Five Faves: Cruise Indulgences

Porthole’s Five Faves

Five Cruise Indulgences

… And the Science Behind Why You Shouldn’t Say No

Inhibitions are like lighthouses — those things are best left on land! The next time you go on a cruise and start hearing yourself make up excuses for why you shouldn’t do something, remember these handy science-backed rationales for doing all the fun stuff you headed out to sea for in the first place.

Midnight Pizza!

The benefits found in each slice are almost as numerous as the ingredients within. Olive oil helps reduce bad cholesterol, garlic and oregano are packed with beneficial vitamins and compounds, and tomato sauce contains a cancer-fighting antioxidant named lycopene that is more prevalent in its pizza-boosting state than in unprocessed tomatoes.

Sleep In!

The sea air is already working in favor of your rest, charged with ions (healthy negative ions, to be exact) that speed up oxygen absorption and balance one’s levels of mood- and stress-affecting serotonin in the body. Once you give in to that sleepy feeling, it can help improve memory, sharpen the senses, inspire creativity, improve metabolism, have a better sex life, and live longer. They do call it “beauty sleep” for a reason.

Another Glass of Red!

For the longest time, red wine lovers could justify a healthy supper pour by pointing to an antioxidant called resveratrol that was credited with a variety of benefits, from preventing blood clots to reducing cholesterol. Only recently have researchers questioned that hype. But before you go using that bad news to not justify your healthy pour, take comfort in the fact that the studies are poking a hole in resveratrol alone. As the main researcher pointed out, “the benefits, if they are there, must come from other polyphenols or substances … All we really know from our study is that the benefits are probably not due to resveratrol.” So, yay resveratrol something in the red!

Double Down!

Based on a study conducted by researchers at Yale University, recreational gamblers 65 and older appear to be healthier than non-gamblers of the same age. Some attribute the findings to the social aspects of gambling and remaining active, but whatever the cause, the results were the opposite of what researchers expected. Not only that, but older recreational gamblers reported less depression, alcoholism, bankruptcy, and imprisonment than younger recreational gamblers.

High-Heel Dance Party!

Researchers at two British universities discovered that women who wear high heels are less likely to develop arthritic changes often associated with aging knee joints, perhaps in part due to the better knee support provided by exercising the leg muscles. But high heels’ benefits don’t end with the women who wear them: Check out what one Italian study suggests about the heels’ leg-toning benefits.