To whine or not to wine

You can learn the same thing over and over again, and you may find a different or a new stimulus that excites you in a different way everytime you relearn it, regardless of your first viewpoint.

It's the same thing about science. A scientist may meticulously study a subject time and time again, and he might discover new information of his work with each research.

This was the case with a recent study of the health benefits of wine drinking. It is a fact that wine contains a compound called resveratrol which has multiple positive effects on the body and that's the reason why moderate intake of wine is recommended by some quarters in the field of medicine.

But from this recent article posted by a friend on facebook, scientists argued that the possible negative outcomes outweigh the benefits of wine.

"Experts with the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association say that though these studies do show some benefits to moderate drinking, the health risks from alcohol consumption far outweigh the potential rewards."

But wait, didn't i hear something like that somewhere else before?

2:219 They question thee about strong drink and games of chance. Say: In both is great sin, and (some) utility for men; but the sin of them is greater than their usefulness.

Even Allah acknowledged that there are benefits of alcohol intake, but the law of duality states that for every positive point, there's always a negative fact following right behind.

Most probably a non Muslim conducted the research, and most probably he or she didn't even bother to open the pages of the Qur'an which of course, is probably an outdated scripture that was sent down ages ago. But nevertheless, it still manages to discern a scientific knowledge with this recently discovered fact.

Russia itself faces a grueling battle against alcoholism which is a part and parcel of their rich culture. I just realized that 'vodka' (the intoxicating drink) is actually a cute slang for 'vada' (meaning water). That's rather disturbing, but it shows the depth of affinity they harbour for the drink.

Mikhail Gorbachev did something good by raising vodka prices and destroying vineyards in an attempt to deter the Soviet population from drinking which ultimately resulted in his decline of popularity. Not bad for someone who campaigned for freedom of religion in the Soviet Union. But that didn't stop them from preparing homemade alcoholic beverages called 'samogon'.

While you can't push people to believe all these scientific facts, you could ask them to be rational in their thinking rather than emotional which fingerpoint them to follow their deceitful desires of compulsive drinking. Allah mentioned :-

17 : 35 Give full measure when ye measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight: that is the most fitting and the most advantageous in the final determination.

To measure something by its pros and cons rationally will lead you to a rational answer. But sadly, people prefer to follow where their temptations lead them to.

That's what people of the 21st century have come to. They have become too emotional (me included, sigh). To force them to stop drinking would mean raping their natural rights to choose to drink, the so called freedom to do anything they want to, so in the end there's only knowledge to savour and to tell them of the harm of alcoholism. Only through knowledge could people be free from all the chains that bind them to addictions, in general.

"You can get the same benefits of drinking from leading a heart-healthy lifestyle. To me, it's not worth the risk to start drinking. But for people who enjoy a glass of red wine or enjoy drinking, the key is to stick to the definition of moderation."

The above statement, coming from one of the scientists asks us to ponder other pathways of achieving good health. And those who think of wine alone sure needs to check his or her facts. There are a million and one ways to reach that goal.