Opinion

Health or happiness

I've given up quite a bit in the name of fitness, and among that are cheese, snack food, full-fat everything, ice-cream and many meats, but there is one thing I've never given up in the name of anything. That's beer, perhaps my only remaining vice. I've even been known to reassure myself with such statements as each slice of bread I didn't eat was one beer I could drink.

Well, beer is suddenly in serious question. A blood test during the week, my first in three years, returned a blood-sugar reading of 5.9, above the recommended limit of 5.6, and my GP explained that this is a pre-diabetic condition. It means that if I don't do something about it I have a 50 per cent chance of developing diabetes.

But what to do? My diet is very low in fat and high in fresh, unprocessed food. I exercise every day, often strenuously, and have done so for decades. I don't take care with my diet, by the way, for health reasons so much as for fitness.

So, it looks like it's beer. I'd have three or four beers most days, and while on some of the other days I have more than four beers, on some days I have no beer. I've decided not to pussyfoot around with this problem, and so I'm going to have four Grog Free Days a week. Extreme, eh?

From early in the new year. You'll understand that as I head off on holidays soon a few beers under the silver tarp from beer o'clock is much more important than a miserable number like 5.9. And as I ask in my column in The Herald today, did another month of immoderation ever kill anyone?

An old mate of mine who's been loyal to his vices through thick and think often asks if we want life to be longer or just seem longer, and I'm beginning to wonder myself.

Posted By: Jeff Corbett on 10/12/2009 5:02:00 PM | Comments (38)

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Date: Newest first | Oldest first

Jeff, give up work, hitch up the caravan, drive past the court house with finger raised and go have a good time! You have done your bit.

Posted by Buell, 11/12/2009 9:17:34 AM, on The Herald

Jeff, don't despair, a few days a week beer free isn't too bad. What about having a red wine with dinner those beer free days? Or low carb beers.

Posted by Nafe, 11/12/2009 9:25:14 AM, on The Herald

First, I would like to point out that you are a binge drinker.... anything more than 2-3 beers in a session is a 'binge'!! You nasty binge drinker you!!!! On to a more serious point - aged in my early 30's, my fitness has never been too much of an issue - sure I eat and drink too much on occasion, but I'm active, exercise everyday and I have always been pretty fit. The last few years have really shown me how important it is to retain that fitness/health and I now am much more concsious about what I eat. I have watched my dad, over the last decade, go through a triple by-pass, then develop type 2 diabetes, now requiring insulin injections everyday. Despite his myriad od medcations, he also has trouble doing things I take for granted - even getting a plane ticket for a holiday to New Zealand required doctors notes to carry insulin/needles, medical checks for insurance, special food arrangements etc etc. Dad was a builder, so was fit, strong and healthy until his heart attack and by-pass. However, he said to me it was punishment for 30 years of not looking after himself well enough! Seeing how his last 15 years have panned out is motivation enough for me to looks after myself

Posted by Humpty Potato, 11/12/2009 9:49:10 AM, on The Herald

eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die, but eh! what would I know.

Posted by suzhousid, 11/12/2009 9:55:04 AM, on The Herald

Look after yourself, Jeff. A few alcohol free days make the beer taste better. If you can avoid a major health problem, do it. I love a drink as much as anyone, but I try to have a few AFD's per week. Avoid the low carb or 'lite' beer : it's not worth drinking (I know you prefer a decent beer anyway). Red wine is probably not a workable substitute, if the blood sugar is the issue. Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder. [Never mix your drinks, or your metaphors. Or your idioms, for that matter].

Posted by Abundance, 11/12/2009 10:15:44 AM, on The Herald

No doubt about it, a regime of GFDs won't hurt at all. Hardly ever drink wine (because I'm inclined to drink it like beer!) and won't miss that at all. I'm wondering where I'd be if I was overweight, didn't exercise and ate anything and everything.

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 11/12/2009 10:34:29 AM

One of many pleasures each day after retirement either at home or touring in the van is reaching Beer o'clock in the afternoon (4 O'clock to most) like you I rarely have a beer before then. A learned person told me red wine was good for your health so I reduced the beer to 2 a day and have 2 or 3 glasses of red at tea time. I sleep like a log and feel great for 58.

Posted by The Bird, 11/12/2009 10:24:18 AM, on The Herald

Beer o'clock is the high point of the day no matter where I am. I prefer to set it later rather than earlier. Three glasses of red wouldn't do me any favours. Two is my max when I drink the stuff, and for that reason I'll buy a half bottle if I can find one.

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 11/12/2009 10:38:04 AM

Jeff, i think you're missing the obvious solution. Get a new doctor. I'm pretty sure you avoid these anyway, but the best thing i ever did for my (and my family's) health is to ban fizzy sugar drinks from the house. Doesn't matter the brand - it's out. Those things are pure poison and the primary cause of obesity in kids. Forget the inactivity myth (recent research has shown that kids these days get every bit as much exercise as previous generations), it's all down to what we tip into our bodies. Now, as one of the decision makers of the household i have negotiated a beer exemption, but it's very rare i'll indulge alone. That's the primary reason i encourage visitors. Swing by sometime Jeff - i'll shout you a beer or two. A nice Munich lager spiced with some Hallertau hops, home brewed of course. Mmmmmmmmm.......Beeeeeeeeeeer !!!

Posted by Perspective, 11/12/2009 10:52:00 AM, on The Herald

Changing doctors isn't so easy these days - there's not enough to go around. In any event, wouldn't change mine for quids, and since he's the same age as me I've told him I expect him to keep working till he's 90, which should see me out. I, too, long ago banned fizzy sugar drink from the house, although diet fizzy in moderation is acceptable. Sugar fizzy is an evil that is not as roundly condemned as it should be. Your brew drinking sounds like my pub smoking years ago. I only ever smoked when I went to the pub, so I found myself heading for the pub much too often! I'd love to have a brew with you, Perspective, before I become healthy.

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 11/12/2009 11:32:39 AM

Be careful with the 'red wine is good for you' thing. I think the current research and thinking around the 'French Paradox' (the apparently paradoxical situation where French people, who drink a lot, and eat a diet high in saturated fats, meat, cheese, etc had a disproportionately low incidence of heart disease) is that a small intake of ANY alcohol is beneficial. Red wine does have more antioxidants in it, but it's the small dose of ethanol that does the trick. I think SMALL is the key, and you reach the point of negative utility (having more is bad) pretty quickly. 2 standard drinks ain't much. A few easy rules will solve most of your health challenges : go easy on the grog, eat heaps of fresh vegetables, exercise daily, and don't smoke.

Posted by Abundance, 11/12/2009 11:01:16 AM, on The Herald

Do you drink much clear water, Jeff? We all need to drink litres of clear (preferably filtered) water every day. Most drink hardly any.

Posted by Abundance, 11/12/2009 11:02:25 AM, on The Herald

I rather thought water had gone off the boil. Certainly I drink enough to be hydrated but I don't drink the stuff for flushing reasons. I am very partial to soda water, and make my own. Love the fizz.

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 11/12/2009 11:28:51 AM

i always used beer as my analogy when explaining the law of diminishing returns in my economics days - or chocolate if explaining to (usually) females who didn't quite grasp the beer analogy. Beers 1-6, all good and return/utility increasing. Beer 6-8 steady at best. Beer 9 and on diminishing returns. Never failed to allow students i tutored to grasp the concept. Is there nothing Beer cannot achieve ???

Posted by Perspective, 11/12/2009 11:31:43 AM, on The Herald

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