DRINKING YOUR WAY TO HEALTH? PERHAPS NOT

EXPERT SAY RECENT STUDIES TOUTING HEALTH
BENEFITS OF MODERATE DRINKING MIGHT BE MISLEADING

(HealthDay News - Dennis Thompson) - Just about every month a new study emerges touting the health benefits to be gained from a daily glass of wine or a pint of dark beer. The benefits related to cardiovascular health have become well-known. A study released in mid-July, for instance, found that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in women by increasing the amount of "good" cholesterol in the bloodstream and reducing blood sugar levels. Wine also has been found to increase life expectancy and provide potential protection against some forms of cancer. But don't invest in that case of Pinot noir just yet. Experts from the American Heart Association say that though these studies do show some benefits to moderate drinking, the health risks from alcohol consumption far outweigh the potential rewards.

Moderate drinking any alcohol at all is known to increase your risk for contracting cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon/rectum and breast, liver damage and accidents caused by impaired reflexes, said Dr. Jennifer Mieres, director of nuclear cardiology at the New York University. The health benefits from drinking generally are related to the antioxidants and anti-inflammatories found in red wines and dark beers, but those substances can be found in a number of different fruits and vegetables. Though the studies touting the positive health effects of alcohol are scientifically accurate, they also appear to play into people's desires for quick fixes to complex problems, Mieres said."People look for easy ways to get heart-healthy benefits, and drinking is an easy way to do that. It's a known human tendency: Let's find an easy way out that doesn't involve a lot of thought or work." (http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/)

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

What is my inner self-interest? I must enter the plane of reality, I must get back my proper self. And in Krsna's connection I will enter the environment and see what the world really is. If I am given some wine or some poison, then I shall become beside myself. I shall see things in a distorted way. I will be unable to recognize my sister or mother and actuated by animal nature, I will see everything as an object for my enjoyment. The crude tendency of lust will cover my vision of everything. Then again when I am sober, I shall see the same things, but my perception of them will be changed. In this way we must be prepared to go deeper beneath the surface reality, and find out who we are, what is our real self-interest.

Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja:
"Subjective Evolution of Consciousness - Chapter Nine: Spiritual Evolution"