Wine, how I love thee. It’s not like I needed more good news to drink it in moderation. But here we are with news that it may help protect you against cancer.
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health presented their compelling findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. They studied more than 500 women with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And what they found was astounding.
“We found that wine had a protective effect,” says Xuesong Han, a doctoral candidate in cancer epidemiology. More encouraging was that the protective effects were strongest with the most common of type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Jamie Pittman is currently a graduate student at East Carolina University where she is obtaining her MAEd in Health Education. She also works full-time as a grant coordinator at the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NCAAHPERD) in Raleigh, NC. Jamie is also an active member of MyDIR, the DietsInReview.com community.
Week after week friends complain to me that they “can’t lose weight,” that they are doing “EVERYTHING!” and their weight just won’t budge. These same people go out and drink five or more drinks at least one to two nights a week. You might think–what’s the harm in a little social drinking? You should be allowed at least one “cheat” day a week where you can eat and drink whatever you want, right?
Alcohol contains calories (I promise—all alcohol contains calories!), 7 calories per gram to be exact and they add up quickly. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cites that the average alcoholic beverage is 13.7 grams, or about 96 calories.
A British study has found that people are woefully unaware of the weight-gaining consequences of drinking alcohol, particularly if you drink on a regular basis. The Know Your Limits campaign polled 2,000 adults in England. Researchers found that 40 percent of the people didn’t know that a glass of wine has the same calories as a slice of cake (120).
I’m not sure that knowing the comparative calorie content is all that ignorant. However, when you think about what kinds of foods an alcoholic drink can be compare to, it’s pretty revealing. A pint of beer is comparable to a doughnut. And what’s most telling is the cumulative or long view of consumption. Five pints of beer a week would add up to 221 doughnuts in a year!
While we’ve always been told to bone-up on our calcium intake to strengthen our bones, there may be an unlikely helper – moderate alcohol drinking.
A new study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that one or two drinks a day can improve your bone density. The study looked at the effect moderate drinking has on older men and women. It included 1,182 men, 1,289 post-menopausal women, and 248 pre-menopausal women, from as young as 29, to 86.
The lead researcher, Dr. Katherine Tucker of Tufts University, says that it’s not the alcohol (of course), but the high silicone content and resveratrol in beer and wine that benefit our bones. Liquor has less of a positive effect.
The only stimulus package I’m ever going to get is in my morning cup of coffee, or on the rare occasion, an afternoon energy drink.
My first choice is Sugar-Free Red Bull. And, since about four billion cans were reportedly sold worldwide in 2006, it’s the choice of most other energy beverage drinkers as well. Generally speaking, best way to keep your energy levels at peak levels is a sensible diet and a regular fitness regimen. But we all have days where life gets the better of us.
The main stimulating ingredients in Red Bull are caffeine and taurine. In its natural form, taurine is derived from animal tissue. At first it was isolated from bull bile, which makes it clear why the name “Red Bull” was chosen. But don’t worry, the taurine used in Red Bull is produced synthetically.
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