In the UK, new guidelines being proposed recommend reducing your consumption to 14 units a week. A single bottle of wine at 13.5% equates to 10.125 units of alcohol,’ Andrew Jefford at Decanter magazine tells us. He calls some of the advice of Britain’s Chief Medical officer toxic, and reminds us that she has written off the cardio-protective properties of red wine as ‘old wives’ tales’.
Many countries have published what their medical authorities consider safe drink limits:
Why the Research is Rubbish
A lot of research has been conducted into the dangers and benefits of drinking, and just about all of it is useless. Here’s why:
- The studies used by Health authorities don’t distinguish between different types of drinks
- These kinds of studies cannot possibly pull apart the other factors that determine morbidity and mortality – diet and exercise are 2 that come to mind
- Large scale studies on diet have been suspect ever since Ancel Keys’ Seven Countries Study (he began with 22 countries but dropped the 15 that didn’t fit his preconceived ideas).
50 years later, we’re still being brainwashed into believing that fat causes heart disease. Here are the facts: the French eat a lot more fat than the Americans but have half the rate of heart disease and live 2.5 years longer. They drink a lot more wine than Americans do too. And just to rub the point in, the longest living people in France are those in the Perigord, who enjoy rich foods high in saturated fats such as geese and ducks, foie gras, pork sausage, cassoulet and cheese. As if to add insult to injury, they use goose and duck fat for cooking. More Here
A picture tells a thousand words, as the heart map below illustrates:
The green countries are the ones with the highest wine consumption, the highest longevity and the lowest rates of heart disease in Europe.
Wine men live long lives
My website has put me in touch with many wine people. I just wrote a couple stories about Leo Buring who died at 85 and John Vickery who’s about the same age but very much alive. Ray Kidd who ran Lindemans decades ago, is a very energetic 90-year-old. Ray Beckwith, the chemist behind Max Schubert, lived to see his 100th birthday. Max died before he reached 80 but he had emphysema from a lifetime of heavy smoking.
I could add André Simon, James Halliday, Peter Lehmann, Ian Hickinbotham and many others. Let’s use some common sense here: Most people who drink wine down under most likely eat healthy food as well, and make sure they get some exercise. The Mediterranean diet is held up as a healthy one, but lots of people in France, Spain and Italy also work on the land without the aid of mechanical harvesters. So is it the diet or the lifestyle?
It’s NOT what you Eat and Drink that Kills You
My final contribution to this debate is this simple set of facts that cuts right across all the nonsense sprouted by the experts:
- The Japanese eat a diet very low in fat, and their rate of heart disease is about half that of America, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
- On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat yet their rate of heart disease is around half that of America, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
- The Koreans drink very little red wine, and their rate of heart disease is about half that of America, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
- The Italians drink vast quantities of red wine yet their rate of heart disease is about half that of America, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
The obvious conclusion is this: Eat & drink what you like. It’s speaking English that kills you.
Kim
