Think before you drink

Today’s happy hour may find you nursing a beer, perhaps served island-style over a glass of ice. That’s 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’t so happy-go-lucky about the health implications of fruit juices and diet sodas. Many people load up on these drinks because they’re thought to be responsible choices in the beverage realm, so if questions are being raised, well, let’s raise some questions.

Before I pour these matters into your cup, I’ll note that I have no grand judgments to render, and I darned sure don’t have any finger-wagging to do. I’m 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.

It’s 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.

Well, Forbes magazine knows a few things about assets and liabilities, so I’ll steer you to a Sept. 17 article at Forbes.com. It’s titled, “An Unintended Consequence of Diet Soda: Disrupting Friendly Bacteria and Raising Blood Sugar.”

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’ll 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’ll just have to stay tuned to see what comes along next.

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’s 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’s 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.

And maybe it is worth thinking about. I’ve 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’ll have to answer for the consequences. Could this realm be a bigger part of general health than is commonly thought?

Artificial sweeteners have long been viewed with some skepticism since they are, well, artificial. Of course, various studies will point in various directions; that’s something that never seems to change.

Meanwhile, here’s something that sounds natural: fruit juice. So it must be OK, right?

Not everybody seems to think so. The Women’s Health magazine website has an Oct. 14 article titled, “Scary News About Your Morning Glass of Juice.”

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’t. Whether there’s really some causation here, or it’s just a statistical wiggle, well, that’s certainly something that will spark discussion. Just keep those discussions away from my beach chair, please; I don’t want the sparks to burn a hole in the nylon.

But I’ll 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’s 36 grams vs. 39 grams for a 12-oz. serving, just in case you’re keeping score.

I always enjoy getting mathematician Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s 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’t drink soft drinks, and to say that he’s no fan of orange juice would be an understatement. Me, I don’t have nearly as much dietary self-discipline as he does, but his logic is always worth studying.

Of course, when it comes to any of this stuff, the only logic you’re really going to heed is your own. That’s one fact that just can’t be escaped.

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.