Say it with wine

While attending a party some time back, resident editor S R Ramakrishna told me to try some red wine instead of the cola drinks that I usually consume at parties because I'm a teetotaller. Since I hold Ram in high esteem he is an editor, a gentleman and an intelligent person, and I don't usually say nice things about editors I decided to give it a try. Needless to say, I loved it.

Actually, I have been thinking about drinking some red wine for quite some while now because of its health-giving advantages. According to www.mayoclinic.com, research in mice given resveratrol (a component of red wine) has indicated that it might offer protection from obesity, diabetes and heart disease. It is also supposed to partially be responsible for the French paradox, which concerns the low incidence of coronary heart disease in France despite a diet rich in saturated fats.

Of course, if you want to drink a lot of red wine, a word of caution the same site also says that, to get the same dose of resveratrol used in the mice studies, a person would have to consume 100 to 1,000 bottles of red wine a day. And what works for mice may not work for people.

But all said and done, moderate consumption of wine is bound to have some health benefits it is certainly far better than the silly sugary cola drinks that many teetotallers swig.

When I told my mom, she was shocked. Why is a highly religious person like you drinking red wine, she asked. Of course, she would not have asked me anything if I told her that I drank cola!

And this brings us to one important issue should religious dogmas dictate modern food consumption? In The Naval Treaty, Sherlock Holmes says that "There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion. It can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner."

In the Bagavatham, we have the story of how Krishna lifted Govardhan and modernised people by converting them from pagans who prayed to a mere force of nature (Indra), to worshipping the Supreme Being. Should not we too adopt a modern attitude? Must we shun food that science tells us is good, but which is forbidden by the scriptures? Is this not going to be detrimental to our own health?

I am not saying that you should drown in wine; but you must consider its good effects. And while I am all for religion, a more modern approach that combines what science teaches us along with the wisdom of the ancients may go a long way in leading us to the truth.