“All things in moderation” stands as a maxim that anyone looking to live a long, healthy life should espouse as sacred. Even too much oxygen will cause a healthy person to pass out. Too much water will drown a man. And too much sunshine, well, it’s easy to know what that will do.Even things that are seemingly bad for the health and can impair vision and judgment may actually be beneficial when taken in moderation. Wine, for example, has a growing number of supporters as not only a relaxing beverage to take while winding down from a stressful day or while enjoying a nice meal, but as a useful agent to combat disease, most notably cancer. Surprisingly enough, it’s the alcohol content of wine that actually acts serves in reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Yes, alcohol thins the blood but it also raises levels of good cholesterol, and the flavanoids found in wine act as antioxidants in the bloodstream, keeping harmful free radicals at bay.In addition, the resveratrol found in wine works to lower the amount of blood clotting in the body and produces anti-thrombotic agents that can potentially strengthen the heart and lower the risk for coronary heart disease.  So the question is…what wine is best? Instead of getting into the argument of Cabernet v. Chardonnay, simply judge by the color of the grape (for example, red wine carries more resveratrol than white simply by the way it is made). However, as with all good things, too much wine can be detrimental to wellness and slide one backward in a hurry, both figuratively and literally. Drinking too much alcohol often leads to dehydration, weight gain, and migraines. And perhaps more than anything, drinking too much tends to make you useless the next day. Remember moderation in all things as rule #1 in living and maintaining a healthy, happy life.