St. Patrick's Day is One Big Health Fair

When your boss calls your mobile this Friday to ask why you've not shown at the office, don't equivocate -- tell him proudly that you're working out and that the company should be grateful for your efforts to lower their health insurance premiums.

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, researchers at the University of Wisconsin have determined that drinking Guinness yields measurable health benefits:

The old advertising slogan "Guinness is Good for You" may be true after all, according to researchers.

A pint of the black stuff a day may work as well as an aspirin to prevent heart clots that raise the risk of heart attacks.

. . . .

The Wisconsin team tested the health-giving properties of stout against lager by giving it to dogs who had narrowed arteries similar to those in heart disease.

They found that those given the Guinness had reduced clotting activity in their blood, but not those given lager.

Clotting is important for patients who are at risk of a heart attack because they have hardened arteries.

A heart attack is triggered when a clot lodges in one of these arteries supplying the heart.

. . . .

The researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, that the most benefit they saw was from 24 fluid ounces of Guinness - just over a pint - taken at mealtimes.

They believe that "antioxidant compounds" in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.

Lending further credence to the results of this groundbreaking study, I have independently demonstrated the opposite proposition -- I am in noticeably worse physical condition than I was when I quit drinking eleven years ago. Friends, heed my cautionary tale and do not make the same mistake. Take care of your health; if not for yourself, do it for those you love.