Tag Archives: wine and health

Dyin’ for a drink

The Cancer Council of Australia (CCA) recently freaked out wine and other alcohol drinkers when it released a paper saying that alcohol causes cancer. Sort of makes you feel sorry for all those people who have happily consumed wine over the last 10,000 years and who never heard of the CCA.

It seems that hardly a week goes by without the public being told by one authority or other that something enjoyable, useful or familiar is going to be the death of us.

Smoking, obesity, radon in the soil, pesticides in food, sunlight, atmospheric pollution, food additives, animal fats, pickles, fried food, cured and barbecued meats, nuclear power plant radiation, mobile phones, booze – the list is endless. Continue reading

No sweet wine

Late September, I was feeling poorly and went to see the Doc. After endless tests he said, “We don’t know what you’ve got. It’s probably viral. Maybe it’ll go away.” (It did.)

He added scientific words to the effect of, “You’re no spring chicken though, and you do have slightly elevated blood sugar levels. If you don’t lift your game, in a few years you could become part of Australia’s Type 2 Diabetes epidemic.”

He didn’t recommend a specific diet, merely suggested that I check out Diabetes Australia, lose weight, and avoid sugary stuff and carbohydrate-rich food. “Oh,” he went on, “You should also cut down on the booze intake and exercise regularly.” A sobering thought. Continue reading