The Mediterranean Diet

If you’ve been paying attention to recent blog entries, you know that the former-hippies among us have a better chance of staving off Alzheimer’s than all those goody-two-shoes who followed the rules of “the establishment” and never learned to roll a joint while they were driving down the highway on the back of a motorcycle at 90 miles per hour. I am prone to exaggeration, so take that visual with a grain of salt. 

Add to the good news about pot, even more recent more research to grant me absolution for my minor sins! Research published in the Annals of Neurology found that volunteers who ate a diet made up of fish, fresh vegetables and olive oil, accompanied by a glass or two of red wine, had a diminished likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

For several years I’ve been able to use heart disease research to substantiate my claims that red wine is good for you. Before that research was released to the public my claims were based on a deep-seated belief that “something that good can’t be bad for you.” But, oh, how I love research that allows me to wave a piece of paper in the faces of non-believer and say, “See, RESEARCH proved it’s too good to be bad for you."

All of these changes in attitude remind me of the Woody Allen movie, Sleeper. Woody’s character dies and is cryogenically frozen for 200 years. When he is revived, everything about American culture has changed. Scientists he encounters in 2173 laugh at the ignorance of the people of the 20^th century who thought deep fried foods, cigarettes and chocolate were bad for you. The part about chocolate has partially come true. I still hold out hope for deep-fried foods.

In the meantime, I will continue to preach that anyone with a modicum of restraint should keep eating and drinking what makes them happy – unless, of course, washing down two double bacon cheeseburgers with a pint of beer is what makes you happy. But you KNOW better than that.