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Alcohol & Health

Shaken or Stirred Martinis

Who Wants To Disagree With Secret Agent 007?

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

February 13, 2000

"My wife will have a vodka martini and I'll have a rum and diet coke". I've requested these pre-dinner drinks from waiters for years. Now, a report from the University of Western Ontario says we're both making a mistake. But is secret agent 007 totally right?

John Trevithick, a biochemist at Western University, reported an interesting finding in the British Medical Journal. His studies suggest that shaken martinis may be healthier than stirred martinis and help you to live longer.

Research into the health effects of martinis is hardly earth-shaking news. And I'd bet my last dollar it's not going to win the coveted Nobel Prize in Medicine.

But how can you ignore Ian Fleming's fictional super agent James Bond? He never seems to age, has never suffered a heart attack and isn't scheduled for cataract surgery. He's also been called the sexiest man alive and always demands shaken martini's. And if 007 says a shaken martini is the answer I don't want to cross swords with him.

We don't know all the reasons why we age. But scientists now believe it's in part related to the waste products of metabolism. To provide energy the body, like a furnace, has to burn something. In the case of coal the end product is cinders.

Conversely, the human body burns oxygen and the end product of oxidation is free radicals. The current evidence suggests that the fewer the number of free radicals the slower the rate of aging. And decreased risk of degenerative diseases such as cataracts, coronary attack and cancer.

Trevithick first decided to see how beer would effect the number of free radicals. Then his daughter, a 007 fan, suggested testing Bond's favourite drink, a gin martini.

The result? There were more free radicals present after using a stirred martini than after one that was shaken. Just why a shaken martini has greater antioxidant properties is not known. But my wife says she'll ask for a shaken martini until scientists find out!

I always like to report good news about alcohol. But only to those who use it in moderation. There are now over 20 world studies that indicate moderate drinkers live longer than either teetotallers or those who drink to excess. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, supported the use of alcohol. So did Jesus. After all he transformed water into wine. In the Middle Ages alcohol truly earned the title "aqua vitae", the "water of life". History shows that through the ages alcohol has been one of the safest drinks when consumed sensibly.

For instance, it's been said that "bread is the staff of life, but beer is life itself". Possibly this is an exaggeration in the year 2000. But years ago, and still in many parts of the world, if you drink water you become terribly ill or die. If you drink beer you live.

Critics say that you should never advocate the medical benefits of alcohol. It simply encourages people to drink and some won't drink moderately. The end result will be cirrhosis of the liver, family strife and deaths from drunken drivers.

I find it ironic that alcohol is appraised by different standards. Critics judge alcohol harshly because of excessive use. But they judge the benefits of drugs by their proposed use, whether followed or not.

For instance, it's hard to get into trouble by using moderate amounts of alcohol. But, believe me, you can get into a pile of woe even with the moderate use of prescribed drugs. In fact, you can die from the prescribed dose of a drug such as penicillin.

Read about any drug in the pharmacopoeia and you'll often find a list as long as your arm of things that can happen to you. And I repeat, "from the normal dose!"

Keeping the count of free radicals low with a shaken martini may be one way to slow down aging and the risk of disease. But lowering free radicals is only one of the benefits of alcohol whether it's Jamaican rum, a French bourdeau wine or a shaken martini.

Research studies show that alcohol increases the high density lipoproteins (HDL), the good cholesterol. HDL removes cholesterol from the arterial wall and transports it to the liver.

Other studies suggest that alcohol helps to oil blood platelets. These small particles are part of the blood clotting mechanism. Slippery platelets are less likely to form a fatal blood clot in coronary arteries.

Will I join my wife for one of 007's shaken martinis? Not a chance. I hate to offend Bond. But I'd rather forego the pre-dinner drink than face a martini each night. Besides, I was too long at sea to stop enjoying the sailors' favourite beverage. ¡


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod