> The safer bet, in my opinion, is to call these
>items neutral at best to our well being if not
>outright deleterious.

But alcohol, which is the main line of discussion
here, in relative moderation, has been proven to
reduce mortality.  An extreme example is the
Copenhagen study that showed the greatest benifit at 5
glasses of red wine per day (men).

But other studies have shown benifits as well.
Data from several large U.S. cohorts including the
well-known Kaiser Permanente, Framingham Heart,
Nurses' Health and Physicians' Health Studies confirm
the so called U- shape curve showing that moderate
drinkers, compared to nondrinkers and heavy drinkers,
have a much lower risk for coronary heart disease.

The Harvard University Nurses' Health Study reported
mortality benefits specifically for women who drank
moderately compared to those who did not drink at all,
and an Oxford University study found that the overall
death rate for moderate drinking men was at least
one-sixth lower than that of abstainers.

I'm fairly confident that my 2 glasses of quality red
wine consumed with my evening meal are not
"deleterious" to my health. Until I hear otherwise, I
plan to keep tipping them back.

Mark






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