OK, I officially wish I were a drinker!
I’m a very light social drinker — I’ll occasionally order a strawberry margarita while I’m out at a Mexican restaurant, but that’s about the extent of it. People never believe me when I say this, but I’ve never actually been drunk. A little tipsy and giggly, but not wasted drunk.
However, I’m really tempted to buy a nice bottle of red wine (or better yet, a case of Two-Buck Chuck) after reading this article from Wine Spectator.
It says that researchers from neurology and psychology clinics in Belgium have published a study showing that wine’s ability to ease inflammation may help slow the progression of multiple sclerosis in some cases.
According to the article, the research team found that patients who suffer from the relapse form of MS and also drank wine had less severe symptoms. Here’s an excerpt from Wine Spectator:
In the Belgian research, to be published in an upcoming issue of the European Journal of Neurology, the team examined potential lifestyle choices that could be associated with MS. They examined 1,431 people with either type of MS and compared their symptoms to habits of consumption.
The researchers found that relapse MS sufferers who drank wine seemed to enjoy an observable “protective effect.” Symptoms decreased. In the study, more than 80 percent of the participants drank up to seven glasses of wine per week.
The report suggests that red wine helps because it has a compound called resveratrol that has anti-inflammatory properties and “has been shown to protect against various neurological disorders.” Coffee and fish also were found to have positive effects, I learned when I read the study abstract and a more in depth article from MedScape Medical News.
So does this mean that I will become a wino after all of these years? We’ll see about that.
For now I’m going to follow the authors’ warning, and not start a new wine habit just as a result of this research. If I want to start drinking, I’m sure I can find plenty of other reasons!
Well…I don’t drink, but at least I have Sushi, and my ridiculous coffee addiction…and those could have a benefit as well. 🙂
Interesting research there. Since RSDS is a neurological disorder as well, I think I’ll do my own experimentation. 😉 Good thing I prefer reds, huh??
And yeah, I’m a huge sushi & coffee fan as well. Perhaps I’ll attack my disease with my very own personal Triple Threat! LOL
Matthew still talks about the night you and I drank a few to many margarita’s and got a little crazy. He says next time we go back to SD we are going there again so he can watch him Mom and Aunt get tipsy.
bottoms up, T
I’ll send you a case! Do you prefer Cabernet or Red Mountain?