The generation of self-optimisers

While earlier years may have lacked reflection, Generation Z is characterised by self-optimisation. Did I eat the right, healthy things? Have I drunk enough today? Water, unsweetened tea, coffee without milk and without sugar? What about exercise — endurance, strength, agility? How long and how deeply did I sleep? When did I go to bed, and how often was I up at night? Did I have enough social contact, or do I need to make up for it?

Longevity is the new magic word. Once again we are chasing a fetish. One of the latest was dietary supplements. The question there was: what is missing from our food and needs to be supplemented? Vitamins, trace elements, amino acids … Countless products flooded the market with fear-inducing information and simple (paid) proposed solutions.

With all the pondering and optimising, we have buried our “common sense”. We can be glad that the marvel that is the body — challenged and shaped over millennia — functions out of a great natural self-evidence. No matter what we do — too much, too little or just right — it graciously balances out our “efforts”.

The enjoyment of wine cannot be reduced to the “cell poison” alcohol. There is more to it: relaxation, well-being, communication, social contact, culture, health … With moderate wine consumption, our body copes with the “cell poison”. We know this from experience!