The Tell-Tale Heart
- April 5, 2012
There I was. In the dark. In my bed.
I awoke with a shudder.
There is something in the room with me.
Fear grips me. I can sense it close. I can even hear its heart beat. Thump thump thump.
I dare not move. Straining my eyes as if I will suddenly be able to see with but a hint of light.
Thump thump thump.
How close must it be that I can hear its heart beating.
Movement? The pace of the heart quickens. Thump thump thump.
A shiver creeps up my arm.
I can’t take it any more. If it means me ill so be it!
With a jump I try for the light.
Caught in my covers I tumble to the ground.
Thump thump thump.
I scream and scramble to the switch.
With a flip, light floods the room.
Thump thump thump.
The heart…
was my own.
Speaking of heart I wanted to share an excerpt from a Food & Wine article about the benefits of wine drinking
“The Benefit: Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
The Evidence: Red-wine tannins contain procyanidins, which protect against heart disease. Wines from Sardinia and southwest France have more procyanidins than other wines. Source: a study at Queen Mary University in London, published in Nature, 2006.
The Benefit: Reduces Heart-Attack Risk
The Evidence: Moderate drinkers suffering from high blood pressure are 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack than nondrinkers. Source: a 16-year Harvard School of Public Health study of 11,711 men, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, 2007.
The Benefit: Promotes Longevity
The Evidence: Wine drinkers have a 34 percent lower mortality rate than beer or spirits drinkers. Source: a Finnish study of 2,468 men over a 29-year period, published in the Journals of Gerontology, 2007.
The Benefit: Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
The Evidence: Moderate drinkers have 30 percent less risk than nondrinkers of developing type 2 diabetes. Source: research on 369,862 individuals studied over an average of 12 years each, at Amsterdam’s VU University Medical Center, published in Diabetes Care, 2005.
The Benefit: Lowers Risk of Stroke
The Evidence: The possibility of suffering a blood clot–related stroke drops by about 50 percent in people who consume moderate amounts of alcohol. Source: a Columbia University study of 3,176 individuals over an eight-year period, published in Stroke, 2006.
The Benefit: Cuts Risk of Cataracts
The Evidence: Moderate drinkers are 32 percent less likely to get cataracts than nondrinkers; those who consume wine are 43 percent less likely to develop cataracts than those drinking mainly beer. Source: a study of 1,379 individuals in Iceland, published in Nature, 2003.
The Benefit: Cuts Risk of Colon Cancer
The Evidence: Moderate consumption of wine (especially red) cuts the risk of colon cancer by 45 percent. Source: a Stony Brook University study of 2,291 individuals over a four-year period, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2005.
The Benefit: Slows Brain Decline
The Evidence: Brain function declines at a markedly faster rate in nondrinkers than in moderate drinkers. Source: a Columbia University study of 1,416 people, published in Neuroepidemiology, 2006.”
– Food & Wine ‘8 Health Benefits of Drinking Wine’ By Christine Quinlan
Its a beautiful thing
I’ve always found it equally intriguing that studies comparing light to moderate drinkers, found *more* benefits with moderate drinkers… there is also an fun correlation that drinkers are more likely to be regular exercisers, and so they are healthier overall; so it reflects an over-all lifestyle approach. (I like to think that wine-drinkers are aficionados of LIFE, not just their drink-of-choice)
…Not to mention that the increase in likelihood of developing colon cancer from eating red meat is nearly identical to the decrease from drinking wine. I suppose that’s as good an argument as ever for a decent pairing!
I love that you covered this, J. Obviously, it’s my field and, thus, a passion of mine, but it still makes me smile when I see the information being shared.
Jennifer,
I’m glad that you enjoyed this post. Speaking of red meat and red wine, I just so happen to have a New York strip and a bottle of Chianti on the menu for dinner tonight.
Cheers to health and enjoying life at the same time.
Jonathan Hood
[…] US is the heart attack. I wrote a post ages past about all the health benefits of wine, not just heart benefits, but stress reduction as […]