have a low-grade inflammation of the brain that impaired their school performance for months, perhaps longer. Many also suffered from weakening of their immune system that left them open to other common infections, such as pneumonia. Thus, it was not as benign as we thought.

            There is another frightening complication of measles that most people are unaware of: subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, known as SSPE. It is now almost non-existent in this country as a result of widespread vaccination. SSPE may occur several years after a bout of measles and the incidence ranges from about one in 600 to one in 5,000 victims. Expect to see this devastating, always fatal inflammation of the brain in years to come if parents’ current refusal to immunize children continues,

            While vitamin A deficiency is quite uncommon in the United States the opposite is true in the developing world, and it is severe in some countries. It is not only a major, if not the leading cause of blindness in children in Africa, but it plays a leading role in measles mortality. In some developing countries the seriousness of measles is magnified by orders of magnitude. Whereas during my early practice years we lost one child out of a thousand, among vitamin A-deficient children in some parts of Africa the mortality rate is as high as 400 out of a thousand – a staggering forty percent! That number falls dramatically when children receive adequate amounts of vitamin A in their diet over the long term, before they are exposed to the measles virus.

            N.B.: There is more to the story. Vitamin A-deficient children are also lacking in other vitamins and minerals, and they are almost always severely deficient in protein, which is supremely important in maintaining the immune system.

            VITAMIN A DOES NOT PREVENT OR CURE MEASLES. However, the standard of care, even in the United States, is to give a child hospitalized with measles, usually because of the common complication of pneumonia, two doses of 200,000 units of vitamin A. Although chronic overdosing with vitamin A can cause severe problems, there is no risk in administering that amount in a hospital setting. An important caveat: a child who has or has been recently exposed to measles should not be given extra doses of the vitamin. There is no evidence that this will mitigate the seriousness of the disease or lead to a shorter course of the illness.

            There is no cure for measles but the usual two doses of the vaccine have an effective rate of 97 percent. Serious side effects of the vaccine are almost non-existent; the occasional high fever or rash may in fact indicate a vulnerability to the virus that in its wild form could cause death or brain damage.

Carvings March 1, 2025

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In the news

Measles redux

            Almost exactly one year ago (March 15th) I wrote about a measles outbreak in Florida. More than 90 percent of the victims had never received the measles vaccine. In the past few weeks we have seen an even larger outbreak involving nearly 150 children and adults – that number may have increased by the time this article has been posted – and one child has died. Again, 90 percent of the victims had not been vaccinated against measles, many of them belonging to a religious sect that eschews vaccines. What a terrible price to pay! The measles vaccine, part of the Measles-Mumps-Rubella triad, is effective in preventing the disease in 95 percent of recipients. Except for fever and sometimes a mild rash, the vaccine is almost entirely free of side effects, though there have been a few cases of severe complications.

            I’d like to repeat a comment that I have made before regarding those children who do have the aforementioned side effects. If a child experiences an illness from a severely weakened vaccine virus, he or she might well have been one of those unusually vulnerable children who died or suffered severe brain damage from the wild virus in the pre-vaccine era.

            Although measles has for decades been referred to as one of the “usual childhood diseases” it has other untoward effects. Besides causing mild inflammation of the brain in about one half of those who experience measles, thus impairing their school performance for months, nearly all victims will be found to have weakening of the immune system that lasts for two or three years. That means that they are more than ordinarily susceptible to other infections such as pneumonia.

            Measles is rampant in the developing world, where it is a major cause of blindness and death. It’s no coincidence that almost every outbreak in the United States has originated with someone who came from or recently traveled in another country.

Lifestyle

            It’s becoming evident that the Standard American Diet (SAD) is causing more damage to the nation’s health than just obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A few recent headlines make for interesting reading:

            Low vitamin D a contributor to mental disorders in children?

            Three vitamin deficiencies* linked to headaches.

            Vitamin B1 deficiency*: these are the symptoms.

            Dementia risk could increase with low levels of essential vitamin.

            Vitamin deficiencies* common among people with type 2 diabetes.

