Today\u2019s happy hour may find you nursing a beer, perhaps served island-style over a glass of ice. That\u2019s a good way to brace yourself for some news from our Health-and-Cheeseburger man, who is always on the lookout for important news. A couple of items have come over the transom lately. These concern studies that aren\u2019t so happy-go-lucky about the health implications of fruit juices and diet sodas. Many people load up on these drinks because they\u2019re thought to be responsible choices in the beverage realm, so if questions are being raised, well, let\u2019s raise some questions.<\/p>\n
Before I pour these matters into your cup, I\u2019ll note that I have no grand judgments to render, and I darned sure don\u2019t have any finger-wagging to do. I\u2019m just flagging these stories in case you want to read up on them further. As for me, in my never-ending quest to be as inert as possible, I keep an eye open for easily-sidestepped bad habits so I can avoid expending energy on building any good ones.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a balance-sheet outlook. The fewer liabilities you have, the fewer assets you need to cover them, and the more time you can spend at the beach.<\/p>\n
Well, Forbes magazine knows a few things about assets and liabilities, so I\u2019ll steer you to a Sept. 17 article at Forbes.com. It\u2019s titled, \u201cAn Unintended Consequence of Diet Soda: Disrupting Friendly Bacteria and Raising Blood Sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gist is that a study indicates that artificial sweeteners might cull down the beneficial bacteria residing in our digestive systems. The referenced study, I\u2019ll note, had a very small sample size, so further studies will surely follow in order to add some more statistical brawn to the issue. We\u2019ll just have to stay tuned to see what comes along next.<\/p>\n
The topic weighs on something I mentioned in this space a few weeks ago, but on the opposite side of the bacteria ledger. Kimchi, a staple of Korean cuisine, and no stranger to Saipan\u2019s plates, is said to provide a healthy payload of good bacteria when the kimchi is prepared by fermentation (which is the traditional method). Me, I just like eating the stuff, but if it\u2019s good for me, at least in this regard, then so much the better, and the diet soda article sort of got me thinking about this stuff again.<\/p>\n
And maybe it is worth thinking about. I\u2019ve got no problem believing that the helpful little critters crawling around our innards can be treated well, or treated poorly, and that after the critters have to deal with our diet, we\u2019ll have to answer for the consequences. Could this realm be a bigger part of general health than is commonly thought?<\/p>\n
Artificial sweeteners have long been viewed with some skepticism since they are, well, artificial. Of course, various studies will point in various directions; that\u2019s something that never seems to change.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, here\u2019s something that sounds natural: fruit juice. So it must be OK, right?<\/p>\n
Not everybody seems to think so. The Women\u2019s Health magazine website has an Oct. 14 article titled, \u201cScary News About Your Morning Glass of Juice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The upshot of the underlying study, one that also has a skinny sample size, is that people who consumed a lot of fruit juice had slightly higher blood pressure than those who didn\u2019t. Whether there\u2019s really some causation here, or it\u2019s just a statistical wiggle, well, that\u2019s certainly something that will spark discussion. Just keep those discussions away from my beach chair, please; I don\u2019t want the sparks to burn a hole in the nylon.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019ll note that orange juice does have a bit of sugar in it, about 92 percent as much as Coca-Cola has, judging from the labels that I saw. That\u2019s 36 grams vs. 39 grams for a 12-oz. serving, just in case you\u2019re keeping score.<\/p>\n
I always enjoy getting mathematician Nassim Nicholas Taleb\u2019s take on things, and my well-worn copy of his book Antifragile does, indeed, offer a take on this note. Taleb, an expert on risk, writes that his rule is to drink no liquid that is not at least a thousand years old, and that he drinks just wine, water, and coffee. He specifically notes that he doesn\u2019t drink soft drinks, and to say that he\u2019s no fan of orange juice would be an understatement. Me, I don\u2019t have nearly as much dietary self-discipline as he does, but his logic is always worth studying.<\/p>\n
Of course, when it comes to any of this stuff, the only logic you\u2019re really going to heed is your own. That\u2019s one fact that just can\u2019t be escaped.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, you might as well pour some more beer over that mug of ice. Enjoy it while you can. After all, you never know what our Health-and-Cheeseburger man will uncover next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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