Sorry, Red Wine and Chocolate Aren't as Healthy as You Wish
Anyone who loves life's little pleasures such as red wine and chocolate was elated to hear that both of these items boosted one's level of health, making them as pleasing to your body as they were to your taste buds. Unfortunately, a recent study suggests that this may not actually be the case.
What One Study Found
Researchers from John Hopkins University conducted a cohort study that involved almost 800 individuals (both male and female) who were over the age of 64. They looked at each person's resveratrol levels, which is the polyphenol found in red wine and chocolate that is said to have positive effects on the body. Resveratrol has been credited with lowering your risk of cancer or cardiovascular disease and reducing the level of inflammation in your body.
Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that resveratrol levels have no bearing on whether a person develops cancer, inflammation, or cardiovascular issues. In fact, they didn't seem to impact a person's health at all as they could not find a correlation between resveratrol and mortality risk even after their nine year study.
What This Means
So, what does this mean? For those of you who enjoy a glass of red wine or an ounce of chocolate every day in the hopes that it will elongate your life, the proof is not quite there. However, no one is saying that either of these guilty pleasures is bad for you (in moderation, of course) as even though their positive side effects are being questioned, that doesn't mean that you can't still enjoy them.
To truly enhance the quality of your life requires that you eat healthy to get all of the necessary vitamins and minerals, that you work out regularly to keep your body limber and strong, and that you engage in regular chiropractic care so that your body functions as optimally as it can without obstructing the messages that occur between your brain and the rest of your internal systems.
Yes, total health involves finding a balance between the things we enjoy and the things that are good for us. Sometimes they are both the same things, and that is when life is really good.
Reference
Semba, R, et al. Resveratrol Levels and All-Cause Mortality in Older Community-Dwelling Adults. JAMA Internal Medicine 2014. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.1582.