            16 signs you may have iron deficiency*

            This is only a small sample of the increasing number of reports in recent years that reveal the prevalence of vitamin “inadequacies” that lead to poor function without severe “deficiency” such as profound weakness and bleeding disorder of vitamin C deficiency (scurvy) or the debilitating (and permanent) brain and nerve damage of vitamin B12 deficiency known as pernicious anemia, or the tragic and irreversible mental deterioration that results from vitamin B1 deficiency. Pediatricians of a century ago dealt with rickets, the marked deficiency of vitamin D that produced not only weakened bones but brain damage and death. (* These are inadequacies, not deficiencies.)

            Nearly a quarter-century ago (!) the American Medical Association reversed its position and acknowledged that EVERYONE should take a multimineral/multivitamin every day. (Journal of the American Medical Association June 19, 2002, Vol. 287, No. 23, P. 3127) The national diet has only gotten worse since then.

            Eighty-two percent of Americans are obese or overweight; twelve percent have type 2 diabetes and twice that number have prediabetes; cancer and stroke are increasing dramatically in young adults.

            What will it take for all of us to take seriously Make America Healthy Again?

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The lesson: vitamin deficiencies are not common but vitamin inadequacies are. Even the American Medical Association, in a pair of landmark publications in 2002, (Journal of the American Medical Association June 19, 2002, Vol. 287, No. 23, P. 3127) urged that everyone should take a multivitamin/multimineral every day, a position completely opposite that of earlier recommendations and sadly still espoused by some physicians today.

Carvings February 15, 2025

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The flu season isn’t over yet.

            This week San Diego County lost a fourth teenager to influenza, a tragedy that illustrates three important facts about this disease. First, we are still in the middle of the influenza season. Second, unlike COVID, which rarely took the lives of persons below the age of nineteen (about 1,000 children in that age range died during the entire epidemic and most of those had an underlying health problem) influenza can be fatal in children. Third, those with underlying medical disorders such as heart or lung disease are particularly at risk.

            As most people are aware, the influenza vaccine has to be configured differently every year to accommodate the significant mutations that render previous years’ vaccines less protective. Even when the immunologists prognosticate correctly, most flu vaccines are fully protective only about half the time, sometimes much less so. What is important to consider, however, is that although the flu vaccine is not fully protective, it almost always prevents severe disease or the need for hospitalization. In an era when hospital-acquired infections take the lives of 75,000 to 100,000 Americans every year, that is an enormous advantage. Of note: the four teenagers who succumbed to influenza in San Diego had not been vaccinated.

            Complications associated with the influenza vaccine are tragic but they are extremely rare. The most common serious side effect is a type of paralysis that occurs once or twice in a million vaccine recipients but is almost always temporary, and only very rarely life-threatening.

            More than 100 San Diegans have died of influenza this season. Don’t add to that list by failing to get the influenza vaccine.

Lifestyle

(Decaf) coffee anyone?

            Year after year, coffee looks better and better as a health food. The reason? Antioxidants. That family of nutritious chemicals used to come from the generous intake of plant foods that once upon a time comprised almost all the calories ingested by our distant ancestors. Now that our daily intake of fruits and vegetables is a paltry fraction of what nature intended for us, we lack many of the plant-based nutrients such as phenols, flavonols, flavones, etc. that protect us from the DNA-damaging effects of free radicals. Those are the rogue chemicals that result from sunlight, radiation, infection and even normal metabolism that contribute to tissue damage and the aging process.

            Antioxidant foods have three major characteristics. They are highly colored, highly aromatic and highly flavorful, just like coffee (and red wine and chocolate!). Decaf coffee, which has about 97 percent of its caffeine removed, retains all those colorful, aromatic and flavorful ingredients. Coffee in both forms is the major source of antioxidants in the United States. A number of studies have shown that a moderate intake of coffee, i.e., two to four cups a day, is associated with better cardiovascular health. It has been suggested that decaf coffee is better for the heart than the regular stuff, whose jolt may not be so good for the heart at high intakes, i.e., 8-10 cups per day. On the other hand, caffeine has been recognized for centuries as a cognitive booster. (Does anyone remember taking No Doz during finals?)

            I enjoy three cups of decaf every day. My fourth dose of antioxidants comes in a glass with a long stem.

