The wine writer and physician dilemma
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
What happened after the WC told his new doctor that he – gasp – drank wine with dinner?
The WC had his annual physical the other day, but this was my third doctor in four years (thank you, U.S. health care system). And I was scared to death.
Not because I thought I was dying or in bad health or anything like that. Rather, I was terrified I would have to fight with my new doctor about drinking wine.
Which, given what I’ve heard from other wine writers, is where we find ourselves in the 2020s. Many in the medical community, regardless of the evidence, have decided that drinking is as deadly as cigarette smoking, and they aren’t shy about sharing that with their patients. One colleague told me that her physician was devastated – no exaggeration, she insisted — when he couldn’t find anything wrong with her liver.
So the conversation with my new doctor almost as soon as we started talking (because, of course, the WC doesn’t believe in wasting time):
“I’m a wine writer. I drink wine with dinner.”
“How many glasses?”
“2 ½.”
“Well, the guidelines say two glasses a day, so I guess you’re OK. Do you know what the Mediterranean diet is?”
At this point, I was speechless (which doesn’t happen all that often). Not only did my doctor not threaten me about drinking wine with dinner, but he treated me like an adult who takes responsibility for his health. My answer was almost blubbering: “Yes, Mediterranean diet — less red meat, more greens, beans, and grains, and olive oil.”
So he and I are on the same page. I’ll continue to drink wine in moderation; keep walking Churro, the blog’s associate editor, every day; and watch my diet. No Starbucks death coffee for me, thank you.
Which, if more physicians thought this way, might make an end to this neo-Prohibition foolishness.
More about wine and health:
• Yes, all those wine and health studies are flawed
• Finally, some perspective about wine and health
• Once more, how not to report a wine and health story
Photo: “Patient Talking With Doctor” by NIHClinicalCenter is licensed under CC BY 2.0.