A medical study out of Denmark provided the best news of the week for me. Yes, you read that right. A medical study made the top spot — even though there was a lot of good news from which to choose (think: failure of Republicans’ grotesque efforts to pass a bill depriving 22 million Americans of health insurance; also the revelation by the new White House Communications Director, in profanity-strewn language, that “back (and front) -stabbing” is alive and well in the Trump White House.)
The #1 spot on the Best News of the Week list is reserved for the conclusions of a study that essentially informed me that I may drink many more glasses of cabernet than I was led to believe I could safely drink. Truth be told, I didn’t exactly wait for this research to give me the go-ahead on volume and quantity, but it’s good to now know that I’m gaining truly positive benefits from something I enjoy anyway.
Substantial Benefits
Danish scientists from the University of Southern Denmark found that drinking some types of alcohol (not vodka or gin) can protect significantly against diabetes. The findings, published in the journal Diabetologia, included the fact that wine had the most substantial beneficial effect “probably because it contains chemical compounds that improve blood sugar balance.”
Specifically, the study found that the men and women who took part in the research and drank seven or more glasses of wine each week had a 25%-30% lower risk of diabetes compared with those who drank less than one glass. Of course the naysayers jumped in immediately to warn that consuming alcohol contributes to a vast number of other diseases including some cancers. However, even they cannot dispute the long list of positive effects of red wine on heart health, cholesterol levels, weight management, and in fighting off the common cold.
Red Wine & Writing?
The most recent study prior to this one was conducted by scientists at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. They found that the antioxidants in red wine have anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties that ward off germs and bacteria by boosting your immune system, making it less likely to catch a cold.
As for a positive effect of wine on writing? It’s not difficult to find information on the drinking habits of many famous writers (which is what I was actually researching when I came across the good news of the Danish study.) But most, I discovered, drank sturdier alcohol which ultimately ruined rather than benefited their health. However, Tennessee Williams in his autobiography, Memoirs, remembered how after drinking wine “you felt as if a new kind of blood had been transfused into your arteries, a blood that swept away all anxiety and all tension for a while.” Nicely put. Cheers!
I gotta start drinking wine 🙂
If you haven’t tried it before, go easy Eldon!
Thanks for this, it has brightened my day!
I have to say that I find red wine helpful for writing only in an indirect sense; I promise myself a nice glass of Long Island merlot if I can do 2,000 words, and it has the desired effect. Once I actually start drinking, however, productivity falls off very rapidly.
Mike, if you’ve found a nice Long Island merlot, I’d love to hear what it is? But am with you on productivity falling off after a couple of glasses!!!!!
My personal favourite is Palmers North Fork merlot, but there are others. But maybe not availabe everywhere (I’m in New York City).
Americans “do” merlot in a way others don’t. In my native England, merlot is cheap, mass-produced BBQ fuel for washing down well-charred sausages.
I am within striking distance of the North Fork so I’m sure I can find it in one of our liquor stores. I will definitely try it (I can do well-charred brats or sausage, too) although cabernet is my preferred red wine. Thanks for the tip, Mike
You’re welcome, Joanna. Your very good health!
I’ll drink to that. I always welcome a glass of wine after a day on the computer writing. I find that sometimes it even brings out the creativity in me!
Definitely agree. Cheers!