Everything in moderation - and that of course includes drinking wine - but that sounds like the new UK health campaign that is being promoted. Wine, as many of us already know, is one of the things on the list, and red wines such as Pinot Noir and Shiraz are at the top.

From Pinot noir and carrot cake...little tips for living longer: The Small Change, Big Difference initiative, headed by the Department of Health, brings together leading companies such as Boots, and charities, such as Cancer Research UK, in a drive to transform the nation's health.

The initiative is backed by Professor Kay-Tee Khaw, of the Clinical Gerontology Unit at Cambridge University, who has shown that small changes in diet and physical activity can raise your lifespan.

Her research, involving more than 22,000 people in Norfolk aged 45 to 79, found that even moderate physical activity reduces risk of heart disease or stroke by 20 per cent and adds four years to your life. [...]

Moderate drinkers tend to live longer than people who abstain completely - but choose red wine, such as pinot noir. The red skins of the grapes are rich in antioxidants such as resveratrol, which lowers bad cholesterol and reduces heart attack risk.