The seven healthy sins: Sometimes the bad can also do good

Vancouver Sun:

Everything in moderation. I think of those three words as my mother’s superhero buzzphrase. Not quite as catchy as Bart Simpson’s “Don’t have a cow, man,” or Captain Marvel’s “Shazam!” but possibly more instructive.

After decades of scare stories on TV and in magazines and newspapers about the dangers of red meat, alcohol, marijuana and sexually transmitted diseases, it’s a wonder anyone even gets out of bed in the morning. It’s dangerous out there.

Liquor, red meat and anger can seriously harm you. And let us not forget the moral, legal and medical complications that travel hand-in-glove with marijuana and sex.

I’m not about to minimize the dangers of any of those things, but whenever I feel like adopting a more ascetic lifestyle devoid of the dangers of eating, drinking and generally being alive, I try to think of my mom’s advice: “Everything in moderation.”

My dad might add: “Especially moderation,” if he were alive to do so. Everybody dies; he just wanted a say in the cause of death. Living is hard enough without eschewing all pleasure.

The good news is that the science that scares us every time we consider buying the rib-eye instead of oatcakes can also be used to justify a more balanced approach to living.

Here’s what real scientists — with real degrees — have to say about some of the things you have been avoiding: