VOCABULARY

I sometimes get really annoyed when I read an article, written by a specialist or a scientist, claiming that something is really bad for my health, only to read a couple of weeks later that it is not – or vice versa. Every week, it seems, a scientific study disproves last week's research and, sometimes, we choose to believe the theory that suits us best. Take wine, for example. Studies show that a couple of glasses of wine a day (their words not mine) can cut your risk of a heart attack by 30 per cent. I like that study. However, the following week, I read that even a small amount of alcohol is very bad for the liver and can increase a woman's risk of all types of cancer – not to mention the risk of alcohol dependency.

Then there is coffee, which many of us just can't do without. Many specialists claim that coffee is good for our short-term memory and raises alertness, but it is also linked to heart disease, arthritis, still births and high blood pressure. We all know that exercise is good for the heart, (although a friend of mine had a heart attack while doing a marathon) the lungs, the muscles and your circulation but, if you do too much sport when you are younger, you could suffer with your joints when you are middle-aged. I used to work in ski resorts and many of the older ski instructors had to have replacement hip or knee operations.

Other conflicting reports about food or drinks include milk – a godsend for people who were born forty years ago and couldn't afford a balanced diet. It provided the calcium needed for developing bones. But, these days, we are told that milk can cause thickening of the arteries in children, which could lead to heart disease in later life. Freshly-pressed orange juice tastes delicious and is a great source of vitamin C, but dentists say that orange juice rots the enamel on our teeth and causes cavities .I try to eat as much oily fish as possible, which includes salmon and mackerel that contain Omega 3 fatty acids, important ingredients to protect adults against heart attacks and boost our brain function– now that can't be bad, can it? Well, the latest studies say that fish from our oceans is full of mercury – a toxic chemical absorbed by oily fish – which can affect our IQ and increase the risk of a heart attack – not to mention the plastic particles that we ingest.

Just recently, so much has been written about vitamins, including vitamin D, and the fact that they are only beneficial for people who are sick or the elderly who cannot absorb vitamins from their diet. For everyone else, who keeps to a varied diet, they are no use whatsoever and only create expensive urine. The list of conflicting advice is endless and doesn't only include food. I have just read that six to eight hours sleep is more than enough for the average adult – any more and you risk heart disease. I wish that I had read this before tossing and turning in bed trying to get to sleep, as I had just read that less than eight hours sleep can cause Alzheimer's disease.

Even kissing, which has become very popular here in Austria, was once considered beneficial for the immune system. But, if we kiss everyone we meet, to say hello and goodbye, we risk spreading colds and flu, cold sores and even hepatitis B. Needless to say, as the Christmas parties are now in full swing, it is difficult to avoid this. All this conflicting advice can be very confusing, so I have decided to take most of it with a pinch of salt and follow the advice that "a little bit of what you fancy, does you good" – and remember: a good laugh and positive thinking is still the best medicine for your health and your soul. a little bit of what you fancy – ein bisschen von dem, was man gern hat annoyed – verärgert scientist – Wissenschafter to claim – behaupten to disprove – widerlegen research – Forschung it suits us best – es passt uns to increase – vergrößern, steigern not to mention – ganz zu schweigen alcohol dependency – Alkoholsucht to do without – verzichten auf short-term memory – Kurzzeitgedächtnis to raise alertness – Wachsamkeit wecken linked to – verbunden mit still birth – Totgeburt exercise – Bewegung circulation – Kreislauf to suffer – leiden joints – Gelenke hip operation – Hüftgelenksoperation conflicting – widersprüchlich a godsend – Geschenk des Himmels to provide – liefern, versorgen developing bones – wachsende Knochen to cause – verursachen thickening – Verdickung source – Quelle to rot – faulen enamel – Zahnschmelz cavity – hier: Loch im Zahn mercury – Quecksilber to ingest – aufnehmen, einnehmen beneficial – nützlich, heilsam whatsoever – was auch immer to toss and turn – sich herumwälzen to spread – verbreiten cold sore – Fieberblase to take sth. with a pinch of salt – etw. nicht so ernst nehmen