Beer = Heart Medicine

I always like the ones where they point out the good in something that probably would only be obtainable on street corners had it been invented 10 years ago.  So yes, beer is good (again).   

This week.

The Greeks have come to this conclusion, Greeks at Harokopio University in Athens to be precise.  Conclusion being that beer is good for your blood vessels and can prevent heart disease.  Well, one beer can.  Far be it from my to cast aspersions on a study which espouses the benefits of alcohol, but to my untrained eye the sample size of 17 people seems a little on the low side.   Surely they could have wandered the streets of Athens and picked up a few more volunteers to drink some free beer?

But hey, let's go with it.  Beer is good for you!


Daily Mail

Smoking Cigarettes: Good (!?)

Researchers at the University of Florida have come up with a surprising Good News story for smokers.  Smoking cigarettes improves self-control, they have decided.   The people they tested were all smokers, of course, so perhaps this story is not quite as positive as it may seem.  People who really, really like cigarettes and who feel a little stressed after prolonged periods of no cigarettes, are then seen to demonstrate improved self-control after smoking a cigarette.

Nice try University of Florida, but back to the drawing board please.

Source:  Times of India

LSD Helps Alcoholism

Of course it does.  It's the perfect solution!  It's the good folks at Harvard who have come up with this little beauty, based on previous studies carried out in the (*sigh*) sixties and seventies, would you believe.  Should I even keep going with this?  Ridiculous...  Anyway, patients were fed LSD and allegedly began to confront their problems in a clear-eyed and realistic way, and...  look this method isn't going to catch on, is it.

Back to the drawing board Harvard chaps.

Source:  Independent (UK) 

Seems Like Red Bull May Not be a Health Drink

The most surprising thing about this article for me was that up until very recently, drinks like Red Bull and Monster had been classified as 'natural health products', rather than the 'aggressive vodka mixers' I had always considered them to be.  Well Canada has now got wise to these energy drinks, after a report revealed that none of them do a goddam thing for you, except getting you wired on caffeine extract.  

I was interested to hear about a Japanese study from the 1970's - the only one to come up with something good to say about energy drinks - which noted the increased swimming ability of rats injected with a glucose compound commonly used in the stuff.   Not quite enough to sway the argument, sadly.


Source:  The Star (Canada)

New Study Reveals Guaranteed Weight Loss Secret

So don't keep us in suspense, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, what is this miraculous solution to the age old problem?

    "Exercise and diet".

Congratulations gentlemen, you have done your nation a great service with this new Research.  Humankind will look back on this moment with gratitude.  Exercise and diet, eh?  Fascinating...

Source:  Los Angeles Times