New Advice From Longevity Doc: Don't Give Up Alcohol (Whew!)

Plenty of us like a little snort now and then, or a glass of wine, or a bottle of beer. There's nothing wrong with that; the old saying, "moderation in all things," applies. As long as you aren't getting drunk and throwing punches at cops, alcohol in all its various forms is one of those things to enjoy sensibly. 

Of course, there are the rabid longevity/health-crazed people who abstain from alcohol, and that's fine, too, as long as they don't go all Carrie Nation and try to get me to abstain as well. I like a cold beer or a snort of good whiskey now and then, and I intend to go on liking them. So it's good to see a prominent "longevity doctor" agreeing with me. This isn't just any doc, either; This is Doctor Simon Feldhaus, the chief medical officer of The Balance Rehab Clinic’s Swiss hub and the president of the Swiss Society for Anti-Ageing Medicine and Prevention (SSAAMP), and he likes a wee dram now and then, too.

Doing all that we can to achieve good health is sensible – who doesn’t want to enjoy life for as long as possible? Yet what is the point of living a long life if it is one of restriction and abstinence, not joy? At the age of 58, some of my fondest times with friends have certainly included wine or beer. Spending time eating, drinking, laughing and swapping stories has brought me much pleasure over the years, so I have no plans to stop.

While I’m not suggesting that alcohol is necessary, or risk-free, I do believe that our relationship with it is more nuanced than the current fear-driven narrative it’s become fashionable to push.

We might note that the same kinds of scolds who wag their fingers at us over a little hooch are also paranoid about food, even as our estimation of what is good for us to eat and what isn't is changing some just now. 

Read More: MAHA Introduces the New Food Pyramid and Explains How It Will Revolutionize Americans' Health

Back to booze, though, as far as Dr. Feldhaus's comments, this is the main point:

I drink only beer or wine, and almost always with food, so alcohol is part of a meal. But even doctors aren’t perfect. There is one exception in the year when I throw caution to the wind happily. During the annual German beer festival Oktoberfest, I enthusiastically – and unashamedly – enjoy drinking beer by the litre. Because life is too short not to have fun.

Yes, that's the key phrase: Because life is too short not to have fun. 

Plenty of people, myself included, enjoy things that may not, strictly speaking, be good for us. Speaking for myself, I enjoy a cold beer or a shot of good whiskey now and then. I also like good cigars, a nice, hefty bacon cheeseburger, a really good steak or (the way my wife makes them) grilled cheese sandwiches made with sourdough bread and bacon grease. I have every intention of living forever, and from my point of view, I will - what's more, I propose to enjoy myself doing it.

Not that I'm getting falling-down drunk anymore, at my age; I'll leave that the younger segments of the population, as well as some members of the animal kingdom.

Read More: Hangover Incoming: Drunken Raccoon Shatters Scotches and Passes Out

That's the key thing to remember: All things in moderation, and take life with gusto. What's the point in living if you haven't lived?

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