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Health Ad Forbidden in Beer Case
By Dr. Gifford Jones
What’s in a bottle of beer? 99.9 per cent of my beer-drinking friends didn’t realize that beer contains health benefits. A Canadian brewer agreed that distributing information about the contents of this popular drink in beer cases would be beneficial. He also agreed that it must be stressed that excessive alcohol consumption causes serious health problems. But he soon learned the government forbids beer companies to claim any health benefits of any kind.
It’s an asinine law. The government allows food companies to promote all sorts of junk foods that trigger a variety of degenerative diseases. It does nothing to stop pharmaceutical companies from advertising medications that are often not needed and that can kill.
We Need A Boar’s Head Pub In Every HospitalBy Dr. Gifford Jones
How about opening an English style pub in your local hospital? Just mention this idea to a hospital board and it will question your sanity. Readers may also conclude that I’ve gotten into the sauce before writing this column. But 25 years ago I visited the Boar’s Head Pub in Toronto’s Sunnybrook Veteran’s Hospital and left convinced that it helped patients cope with medical problems better than most medications.
Today hardly a week goes by without hearing that a commonly used drug is causing heart attack, stroke or some other serious complication. Look at any medication and its literature lists potential complications as long as your arm. Alcohol, on the other hand, is one of the oldest drugs known to man and a more useful one, if used with moderation.
New Year’s Red Wine HeadacheBy Dr. Gifford Jones
“Oh my aching head! Why did I drink so much last night?” That’s a question many people will ask on January 1, 2006. Some headaches will result from too many martini’s, beers or scotch-and-sodas. That’s a hang-over. But you’ve magnified the odds of a blistering headache if you recklessly imbibed in too much red wine. What is it about red wine that carries such a blow to the head?
Recently I spent an evening with friends that included dinner and wine. “Should I order red or white wine?” I asked. One of the females replied, “Red wine gives me a headache”. This made the choice easy, a Chardonnay.
Few dispute that the red wine headache (RWH) is a reality. But the causes of it are as varied as the cure for hiccups. Some point a finger at the sulfites that occur naturally during fermentation. In fact, wine makers often add more as a preservative.
Sorry, James Bond, but you’re wrongBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Why would I disagree with James Bond? He’s ordered dry martinis for years and never seems to age. And Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, supported the use of alcohol. So did Jesus. After all, he transformed water into wine. And I never forget that, through the ages, polluted water, not alcohol, killed millions of people. That’s why I never feel guilty about a pre-dinner cocktail. But is it actually the alcohol that helps drinkers live longer?
A report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition casts a shadow over the alcohol-longevity connection. Its researchers claim they’ve discovered the real reason why drinkers live longer.
Why I’m Not A TeetotalerBy Dr. Gifford Jones
What’s the first thing I do after seeing patients all day? I take a 20 minute walk home, greet my wife, open up the bar and enjoy a drink while watching the evening news. Some evenings a glass of wine with dinner. There are 10 reasons why I consider this a healthy habit.
One — I enjoy life and want to live longer. The American Cancer Society recently studied the drinking habits of 500,000 Americans. They found that one alcoholic drink a day in middle age decreased the risk of premature death by 20 percent.
The reason is that wine contains antioxidants which eliminate free radicals, believed to be associated with aging, heart disease and cancer. And if you like Martinis don’t ignore James Bond’s advice. He always orders “shaken martinis”. Now we know they contain more antioxidants than stirred martinis.
The Morning After 2001By Dr. Gifford Jones
Here’s a good Trivial Pursuit question to start 2001. How many of you know that thousands of people will be suffering from “Veisalgia” as they begin the New Year. Veisalgia is the littleªknown scientific name for hangover! So what can you do to prevent or cure this malady? And how much does veisalgia cost this nation?
Most of us think the price of a hangover is sheer personal punishment. But if you owned a company it also cuts a deep hole in your financial pocket.
Dr Jeffrey Wiese and his colleagues at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of California in San Francisco recently reported on the huge cost of hangovers.
