inflammation

Quit whining -- and start "wine"-ing

Believe it or not, she thinks she's doing you a favor. That neighbor who invited you over to lunch, but won't pour more than a splash of Merlot in your glass -- she actually thinks she's HELPING you out.

She'll tell you how wine is bad for your blood sugar. She'll brag about her one-glass limit like she's the reincarnation of Mother Teresa.

Well, you can finally tell her to put a cork in it. Because it turns out all those years you were guzzling wine and toasting to your health, you weren't kidding.

You might not enjoy spelling Dr. Kari Poikolainen's name, but you're going to LOVE her message when it comes to enjoying your favorite wines. Dr. Poikolainen, who became famous as a top researcher for the World Health Organization, has proven that drinking a full bottle of wine a day won't harm your health -- but it could be the key to adding YEARS to your life.

The mainstream has been attacking alcohol for so long you'd think Jack Daniels stole their lunch money and slapped their mother. But alcohol is like anything else in life -- moderation is key.

In fact, Dr. Poikolainen found that wine is only unhealthy at about 13 units a day -- about 30% more than you'll get from a full, regular-sized bottle. Of course you don't have to down a whole bottle, but you aren't going to harm yourself if you do. Plus, red wine is packed with resveratrol that can help ward off everything from heart disease to diabetes.

So do yourself a favor and inform that nosy neighbor that you take your wine by the bottle -- not the thimble. Tell her that next time, lunch is at your house -- and there'll be plenty of vino on the menu.

Sugar slingers getting sweet on natural cocoa

Any time I hear a gal claiming that chocolate is a substitute for sex, I have to hit her with some bad news.

She's not doing it right.

No, chocolate can't do EVERYTHING, friend, but it can do plenty. Specifically, raw, real cocoa controls inflammation and can tackle everything from brain-robbing dementia to heart disease.

Well, leave it to the corporate fat cats to try to make a buck off something Mother Nature has already perfected. And you won't BELIEVE who is trying to cash in on the cocoa health craze.

The Mars candy company has patented a way to extract cocoa and stuff it into tiny capsules, and these modern-day Willy Wonkas are even working with scientists on a study to up the dose.

Hey, if you want to trust your health to the company that brought us the Snickers bar, knock yourself out. There are plenty of funeral homes that will be happy to take ten grand from your grieving widow.

You have to hand it to them, though. Before long, Mars will have one division that could give you heart disease with their sugar-loaded garbage (which is NOT the same thing as natural cocoa), and another that could cure it. Talk about a brilliant business plan!

When it comes to cocoa, I'm not just the latest doc jumping on the bandwagon. I'm the guy who backed the bandwagon out of the garage. For decades I've been recommending cocoa to my patients, and watched as it helped quite a few of them roll back the odometers on their health.

It can do the same for you, and you don't even need to wait for those sugar-slingers at Mars to perfect their little cocoa capsule. You can grab real cocoa today at any health food store near you.