Carvings February 1, 2025

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Why vaccines fail

            One of the major factors in the steep rise in life expectancy that occurred between 1900 and 2000 was the development of childhood vaccines. Today’s young physicians may never see a child with measles, polio, some forms of bacterial meningitis or chickenpox. Even the oldest physicians among us have likely never seen a child dying agonizingly from whooping cough or tetanus or diphtheria, those diseases having been vanquished before World War Two. If these diseases occur in the United States – and they do sometimes – it is usually because the patient came from a country where medical care is poor and immunization rates are much lower than they are here, or because parents have been caught up in the anti-vaxx hysteria that has been increasingly common in the twenty-first century.

            But sometimes a vaccine does fail to provide infection from the disease that almost always prevents the disease against which it is targeted. One reason is that some vaccines must be kept at specified refrigerator temperatures. When the measles vaccine was released in 1963 pediatricians noted occasionally that vaccinated children developed measles. Investigation showed that some pediatricians’ staff had placed the vaccine on a door shelf of the refrigerator instead of deep inside, which had been recommended. The slight increase in the temperature of vials kept on the door shelf was high enough to weaken the live vaccine, rendering it ineffective. The oral polio vaccine, a live form developed by Albert Sabin, has the advantage of not requiring needles and syringes that are prohibitively costly in developing countries, but it requires a “cold chain” that is also expensive in order to prevent degradation of the vaccine.

            Children who are born with a severe immune deficiency or those whose immune system is weakened by chemotherapy will not respond to the stimulus of a vaccine agent. Obesity may be a factor in the adult population, not only because obesity or its accompaniment, type 2 diabetes, degrades the immune system but because ordinary-length needles fail to reach the muscle tissue deep within a layer of fat. The result is that the patient cannot develop adequate antibodies or immune cells.

            Vaccines vary tremendously in their duration of protection. Diphtheria and tetanus vaccines provide nearly lifelong immunity but the mumps virus fails to protect after just a few years. The disturbing occurrence of numerous mumps outbreaks among young adults has prompted a reevaluation of that vaccine. Yet more evidence that mother nature keeps throwing curveballs!

Carvings  January 15, 2025

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Wine wars

            Recent headlines: Wine has health benefits. Red wine in moderation is good for the heart. Any amount of alcohol is unhealthy. Why I stopped drinking alcohol.

            There is overwhelming evidence that wine – and I’m excluding for this discussion beer and liquor, for several reasons that will be part of a future blog – has properties, mainly in the form of phytochemicals, that benefit the heart. First, it has anti-inflammatory properties. Because inflammation is a driver of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and osteoporosis, the thousands (yes thousands) of plant-based phytonutrients in every glass of wine could be expected to have health benefits. One of these phytochemicals is resveratrol, a chemical formed in the skin of red/purple grapes that protects the fruit against fungal growth and lowers the harmful form (LDL) of cholesterol in humans. Ingredients in wine also inhibit the blood clotting system, providing another mechanism for protecting the heart and the brain. Some phytochemicals also protect DNA from damage, thus limiting the development of cancers.  

            Several studies in recent years have denied the benefit of these effects, pointing out that even small amounts of alcohol, less than a glass of wine per day, are associated with a shortened lifespan. A drawback of some studies is that they rely on self-reporting, that is, the research subjects gave a falsely low estimate of their wine intake. Because having on average more than two drinks a day is associated with health problems that include high blood pressure and cancer, it thus may appear that even moderate drinking is harmful. The hazards of such studies are well-known, revealing the tendency of people to understate their wine or food intake, often by margins of fifty to one hundred percent. At least one recent positive study relied instead on the measurement of a chemical in the subjects’ urine that accurately provided data on actual wine intake and showed that in a particular population, those who drank about one glass of wine per day had a fifty percent lower risk of heart disease.

            One study showed that exercising several days a week actually offset the harmful effects of alcohol. As a daily exerciser and daily wine drinker I’d love to see that study confirmed!

            But is it the wine that leads to less heart disease and other conditions? Maybe not. Only occasionally mentioned in these studies is the fact that wine drinkers simply have a healthier lifestyle than persons who don’t drink at all, or who drink beer or spirits. Wine drinkers tend to exercise more, eat a healthier diet, visit their doctor more often, maintain normal weight and avoid junk food.

            Now that’s a real recipe for a long, healthy life.