U.S. Government Agrees on Medical Benefits of AlcoholBy Dr. Gifford Jones
For years everyone has pussy-footed over the facts about the medical benefits of alcohol. Even its supporters haven’t had the intestinal fortitude to level with the public. Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finally had the courage to tell it the way it is.
Opponents of alcohol consumption have always argued, “We can’t advise people to drink because some people abuse alcohol. This results in increased deaths from drunken drivers, cirrhosis of the liver and problems in the home and work place.”
But there will always be people who abuse anything. Yet we don’t refuse to sell cars because some idiots drive 120 mph or while drunk.
Who Wants To Disagree With Secret Agent 007?By Dr. Gifford Jones
“My wife will have a vodka martini and I’ll have a rum and diet coke”. I’ve requested these pre-dinner drinks from waiters for years. Now, a report from the University of Western Ontario says we’re both making a mistake. But is secret agent 007 totally right?
John Trevithick, a biochemist at Western University, reported an interesting finding in the British Medical Journal. His studies suggest that shaken martinis may be healthier than stirred martinis and help you to live longer.
Research into the health effects of martinis is hardly earth-shaking news. And I’d bet my last dollar it’s not going to win the coveted Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Send Wine, Not FlowersBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Have you ever wondered what to take to a friend in hospital? Possibly a book to help pass the time? Or flowers to brighten up a dreary hospital room? Well, think again. The French have the right idea. Send a bottle of red Bordeaux wine.
Dr. Serge Renaud, research director at the University of Bordeaux, is also a world authority on the medicinal benefits of wine.
Dr Renaud recently addressed the International Conference on Preventive Cardiology meeting in Montreal. He reported on a study of 35,000 middle©aged men living in eastern France who were followed for 12 years.
There Are More Old Wine Drinkers Than Old DoctorsBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Why do I have a glass of red wine with my evening meal? I’m convinced it’s prudent to add “Resveratrol” to my circulation every day. Besides I’ve always thought that Sir William Osler one of this country’s greatest physicians was right. And why would I want to disagree with Cardinal Richelieu? Even some Ministers of Health have finally admitted to wines medicinal value.
Stephen Dorell, the British Secretary of State for Health, recently stated that up to four alcoholic drinks a day for men and two or three for women is beneficial in revelant groups. Dr. Philip, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health, announced, “In my personal view alcohol in moderation is beneficial. There was a significant bias in the past against drinking.” But so far there’s been nary a peep from any Minister of Health in Canada!
A Book, “The Healthy Barmaid”, Is BornBy Dr. Gifford Jones
What have London’s Heathrow airport, an English pub and an elderly barmaid to do with this column? In one word, “plenty”. A chance remark triggered “The Healthy Barmaid”. It is hoped this book will improve the lifestyle of readers and save them from diseases that should never happen.
I was enroute to a medical convention in Singapore and debating how to pass the time during a six hour stopover in London between flights.
That’s when I remembered I hadn’t seen the house where I was born since I was seven years of age. So I asked a London cabby to take me to Croydon, about 20 miles outside of London.
How To Be A Smart DrinkerBy Dr. Gifford Jones
“Aren’t you being a bit inconsistent? You’re always advising others to cut down on sugar. Then before dinner you have a rum and coke. Don’t you realize that rum is made from sugar?”
Guest commentary: Health-care ‘reform’ won’t cut cost, improve deliveryBy Admin
Most Americans believe proposed health-care-reform legislation is focused on improving the cost and delivery of health care.
Not true! Improvement of the health-care delivery system is only an illusion.
I suggest to you that this legislation is a clear case of camouflage and concealment. One only needs to examine the three most costly components of our current health-care system to shed light on the subject.
Finding the Nerve to Cut Health CostsBy Admin
Over the next several weeks, members of Congress will be confronted with one scary story after another about what will happen if they try to cut health care costs.
Roberts blasts health care bill because of huge cuts to MedicareBy Admin
Today, Sen. Roberts said the huge cuts to Medicare in the partisan health care reform bill would be devastating to seniors.
On the Senate floor today, Senator Roberts spoke in favor of an effort by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to eliminate the devastating Medicare cuts in the bill that would put seniors at risk.
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