Wine News: A Toast to Your Health
By STANTON PEELE
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans on Monday. There weren’t many surprises in its recommendations to reduce fat and salt, eat whole grains, and cut the overall amount we eat.
But here’s one thing that might surprise you. Chapter Three, titled “Foods and Food Components to Reduce,” deals with alcohol. The Guidelines, created by America’s leading health researchers, state: “Alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects when consumed in moderation (up to two drinks daily). Strong evidence from observational studies has shown that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Moderate alcohol consumption also is associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older adults and may help to keep cognitive function intact with age.”
What was that again?
Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality and may help to keep cognitive function intact with age? You mean, alcohol is associated with living and remaining mentally alert longer?
Isn’t this news to most Americans? The Guidelines rush to list all the detriments of excessive drinking. They also say no one should begin drinking moderately for their health, since alcohol has so many negative effects.
But aren’t most “middle-aged and older” Americans drinking too little in terms of these Guidelines? The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2009) says that only 55% of 50-year-olds have had a drink in the past month. Half of people 60-64 and just 40% of those 65 and older (a group in which I proudly count myself) have done so.
These percentages surely drop drastically when considering daily drinking. In any case, since the figure for “middle-aged and older” Americans who drink even as much as once a month hovers around a half, aren’t too few Americans benefitting from alcohol?
Right about here we get into a technical discussion about the meaning of “associated with.” Critics rush in to claim that drinkers appear to be healthier (a) because they have otherwise healthier habits, (b) alcoholics and those in poor health have been forced to quit drinking.
Let me point out (a) this isn’t true and (b) it doesn’t matter.
Researchers at the Harvard Health Professionals study team, which has tracked the health of doctors and nurses for decades, have consistently found that the health benefits associated with moderate drinking are real. They measure all forms of health behavior in addition to drinking (e.g., smoking, diet, weight, exercise, concurrent health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease) and have uniformly found the benefits of alcohol to persist within each category.
But let’s accept the criticism at face value—that drinkers live longer and maintain their cognitive functioning better because of other aspects of their health and lifestyles.
Doesn’t that put drinking in a different context? Shouldn’t that make health professionals consider how drinking seems to fit so well into healthy lifestyles?
If we did change our thinking in this direction, it would create a major shift in health policy. Health educators would have to explain that drinking can be good for you; advertisers could make health claims.
And—returning to the Guidelines—does the Agriculture Department want to reconsider whether alcohol belongs among things we need to reduce? How about putting it in a chapter on smarter use of things we put in our bodies—which is what, after all, the Guidelines are all about.
Mr. Peele is a psychologist, attorney and creator of the Life Process Program for addiction recovery. His most recent book is “Addiction-Proof Your Child” (Crown, 2007).
Fine dining in Manila Philippines, wine and dine at Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar, great wine list
Many tourists traveling north to Baguio or Bataan make a stop at Clark Philippines to relax and unwind at this famous fine dining restaurant. Conveniently located in the Mimosa Leisure Golf Estate, next to the Casino and the well known 36-hole championship golf course of Mimosa, frequently visited Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar is a well known destination for tourists and residents of Angeles City Pampanga and Manila to be one of the best fine dining restaurants in the Philippines. Wine lovers from Manila and all other cities in Asia already know of Yats Restaurant for its award winning 2700-item wine list.
Places to go during holidays in Philippines, wine & dine in Clark at Yats Restaurant & Wine Lounge, one of 600 restaurants in the world to win Wine Spectator’s Best of Awards of Excellence Wine List.
Recent opinion survey of frequent travelers heading north towards Subic and Clark Pampanga revealed that the number one most frequently visited fine dining restaurant in Pampanga is Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar located in Clark Philippines. Reasons given include good food, excellent service, an elegant, cozy and upscale ambience, availability of exclusive private dining rooms, a nice garden for outdoor alfresco dining and cocktail parties. There are two very impressive wine cellars that contain some of the world’s finest wines and rare vintages. Yats Restaurant is already recognized as one of the top rated restaurants in the Philippines. It is frequently visited not only by local residents but also tourists arriving in the Philippines for a memorable dining experience.
The best place to hold group dinners in Clark Pampanga is Yats Restaurant and Wine Lounge. Located in the upscale and quiet location of Mimosa Leisure Estate that is famous for its Championship golf course and the Clark casino, this top rated restaurant is highly recommended for event organizers looking for a good restaurant to hold group dinners. Companies in Subic and Angeles City Pampanga frequently choose this restaurant in Clark for meetings, parties and functions. Residents of nearby Angeles City, San Fernando and other cities of Pampanga travel to Clark to hold their group dinners and social gatherings in this popular restaurant in Clark. Yats Restaurant is well known among residents of Manila to be a place to visit whenever they travel out of town on a getaway to the north towards Subic, Tarlac, Baguio or Pampanga. Very often, group dinners, family gatherings and social functions are held in this famous restaurant in Clark Philippines.
For comments, inquiries and reservations click on Click here for inquiry and reservations
Restaurant@Yats-International.com
(045) 599-5600
0922-870-5178
0917-520-4401
Ask for Pedro and Rechel
Getting to this fine dining restaurant of Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga Philippines
How to get to this fine-dining restaurant in Clark Pampanga? Once you get to Clark Freeport, go straight until you hit Mimosa. After you enter Mimosa, stay on the left on Mimosa Drive, go past the Holiday Inn and Yats Restaurant (green top, independent 1-storey structure) is on your left. Just past the Yats Restaurant is the London Pub.
Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines 2023
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay
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For assistance in hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines, log on to
http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
To buy wine in Manila, Pampanga, Angeles City, Clark or Subic please log on to http://www. ClarkWineCenter.com
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