Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany, examined the effects of eight red and white wines from various countries on the enamel of teeth removed from men and women aged 40 to 65.

They found that prolonged contact with white wine erodes the protective layer of teeth making them more sensitive to cold, hot and sweet food and drinks.

Teeth soaked in white wines for 24 hours sustained more damage than those left overnight in red wines, says the journal Nutrition Research. “Within the limits of this study, it can be predicted that frequent consumption of white wines might lead to severe dental erosion,” claimed Dr Brita Willershausen.

Other culprits from recent research are orange juice, fizzy drinks, lemon, and grapefruit juice. The acids in these drinks soften the enamel so that immediate brushing can make matters worse.

However, calcium ingestion may provide some sort of defence. The tradition of having cheese with wine, for example, may be an intuitive reaction to the problem

Perhaps a glass of milk swirled round the mouth may also assist in counteracting the acid attack.

Research shows that drinking a glass of cherry juice a day offers the same health benefits as 23 portions of fruit and vegetables.

The catch is that it only applies to American Montmorency tart cherries.

British and European varieties only seem to contain about 20 percent of the antioxidant levels of the U.S. fruit — however, the juice can be bought in the UK in health food stores, under the name of CherryActive.

The research by Dr Robert Verkerk, compared the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of 25ml of diluted cherry juice concentrate with various fruits and vegetables. The result was an overwhelming thumbs-up for the cherries.

A leading British nutritionist, Patrick Holford said, “A recent BBC2 Horizon documentary showed the longest-living people in the world all achieve a very high intake of antioxidants, measured as over 6,000 ORAC units a day.”

One glass of Montmorency cherry juice contains 8,260 units.

Life really is a bowl of cherries, it seems.