More good news for wine drinkers.

July, 2009

New research recently presented at the Alzheimer's Association annual meeting in Vienna, suggests that moderate drinking could lessen the risk of Alzheimer’s or other cognitive decline in older adults. 

On the other hand those in the study with a history of even moderate brain health issues appeared likely to face a greater risk of dementia as indeed did those that drank heavily. 

Moderate drinking was described as one or two drinks per day by the study author Dr. Kaycee M. Sink, an assistant professor of medicine with the department of internal medicine in the Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine section at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

The research involved a study of 3,069 dementia-free adults in their community over the age of 75. who were living. 

"Based on this study, we cannot recommend that older adults who don't drink start drinking alcohol," Sink cautioned. "But it is reasonable to say that if you are already a light to moderate drinker, you may be at a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. However, if you already have memory or thinking problems, drinking alcohol may accelerate memory decline." 

This follows on from a great deal of research that shows moderate consumption of alcohol, around two glasses per day, reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and other related health issues such as stroke. Higher consumption of alcohol also reduces the risk of coronary heart disease but greatly increases the risk of other health issues such as liver disease, cancer and trauma. 

There is also some research that wine, in particular red wine, contains beneficial compounds known as antioxidants. 

So here is further proof that moderate wine drinking is beneficial to your health. Civilized living I call it.