It’s enough to drive me to drink

Thanks to social media platforms such as Facebook we are being exposed these days to more and more studies by ‘‘experts’’. You have only to log on to your computer to find reports from scientists telling you that everything from owning a budgie to watching the Warriors is bad for your health (I certainly don’t dispute the latter conclusion).

In my opening sentence I’ve put the word experts in quotation marks because I’m getting a little sceptical about the results of these studies, which are quite often contradictory.

I remember the time a few years ago when we were being warned of the dangers of saturated fat and being urged to switch from butter to margarine. But those of us who much prefer butter had only to hold our nerves because, sure enough, along came another study that warned against the chemical content of margarine.

This group of scientists also pointed out that no matter how unsaturated the fats that go into the production of margarine, they are made saturated by the process that hardens them into the spread.

If that’s not confusing enough, you also have to take some of these studies with a pinch of salt because they are sometimes commissioned by vested interests. The tobacco and oil industries are notorious for funding scientists and conservative think-tanks that dispute any scientific evidence that claims their products affect health and climate change.

Today in New Zealand, battle lines are being drawn on the benefits, or otherwise, of a tax on sugary drinks to combat childhood obesity and dental caries. Proponents of the tax say it will cut consumption of the drinks, and the money raised will ease the country’s health budget. Unsurprisingly, the food and drinks sector casts doubt on the proposal.

The difficulty of deciding who to believe in all of these different reports was highlighted for me this week when I came across an article that said a new major study had concluded that any consumption of alcohol is harmful.

I found this report particularly galling because ever since I discovered nearly 20 years ago that I was suffering from heart disease, I’ve justified partaking in the occasional glass of red wine because of the supposed benefits to my ticker.

Now this latest report from the United States claims that no level of alcohol consumption can be regarded as safe and, according to these researchers, although low levels of alcohol can offer some protection from heart disease, stroke and diabetes, the benefits are outweighed by alcohol’s harmful effects.

Paradoxically, this news came on the same day as another report was published, claiming drinkers of alcohol live longer than teetotallers.

This study concluded that the secret was not in the drinkers’ lifestyle but in their peace of mind. Drinkers tended to be financially stable (alcohol isn’t cheap), socially active and their drinking helped them relax.

The authors of this study did, however, concede that binge drinking was unhealthy and could lead to premature death.

So, what can you draw from those conflicting studies?

Well, possibly that the latter study was secretly commissioned by the alcohol industry, but personally I’m going to write it off as a 1-1 draw and carry on as before.

This evening I’m going to butter a few crackers, take a slice of blue cheese and pour myself a nice glass of pinot noir. The sense of wellbeing that will engender has got to be good for my health.