LIQUID INVESTMENTS
MICHAEL FRIDJHON: There are health benefits to wine consumption
It would seem a safe assumption that readers of a weekly wine column don’t need to be reminded of the virtues of moderate consumption. Nevertheless, the virulent attacks by the crypto-prohibitionists in our midst (many of them doctors who should know better) sometimes make it necessary to repeat why it is healthier to drink than to abstain. The issue of alcohol is politically fraught in SA. It is easy to understand that for many people and for whole communities it is powerfully emotive. Anyone who has read Charles van Onselen’s pamphlet Randlords and Rotgut will know alcohol was used as an instrument of repression, and as a (particularly evil) inducement to press-gang rural males into the labour market. This, however, should not be allowed to blind us to the facts as they relate to the health-giving properties of moderate wine consumption, nor should historical injustice be allowed to justify poor statistical analysis of the contemporary situation. A recent piece in Daily Maverick c...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.