Which one for the road?

Of course you've been thrashing around for a good reason to belt-or sip-an occasional one down, but have been wisely frightened away by that little voice that keeps saying "Empty calories. Empty calories." To shut that voice up at least for one night out, look no further than the study recently published in Alternative Therapies. The evidence that alcohol in moderate quantities "reduces insulin resistance, lowers blood pressure and increases HDL-C (the good lipids)" is by now well supported by science.

Better yet, researchers calculate "an overall predicted 24.7 percent reduction in risk of coronary heart disease associated with an intake of 30 g of alcohol." Whence the protective effects of alcohol? Apparently, along with the buzz, you get the protection of the antioxidant vasorelaxant and antithrombotic properties of the polyphenolic compounds present in wine.

So what do you do, ask the bartender to give you a glass of the juice with the best polyphenolic compounds, especially resveratrol? Once again, science saves you from one of life's potentially embarrassing moments. Researchers last year found that not just any wine but specifically cabernet sauvignon was the brew offering the best cardiovascular protection of all. Be assured that researchers are diligently at work deciding on just which vineyard, vintage and bin really give you the best-protected buzz for your buck.

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